The Word “Fajita” First Appeared In The Oxford English Dictionary In 1971

On August 18, we recognize a dish sizzling with savory Tex-Mex flavor.  It’s National Fajita Day!

• 1779 – General George Washington and his American Revolution soldiers more than likely ate Fajitas from Texas cattle. The first cattle drives out of Texas were along El Camino Real, which headed east rather than north.
• 1779 – The Governor of Spanish Louisiana, Bernardo de Gálvez, whom Galveston is named after, receives a dispatch from General George Washington requesting aid and assistance. The Tejano Community would respond by raising hundreds of Spanish Pesos and by driving over ten thousand head of cattle east to feed the armies of George Washington.
• 1930s – When Mexican ranch workers in Texas were paid with poor cuts of meat, they found that marinating it and eating it sliced on a tortilla was delicious.
• 1969 – A meat market manager in Austin, Falcon first sets up a fajita stand at a September festival in Kyle, Texas, which will grow into selling them all over the state
• 1970s – The term “Fajita King” is trademarked. Sonny Falcon trademarked the term after gaining popularity from the dish in the 1970s
• 1971 – The word “fajita,” used to define the dish, officially appears in the Oxford English Dictionary.
• 1973 – Opened by Ninfa Rodriguez, this restaurant calls her fajitas “tacos al carbon” or “tacos al Ninfa”.
• 1980s – Most Mexican restaurants in the United States serve fajitas. In the modern culinary kitchen, lime, cilantro and a plethora of vegetables find their way into a fajita along with the perfect seasonings.  The fajita has come a long way from skirt steak trimmings!
• 1982 – “National Fajita Day” is a corporate creation courtesy of On The Border, a restaurant chain established in Dallas in 1982.
• 1982 – Austin-based, German-born chef George Weidmann puts this dish on the menu at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Austin as a signature dish, significantly improving restaurant sales.
• 1991 – McDonald’s attempted to introduce Chicken Fajitas into the market. It was soon discontinued.
• 1993 – Fajitas were also added to Otilia Garza’s Round-Up Restaurant menu in Pharr, Texas. A 1993 Texas Monthly piece noted that Garza played a major role in popularizing fajitas. She started giving them away to customers she liked for a year.
• 2016 – On the Border Mexican Grill and Cantina began making a name for itself with fajitas as its signature dish, so they decided to name a day to celebrate!
• While in the U.S. we know them as fajitas, the Mexican term for grilled skirt steak is arracheras.
• In Spanish, fajita is the diminutive form of the word faja which translates to “belt”, “sash” or “girdle” in English. In Spanish, when you add “ita” to the end of some words, it means little. Therefore, Fajita translates to “little belt” or “little sash.”
• Fajitas aren’t just popular in the U.S. and Texas. The U.K. loves it too. An Asda survey released last year reports that Mexican Fajitas are the favorite international dish in the U.K.  The survey found that 35 percent of Brits claim they prefer international dishes over their own cuisine. In the last five years, U.K. Google searches jumped 225 percent, according to the survey.
• When made with lean, grilled meats, fajitas can actually be a fairly healthy meal.
• The song “Fajita” by Juanes – a popular Latin pop song that features the lyrics “me gustan las fajitas, las fajitas con salsa y limón”.
• The television show “Friends” – in one episode, Ross orders fajitas at a restaurant, but is disappointed when they arrive sizzling on a hot plate and burn his hand.
• The film “Chef” – a scene shows the main character, a chef, cooking up fajitas for his son and fellow chef played by John Leguizamo.
• In the animated film “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2” – a character named “Fruit Fajita” is introduced as part of a food animal creation.
• The popular food blog “The Pioneer Woman” – features a recipe for steak fajitas that has gained a large following online.
• The video game “Overcooked 2” – includes a level where players must prepare fajitas in a virtual kitchen
• Fajitas are not originally from Mexico. Rather, they were invented in Texas.
• Mexican families consume an estimated two pounds of tortillas a day.
• On average, people eat 2- 3 fajitas per meal, using about 1/2 pound of meat.

Sources:

National Day Calendar

Days of the Year

National Today

Tijuana Flats

Holiday Insights