recipes, including chili and enchiladas The recipes included the suggestion of "cornmeal pancakes" in place of tortillas, which at the time were not reliably available to readers outside of the Southwest. Diana Kennedy, an influential food authority, explained the distinctions between Mexican cuisine and Americanized Mexican food in her 1972 book The Cuisines of Mexico. Robb Walsh of the Houston Press said the book "was a breakthrough cookbook, one that could have been written only by a non-Mexican. It unified Mexican cooking by transcending the nation's class divisions and treating the food of the poor with the same respect as the food of the upper classes." The term "Tex-Mex" also saw increasing usage in the Los Angeles Times from the 1970s onward while the Tex-Mex label became a part of U.S. vernacular during the late 1960s, '70s, and '80s. Adán Medrano, a chef who grew up in San Antonio, prefers to call the food "Texas Mexican," which he says was the indigenous cooking of South Texas long before the Rio Grande marked the border between Texas and Mexico. Influential chefs Felix Tijerina was a successful restaurateur and civic leader who helped pioneer the Tex-Mex cuisine through his dishes. Born in 1905, Tijerina began working as a busboy at the Original Mexican Restaurant after moving to Houston in 1922. He rose through the ranks and opened his own restaurant, the Mexican Inn, in 1929. After serving in World War II, Tijerina opened a chain of restaurants named the Felix Mexican Restaurant. With mildly-spiced dishes and reasonable prices, Tijerina's restaurants catered more towards an Anglo audience. His spaghetti con chile special exemplifies how Tijerina americanized traditional Mexican food to appeal to the local Texans. Tijerina used his influence and economic profit from the restaurant business to become active in politics. In 1935, Tijerina joined the local council of LULAC (League of United Latin American Citizens), and eventually became the national president of organization, holding the position from 1956 to 1960. Tijerina died in 1965, but his chain of Felix Mexican Restaurants continued to promote the Tex-Mex cuisine until operations stopped in 2008. Josef Centeno grew up in San Antonio, becoming familiar with Tex-Mex cuisine through his Tejano family's cooking. In 2011, Centeno opened his first restaurant, Bäco Mercat which became an instant success due to the multicultural menu. Centeno subsequently opened Bar Amá, then Orsa & Winston which received a Michelin star