Mexican Food and Cooking

Take My Breath Away: The Supremo Burrito at Berryhill Baja Grill

Joanna O'LearyChicken Supremo Burrito.​Berryhill Baja Grill is not my go-to burrito joint. When I got takeout there earlier last week, I was more interested in their fish tacos, which had gotten rave reviews from some of my friends as well as one random person I overheard in the cereal aisle a ... More >>

The Enchilada Empress

Sylvia Casares keeps the crowds happy with her Tex-Mex classics.

La Plaza's Huevos Rancheros

Kevin Shalin​Have you really ever eaten bad huevos rancheros? I haven't. It typically comes down either a "very good" or "damn fine" ranking. La Plaza Mexican Restaurant's take on this Tex-Mex classic falls into the latter category. For around $5, you get the picture above--two eggs over ... More >>

Create-Your-Own Combo Plates at Lupe Tortilla

​I've driven by Lupe Tortilla many times while traveling under 59, but I've always been too worried about getting side-swiped by some jackass in an SUV to give the restaurant more than a passing glance. Thus far, I have relied on The Original Ninfa's for great Tex-Mex, Little Pappasito's for v ... More >>

Deer Sausage and Eggs at Goode Co. Taqueria

Photos by Katharine ShilcuttPatio weather demands a bloody mary and a Goode Co. breakfast.​The recent news that Goode Co. Taqueria will start serving its breakfast menu seven days a week starting on May 1 got me very excited. Perhaps too excited, as I dragged my boyfriend over there first thin ... More >>

The Secret to Great Enchiladas Is Patience

Enchiladas rojas.​Making enchiladas is more a test of stamina and endurance than culinary prowess. The ingredients are simple and few, and there's not much fancy footwork required. That said, anyone who regularly makes a South of the Border variety of the dish deserves your utmost respect and ... More >>

Food Fight: Battle Fish Tacos

Zelko.​Fish tacos are another hot-button food topic in our great city. And when you speak, I listen. The Food Fight entry has been criticized in the past for not including enough participants. How does four sound? Four is better than two. Three places are from reader suggestions, and the ... More >>

Takeout Fish and Chicken Tacos at Taco Milagro

​Two years ago I went to Taco Milagro, and I wasn't a fan. I thought it was overpriced and underwhelming. Also, it took forever to get the food, which I guess is a moot point since I didn't like it much anyway. From that point forward, I relied on Chuy's and Ruchi's as my neighborhood takeout ... More >>

At Home at Julio

Monterrey expats flock to Tacos del Julio.

A Mean Mexican Breakfast at Tacos del Julio

All this for less than $5. I love you, Tacos del Julio.​Tacos del Julio -- the subject of this week's cafe review -- is near and dear to my heart, and not just because I spent many a happy lunch there back in my old days of working for a Mexican-owned cement company. It's also the spot of many ... More >>

First Look at Jimmy Changas

My regular camera is in the shop. You'll have to bear with me until then.​At 6:30 p.m. on a Tuesday night, the wait time at Jimmy Changas was already 45 minutes for a two-top. We tried waiting in the bar, but it, too, was jammed full of people. The smart ones had hovered near the stools, waiti ... More >>

A Desert of Trash

$7 at Poison Girl: The Tamale Lady

​Where: Poison Girl, 1641 Westheimer, 713-527-9929, and various other locations What $7 gets you: A dozen of the best tamales that money can freaking buy. You all have seen the Montrose tamale lady. She shows up between 10 and midnight with a bin full of warm tamales, magically right about t ... More >>

Mixto Rio Grande at The Original Ninfa's

​I think Robb Walsh was right on the money when he named the fajitas at The Original Ninfa's his second favorite Houston dish. However, I have never been content to get just the beef fajitas -- or the chicken or a combo of both -- at Ninfa's, whose expansive menu is a nightmare for an indeci ... More >>

Getting Real: New Caswell-Walsh Restaurant Venture Finally Gets a Name

Photo courtesy of Robb WalshArtist's rendering of El Real Tex-Mex Cafe.​"You have to give people what they're interested in eating," Robb Walsh laughed over the phone. "Fajitas will be very well represented on our menu." Wise words that should quell any concerns Houstonians may have had about ... More >>

Enchiladas Huasteca at Taqueria El Campesino

​One of my favorite taquerias, Taqueria El Campesino (7710 Bellaire Blvd. #L, 713-777-8889), has an ostensibly good location, in a mini-mall at the northwest corner of Bellaire and Fondren, right on the way to Chinatown. But that's the thing: it's on the way to Chinatown, which means that ever ... More >>

