Naked Posole

The pork-and-hominy soup at Taqueria Mexico looks a little plain, until you dress it up

Comments (0) By Robb Walsh Thursday, Nov 10 2005

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I stopped by for breakfast on another occasion and was told the breakfast plates, which are listed on the menu at $3.25, were all on special for $1.99. So I got the huevos con chorizoplate, which was tasty, although I found the sausage a little gristly. The homemade flour tortillas, hand-cut fried potatoes and smooth refried beans were all spectacular. The waitress, a young hottie from Uruguay, brought me a condiment I had never seen served with a Mexican breakfast before: Heinz ketchup. I put some warm red sauce on the plate for my chorizo-and-egg tacos and some ketchup for the fried potatoes. It was a unique experience.

Houston taquerias all have their specialties. At Laredo Taqueria on Patton, it's the awesome calabacitas; at Gorditas Aguascalientes on Bissonnet, the chilaquiles rule; so far, the posole is my choice at Taqueria Mexico, but I'm still working my way through the menu. Judging by the food I saw on other people's tables, the Hispanic blue-collar clientele seems to favor tacos al carbon with hot sauce and cold beer for lunch.

Troy Fields

The parade of posole garnishes never seems to stop.

Location Info

Map

Taqueria Mexico

6219 Bellaire Blvd.
Houston, TX 77081

Category: Restaurant > Tex-Mex

Region: Outer Loop - SW

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Details

Hours: 8 a.m. to midnight Sundays through Thursdays; 7 a.m. to 4 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays.

Egg-and-chorizo taco: $1.25
Taco al pastor: $1.25
Tacos al carbon lunch special: $5.99
Posole: $4.99
Nopalitos gorditas: $2.25

6219 Bellaire Boulevard, 713-271-0251.

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So on a recent lunch visit, my dining companion and I gave the tacos a try. The lunch special gets you three double corn tortilla tacos filled to overflowing with well-charred beef -- it appeared to be fajita meat. My companion said the meat was very flavorful but incredibly tough. I challenged her to count the number of times it took her to chew a bite.

As I recall, health authorities used to say you should chew each bite of food 30 times for proper digestion. It took my lunchmate 76 toothstrokes to get through her fajita meat. I figured she was exaggerating, so I took a big bite of the taco myself. It took me 73. Good exercise for your jaw muscles, I told her. Besides, as anybody who has spent any time in Mexico can attest, tough beef is pretty typical Mexican food.

Taqueria Mexico is frequented mainly by Hispanics. I have never seen it reviewed or mentioned in any publication. But there's a famous interior Mexican restaurant a couple of blocks down Bellaire that's been written about extensively in the local and national press. Pico's Mex-Mex, whose clientele is mainly gringo, has been lauded by the Houston Chronicle, Gourmetmagazine and Texas Monthly for pioneering "authentic Mexican cuisine" in Houston.

I love Pico's. It has a way with that quintessential Tex-Mex cocktail, the margarita, that barrio taquerias can't touch. But if you're looking for huevos con chorizo on a weekday morning, a bowl of posole on the weekend, or simple, honest Mexican food at bargain prices, I suggest you skip the "authentic Mexican food" at Pico's and go eat with the "authentic Mexicans" at Taqueria Mexico a few blocks down the street.