The Best Carnitas I’ve Ever Had in Texas Are in . . . the Permian Basin?

Restaurateur Carlos Villarreal moved from Laredo to Odessa to work in the oil patch. It’s not an uncommon story, but 48-year-old Villarreal brought something special with him: a carnitas recipe he’d purchased from a family from the Mexican state of Michoacán, the birthplace of carnitas. Villarreal made the Permian Basin home, establishing a fuel-transport company, saving his money, and biding his time until he was ready to open his dream project: Carnitas San Luca, a trailer in a Cricket Wireless parking lot. Villarreal would eat lunch at Carnitas Los Arcos in Laredo. “ ‘Wow, these are the best carnitas I’ve ever had,’ ” Villarreal recalls telling the owners. “I ate their carnitas almost every day.” Sadly, the restaurant was closing so the family could return to Michoacán. “I…

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