Any information about some quality Mexican food establishments would be greatly appreciated, particularly Sonoran. Thanks.
www.lupetortillas.com Lupe Tortillas has the best beef fajitas you will ever experience in this lifetime or the next.
Lupe Tortillas is very good. I would also recommend Chuy's which has 2 locations. Off of Kirby and Westheimer and Off of Richmond near Voss. Both choices are pretty good Mexican food.
keep away from Pappasitos, ninfas, chuwys, Marcos, Panchos mexican buffet. Most of those places are worried more about appearance than taste. Basically.. if you are in a restaurant/ taqueria that does not speak a lick of english and you have to communicate by telling your server the number of the order... you are in the right place. I dont care about appearance.. I care about if it eats good. tepatitlan (sw freeway near chimney rock). overall good food. not the best but good guadalajara (sw freeway inside loop). overall okay food. nice to go there with a group taqueria La tapatia (richmond and dunlavy) there are tapatias scattered throughout houston. LOVE THIER BREAKFAST!. cant go wrong eating breakfast there. Their Tortas are great. I usually order a milanesa torta or fajita torta (thats the one i go to. there is a paint store on the right hand side of the street and a laundry right next to the taqueria. Taqeria arandas (scatered throughout houston). not my favorite place, but they serve a super california burrito. its huge. Not a mexican dish, but still popular dish amongst the locals. Chapultepec taqeria (richmond passed montrose heading towards downtown) I cant remember the name of this place, but its near richmond near that tapatia i mentioned above. Its on the right hand side if you are heading towards downtown. Its got this mexican looking patio in the front. I have only eaten there a couple times and both times I enjoyed the food. If you guys want to use the grill at your hotel pools or at the tailgate... I would go to Carneceria Michoacana. They have like 3 locations on the north side of houston (dont remember the street name but its in the book) but you can buy fajita meat. Its already marinated. You can also buy mexican rice with bean there.. thats if you dont know how to prepare the rice or beans its not bad deal.. the actual condiments they sell there to put on the tacos is probabaly as authentic as it gets.. considering i have never eaten at a mexican restaurant in the US and come out of the restaurant and say "damn.. that was real mexican food". so that is saying alot. The cream and the pico de gallo is not the same crap you get when you go to Ninfas or Pappasitos. At ninfas and the papasitos you get more of the american style sour cream. I for one dont like tex mex. the prblem is that these establishments and owners think that all mexican food is spicy and as a result try to market that to the US customer. They try to spice every dish is some way or another. The first thing I eat when i go to a mexican restaurant is the rice. you just can tell if its tex mex food or "authentic" just by the rice.
Ok, now we’re talking about something that really matters. Religious wars have been started over less, but it may be helpful to distinguish between the sorts of restaurants that people often refer to as “Tex-Mex” from those often described as “Mexican” or “Authentic Mexican.” We're really talking about (at least) two different sorts of cuisines. "Tex-Mex" is good for fajitas, nachos, enchiladas and crispy tacos and such, various things deep fried, various things covered in cheese, and combinations of the above - and I mean all that in a good way. "Mexican" or "Authentic Mexican" usually refers to places that offer what many people describe as more traditional Mexican food (various carne asada or guisada dishes, moles, maybe nopalitos, sopes, ceviches, etc.). As rdl points out above, these sorts of places are usually pretty cheap, offer good breakfasts, and the waitstaff may not speak much English. So, looking at it that way, I'd suggest: Tex-Mex: Chuy’s - reportedly Bill Clinton’s favorite restaurant in Houston and you know that man knows food. Pappasito’s - probably the most popular Tex-Mex in town. "Authentic" Mexican: La Mexicana - really excellent; highly recommended. La Tapatia - various locations; closest to Reliant is on Richmond, between Shepherd and Montrose; open really late. Ruchi’s - various locations; closest to Reliant is at the corner of South Main and South Loop. La Jalicience - on Montrose, between Dallas and West Gray.
that rings a bell. I think it is. I have to go to the post office later on today... and will see if thats the name. I never really cared to go there because i thought it was just tex mex food and i am not a big fan of it. it use to have this white fence and a sign the read "PARQEO". If thats not spanglish.. i dont know what is. My friends would always ask me if that was the word for parking LOL. But one late night we just decided to eat there because the tapatia close by was packed.. and we didnt feel like driving and it was only a couple blocks away. I dont drink.. but my buddy tells me he loves the margaritas there. Have you ever been to this pub near that taqeuria called Harps. Its a hole in the wall but real laid back. during the summer, a bunch of my friends and I would go there before the World Cup games.
I enjoy both a Tex Mex and an Authentic Mexican cuisine. I've been to guadalajara and taquera arandas. Both excellent choices. However, for the visiting fan, I'd probably suggest Tex-Mex. When we are talk about "Mexican Food," in general we mean "Tex Mex." Although Pappasitos and Chuy's are decent places, they're still a bit too commercialized and expensive for my taste. Lupe Tortillas is amazing, Donaraki's (1 location downtown and 1 on Westheimer) has a great selection of food as well. I know a handful of other places on the NW side but nothing too much that is down by Kirby and Rice area.
