Eat This: Fried Jesus' Fish and Chips at AG Texican

There's likely no one in Dallas who knows more about the art of battering and deep frying than Abel Gonzales. After all, one doesn’t just roll out of bed one morning and accidentally get anointed “Fried Jesus.” You have to know a thing or two.

And now, “Fried Jesus” is blessing his customers with some of the dankest fish and chips you’ll find anywhere.

For four weeks every fall at the State Fair, Gonzales concocts all manner of battered and fried creations and has the hardware to show for it (he's won multiple Big Tex Choice Awards). Fried mojitos, fried butter, fried Coca-Cola and fried coffee, to name a few. He’s also no stranger to the television camera, as he was featured on Destination America’s Deep Fried Masters (as a judge) and A&E’s Deep Fried Dynasty. If there were a deep-frying all-star team in this country, he’d be on it.

While not at the fair, Gonzales heads the restaurant AG Texican, which is a stone’s throw from Love Field. He once said, “If you fry it, they will come.” So, he fried — and they came. But Gonzales, who attended Woodrow Wilson High School, is about much more than just deep-fried acrobatics. He’s a great cook in general. During the morning window, AG Texican doles out a stacked selection of breakfast tacos, including a glorious smoked brisket, egg and bacon taco. Huevos rancheros, chilaquiles, pancakes and freshly made doughnuts are also on the morning menu. For lunch, there are tacos galore — smoked pork and brisket, beef fajita, chicken fajita, steak and potato, veggie and picadillo. Rounding out the menu are gorditas, quesadillas, tortas, tamales, ribeyes and pork chops.

We recently made the scene at AG Texican specifically for a newly minted Friday-only menu item we just couldn’t resist: fish and chips ($13). You get only one shot each week at this plate, so plan accordingly.

Gonzales has been cooking his fish and chips for three years during Lent, and they’ve always been available on the catering side of his business. In the beginning, he used traditional fish and chips recipes, but then he started tinkering. After some trial and error, Gonzales perfected his style of fish and chips. Everything on the plate is made from scratch. And that includes the cocktail and tartar sauces, and the slaw that comes with it all. The fries are of the thick-cut steak variety. The cod is wrapped in an exquisite Dos Equis batter — the kind of fried battered flawlessness you’d expect from a man dubbed “Fried Jesus.”

So you have a few more weeks to get this Friday Lent special. Of course, you wouldn't miss if you went for enchilada Wednesday, either.

AG Texican. 7101 Harry Hines Blvd. Tuesday – Saturday, 7:30 a.m. – 2 p.m.