Harry's Tinaja

Texas Dives Star ⭐

“Can you take my picture? I need one for my Tinder profile,” a voice carried over my shoulder as I was taking photos out back. I swung around to see a confidently smirking man nursing a longneck at a picnic table. I could tell he was curious to see how I was going to respond. Of course, I obliged.

The jokester in question was none other than Harry Mois, owner of Harry's Tinaja, one of the finest dives in West Texas. If you've seen the legendary Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown - West Texas episode, you may have caught a glimpse of Tony playing beer pong here during a lively shindig. Harry bought this place in 2009, 10 years after his arrival in Alpine. Originally from Germany, he had spent time in Colorado and the French Marquesas Islands before settling down here for the wide open spaces and fresh air.

Harry's Tinaja looks like a pop-up museum of West Texas. The bar is etched with carvings, the walls scribbled with messages and covered with relics. Dollar bills line the ceiling and little mementos of those passed can be found here and there.

Harry told me a story of one 4th of July when the parade was passing down the street out front. Two participants came by on horseback for a quick drink, tying their horses out back. As they enjoyed a beer, a loud noise from a car startled the crowd. Next thing they knew, their horses were running down the street, dragging the railing along with them.

Archeological digs have revealed that some of the earliest inhabitants of North America resided here in West Texas. I can't help and feel like Harry's Tinaja is somehow spiritually connected to that heritage. Like a cave adorned with paintings of hunters on its walls. The kind of place you come to think about how little the vast land has changed across an ocean of time.

Harry's Tinaja is deserving of a Texas Dives Star ⭐, my accolade for exceptionally memorable and authentic establishments in the great state of Texas. This post is dedicated to Harry Mois. RIP

As of 11/22, Harry's Tinaja is closed and for sale.