You guys can save some money by coming to our tailgate. We will be digging a hole in the Reliant parking lot starting at noon for an authentic Barbacoa pit. Cabrito is on the menu. Please bring plates and shovels.
I also endorse the margaritas at El Pueblito (or whatever place that is if it's named something else). Another good place for margaritas is Teala's - the food's a little over-priced by Houston standards, but they're known for their mango margaritas and have some other interesting flavors. I also agree on the Harp. Another good pub option if folks want a laid back spot with a patio and a good beer.
anderson: we need to hook up sometime. Of the thousands of Mexican restaurants in this town (inside the beltway), Taqueria La Tapatia, La Jaliciense, and Ruchi's would be my Top 3. I love Chuy's, but maybe it's mostly because I went to UT and so it's a sentimental favorite (actually, you can get the very New Mexico Mexican green chile enchiladas that are awesome). My only dissent is Pappasito's: too much cheese, and too much $$$. I also like Chapultepec quite a bit. Lupe's is pretty good, but I'm just not a fajitas type of guy. Nawlins, these types of arguments have almost caused fistfights among my coworkers.
El Tiempo is great Tex-Mex (get the mixed grill, which has beef and chicken fajitas, jalapeno sausage, quail, cabrito, shrimp, etc.). The margaritas are very strong and the bar area is usualy crowded with young men and women trying to hook up. It's near Compaq Center.
have you ever had nachos belle grande at this place called taco bell? i can't remember where it's located though.
Tapatia......La Mexicana......We bring back some good memories. I can't wait to be back in Houston this week. Also, Tapatia sells beer after 2am, you get in a white cup. Or at least the did as of last year. I am dreaming of a fajita tort as we speak. Used to be able to walk to La Mexicana... Aahhh the good old days.
Ah, well, that's yet another type of cuisine...Yankee-Mex. I'd recommend the pepperoni personal pan pizza with a side of breadsticks.
I am a big fan of Ruchi's. I think there is one not far from the stadium too. La Mexicana is good too. They have a pretty good mole. And don't forget to stop by the bakery for desert. Also La Guadalapana, on Dunlavy, is a good spot as well. They make great torta's on fresh bolios. Really considering how big Houston is and how close it is to Mexico, it is suprising how few places there are that serve real Mexican food. Most of what you find here is either the Tex Mex variety as mentioned earlier, or food that comes out of Northern Mexico or the valley, i.e. fajitas. Lupe Tortilla's is straight Comida Gringolandia. Not that it's bad, 'es preety good' like it says on the menu, but I don't think I've ever seen a Mexican-American family there. Hey rdl, if you are looking for a spot that doesn't make everything too spicy and doesn't pile chedder cheese all over everything, try 100% taquito. A little expensive, but they have some great sopes and rice and beans.
Memo to self: When you meet anderson, smack him upside the head and ask how he could not mention Ninfa's. Yeah, it's not the best place that you'd ever find, but it's a Houston institution. I'm a big fan of La Mexicana. When my sister lived in Houston, she lived close to La Mexicana and we ate there a few times. I also like La Tapitia and Arandas.
It's a little late for this, but... 100% Taquito on the SW freeway NB just short of Buffalo Speedway has some stuff I've never seen anywhere else. I went to a place on Airline inside the North Loop a few weeks back that had good food. Don't remember the name, though.
Ninfa's I'm sure I could use a good smack alongside the head as much as the next guy, but that's probably the only way I'd eat at a Ninfa's these days. Ninfa's went bankrupt in part because the quality of the food deteriorated badly as they expanded into a chain. They've since been bought out and the new owners say they're aware of the quality problems, but I'm not convinced. The last time I went to a Ninfa's (the one at Kirby and Richmond), the beans were cold, the rice was hard, and the beer was warm. When I lived in Boston, I would've killed for Tex-Mex at even that level of quality. But in Texas, there's just no reason to deal with that. Some people swear that the Ninfa's on Navigation is much better and more consistent. That's the original Ninfa's location, so maybe the old pictures of Mama Ninfa hanging on the walls shame them into paying attention to things like cooking rice. I've been there a couple of times in recent years and I suppose it's indeed better than the appallingly bad stuff you get at most other Ninfa's.
Switching gears Apologies for hijacking this thread, but the opportunity to ask Houston folks a question was too good to pass up. We live in Pearland and are pretty new to televised international soccer. My question is this: How do I get international soccer on TV? Will it require some double secret probation International Direct TV package ($$$), or would the channels in question (e.g. Fox Sports World) be included in a basic cable package? We are about to hook up cable/satellite and any suggestions on the best approach/carrier would be appreciated. BTW: My vote for best mexican food is El Tiempo on Richmond between Buffalo and Kirby. Pricey, but I'll be damned if I've found better...
Depends on your cable system. TVMAX (in some apartment complexes) includes both Fox Sports World and FSW Español, but I'm not sure about Time Warner and any other municipal systems.
Re: Ninfa's OK, fair enough. Granted, Ninfa's was a lot better 10-15 years ago than it is now. But for some reason, when it comes to Tex-Mex, Pappasito's doesn't do anything for me.