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Arts & Entertainment

'Queen of Queso' bequeaths us a passionate master list of her D-FW favorites

Delia Jo Ramsey isn't from Texas, but you might say she got here as quickly as she could.

The popular food and travel writer -- whose work has appeared in publications around North Texas, including her own site Dining With Delia Jo -- had no idea what to expect when she arrived in North Texas nine years ago.

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Here, she met a man who would become her husband. She developed her craft as a polished food reporter -- an enthusiast, but never a critic, she tells us -- and expanded upon her journalism background, becoming a skilled photographer and social media maven along the way. And, she realized she loved Texas cuisine. Like, a lot.

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There's one dish in particular that most stoked her Tex-Mex passions.

It's how she gained her nickname: "The Queen of Queso." Even her pink Texas license plate declares her love for it.

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"This is a research project of my life," she told us in April, when we asked our social media followers to tell us where to get the best bowl of queso in D-FW.

But, all things must pass, and quirky license plates must sometimes change.

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Ramsey's family recently moved to Nashville. And Nashville will now be the the primary focus of her blog, which covers restaurant, chef and local cuisine. Though, she notes, her D-FW contributors will continue publishing recommendations on Dining With Delia Jo. 

In parting, she left us with a witty, heartfelt final love letter to D-FW.

"I'm forever grateful that you taught me tacos for breakfast is a perfectly acceptable 'thing,' and that you honed my intense passion for queso," she writes. "Thanks for teaching me that it's not called 'cheese dip', as I grew up calling it for the first 26 years of my life, growing up in Alabama and Tennessee."

She goes on to earn forgiveness for that "queso blasphemy" by penning a lengthy, intricate list of queso options for any occasion. Want white cheese instead of yellow? Need a vegan choice or something "fancy"? She's done the footwork.

Here's where you can find what she calls her legacy: Queso With Delia Jo: A DFW Master List

Ramsey's all-time favorite? As with our polled readers, she says Torchy's is tops. She's sent an open request to the Austin-based chain to consider expansion into Nashville.

Tennesseans will love it, she promises -- she'll make sure of that.