Taco Bell's Cantina Tacos v. Laredo's Taqueria

theimpulsivebuy​The advertisements for Taco Bell's new Cantina Tacos really caught my eye: corn tortillas stuffed with slow-cooked pork, fresh cilantro and onions, wrapped in foil with a lime wedge. I mean, really? We are in the land of taquerias. Would anybody really rather eat Taco Bell then ... More >>

Going Gabacha at Taqueria Lo Mejor de Mexico

These are not the tacos you're looking for.​Here's a question that seems pertinent in Houston, of all multiethnic, multilingual cities: When you're dining in a Hispanic restaurant where the staff speaks little to no English and you, as a product of being raised in a multilingual city, speak Sp ... More >>

Food Fight: Battle Flour Tortilla

​To those of you devoted to corn tortillas: Don't get your knickers all in a twist. Battle Corn Tortilla will come to fruition -- in fact, why don't you leave your nominees in the comments? -- but for now we are focusing on the smooth, pliant goodness that is the flour tortilla. Disclaimer: ... More >>

SPECIAL COMIDA EDITION

Mexican in the Big Apple

Chef Chat, Part 3: Sylvia Casares of Sylvia's Enchilada Kitchen

​After discussing Sylvia Casares's unique cuisine, it was getting hard for me to hear her over my growling gut. She presented two sampler plates. The first came with beef carne asada, her famous chili-gravy enchilada, and grilled quail. The carne asada and quail were cooked on her mesquite gri ... More >>

Teala's Thai-Mexican Fusion: Cochinita Pibil

​It's a little known fact that Teala's Mexican Restaurant and Bar on West Dallas actually serves a Thai-Mexican fusion menu. Thai and Mexican flavors have a lot in common -- they both use lime, cilantro and very hot peppers -- so the marriage of the two cuisines is a logical pairing.

Downtown Mexican Food: Cielo Mexican Bistro

Shrimp tamales tasted fishy.​Although I'm often skeptical of Mexican food that bills itself as "modern," I recently found myself downtown, hungry and craving fajitas. It was late enough on a Saturday that many of the restaurants were already closed, so I was pleased to discover that the kitch ... More >>

The Best Taco in America?

cogdogblog​A few months ago, I was watching TV at a ridiculously late hour when I became hooked on a food network program chronicling Bon Appetit's Best Dishes in America. I watched as they named the best steak and the best pizza. Finally, they came to the best taco in America. I watched anxio ... More >>

The Shameless Chef: Tostada Burgers

Always turn your stove off before using it as an impromptu photo pedestal.​We all know that the hamburger is one of God's most perfect creations. Somehow a fried patty of beef in between two doughy hunks of bread elevates every ingredient involved to a completely transcendent level of awesomen ... More >>

Fill 'er Up

Chiles rellenos at the Cadillac Bar

Top 10 Restaurants In The East End

Photo by frankienoseThe indescribable Orange Show.​My great-grandmother lived in the same little house off Navigation, home to dozens of kids and family gatherings over the decades, until the day she died. Although she never once spoke a word of English, she was clever and sly; she could under ... More >>

Robb Walsh's 100 Favorite Houston Dishes: #83 El Ultimo Taco Truck's Breakfast Tacos, Longpoint and Antoine

​Over the course of the next few months, I'm counting down 100 of my favorite Houston dishes. I chose some because they are such quintessential Houston creations, others for their cultural or historical significance, and others because they are just so damn tasty. Share your own nominations in ... More >>

How Do Get Your Tortillas Fluffy?

​The recipe I gave for flour tortillas in The Tex-Mex Cookbook called for flour, lard, water and salt. I think this is pretty much the standard Houston flour tortilla recipe. The tortillas come out pretty good. But they aren't like the fluffy tortillas they eat in San Antonio. After eating th ... More >>

Robb Walsh's 100 Favorite Houston Dishes: #95 Fried Mojarra at Taqueria Jesus Maria, 1106 Spencer Highway

​Over the course of the next few months, I'm counting down 100 of my favorite Houston dishes. I chose some because they are such quintessential Houston creations, others for their cultural or historical significance, and others because they are just so damn tasty. Share your own nominations in ... More >>

Dan Jenkins's Favorite Cheese Enchiladas

​Yesterday, I ate some of Molina's "Enchiladas de Tejas," old-fashioned cheese enchiladas in chili con carne topped with raw onions. When I was researching the "Temples of Tex-Mex" feature, I heard about this dish from Tex-Mex enthusiast and legendary sports writer Dan Jenkins. "The first ti ... More >>

Brain Tacos or Cheesy Migas?

Two high-volume taquerias have a lot to say about Houston tacos.

Top 9 Houston Restaurant Closings of the Decade

Photo by emmiegrnThe Pig Stand, one of Houston's lost restaurants. Read about nine more of the most important restaurant closings of the decade below.​1. Maxim's Maxim's closed in January 2001. It was possibly the most influential restaurant in Houston's culinary history. It was the only upsca ... More >>

Guatemalan Tamales

​I sampled my first rice tamal last week. It reminded me of Biba's slogan, "one's a meal." The soft glutinous ground rice was stuffed with chicken and salsa and garnished with green pepper and a raisin. I had it for breakfast with a cup of coffee and a little extra pepper sauce. The Guatemalan ... More >>

Learning to Share

The molcajete special at Taqueria De Jalisco

Learning to Share

Photo by Troy Fields​When you order the molcajete especial ($10.95) at Taqueria De Jalisco (408 Old Galveston Rd., 713-378-0059), you get two serving dishes, one a plate with guacamole, Spanish rice and refried beans, the other a molcajete — the traditional pestle used to grind spices in ... More >>

The Search for Christmas Tamales

​Fresh-cooked pork tamales are going for $7 a dozen at Gerardo's, and they're very good. After eating a sample dozen, I decided to get my Christmas tamales there this year. There is a sign on the front door warning customers to order their holiday tamales in advance. Gerardo's is expecting a r ... More >>

Multi-Cultural Houston Breakfast

​A pool of refried black beans flowed into a pool of crema on the plate. A sweet fried plantain and a pile of scrambled eggs rounded out my Central American breakfast at Xelapan Bakery #1 on Longpoint. Three thick homemade corn tortillas wrapped in paper came on the side. The fried banana was ... More >>

Blissing Out on Bingle

If you like Longhorn memorabilia and old-fashioned Tex-Mex, this Spring Branch coffee shop is a little slice of heaven.

Hair and Healthy Tex-Mex

Taqueria Huetamo II

​On a random weekday around lunchtime we stumbled upon Taqueria Huetamo II (210 Aldine Bender Rd). With only a simple black awning with the name Taqueria Huetamo II in white letters, this place is the poster child for a hole-in-the-wall restaurant. It was clean, simple and almost empty. We w ... More >>

Mexican Breakfast: Alma Latina Taqueria

​Two cheese enchiladas topped with a fried egg (or two) is one of my favorite Tex-Mex breakfasts. It used to be known as huevos montados (eggs mounted) back in the day. Dos Amigos on Washington has this dish on the menu. So do lots of other Houston Tex-Mex joints. But if I don't see it, I ofte ... More >>

Tamale Time: A Hot Tamale Sandwich

​Forget the dollar menu at Taco Bell, the tamale torta at Doña Tere on Bissonnet is a full meal for $1.79. I got the chile beef tamale and doused the bolillo with salsa to lubricate the rather dry-looking combo of starch on starch. It tasted better than it looked. But next time, I think I'll ... More >>

Late Night Scene: Taqueria la Tapatia

​On Saturday nights, Taqueria la Tapatia has the craziest music mix. For every two Tejano love songs played, they play one song -- to use the term loosely -- of throbbing, Eurotrash techno. Let's just say it's an odd soundtrack for a burrito. Given a choice, I'll take the Tejano, because the w ... More >>

Big House on the Hill

Casa Grande, the Tex-Mex restaurant on a cliff above I-45 is a truly offbeat spot to eat nachos and dance salsa.

Laredo Cavalcade

If you like the tacos at Laredo Taqueria on Washington, wait until you try the tacos at Laredo Taqueria on Cavalcade.

Just-Off-the-Griddle Tortillas at Laredo Taqueria

Photo by Robb Walsh​In this week's Café review, we visit Laredo Taqueria on Cavalcade, where breakfast is a wondrous experience. When you get in line to order your breakfast tacos, you find yourself standing in front of the griddle where the flour tortillas are being prepared. If you watch ... More >>

Food Fight: Battle Cheese Enchilada

Photos by Katharine Shilcutt​"Cheese enchiladas served in chili con carne -- not thin, meatless chili gravy, or authentic enchilada sauce -- are the hallmark of real Tex-Mex, according to 78-year-old Fort Worth sportswriter and Tex-Mex expert Dan Jenkins," as Robb Walsh stated in his July 2 ... More >>

Keep on Trucking

The tacos at this Bellaire Boulevard taquería might remind you of the ones you get from a taco truck.

Houston Breakfasts vs. Austin Breakfasts

Photo by Robb Walsh​This plate of huevos rancheros with bacon and homemade flour tortillas set me back $2.29 at Taqueria Jesus Maria in South Houston. You can breakfast equally well at dozens of other taquerias all over town -- Kiko's on Fulton and Pancho Villa's on Wilcrest both charge $2.99. ... More >>