I have this hole in the wall by work who makes the best dam tacos, simple and tasty as hell. 3 carne asada with cilantro and onion on a fresh corn shell. 3 Tacos and a coke for $10 bucks, can't beat that.......I will pick a mom and pop before a big restaurant 95% of the time I like Lupe`s beef fajitas as well as Pappasitos (but just the fajitas there) Dam, I am getting hungry
Escalante's for the atmosphere/music. Lupe Tortilla for the taste. Honorable mention: El Toro My kids devour the changas/gringos creamy green sauce so we end up there most of the time. Kids rule.
Pappasitos shouldn't be considered higher end. They just charge people more and get you drunk on butter. But I owe them for feeding me senior year of college. I always got to eat the last of the rice, beans, and tortillas after my shift. I think of traditional Mexican as "high end" and Pappasitos and Lupe to just be expensive Tex Mex with large portions. Friggin' 40 dollar fajitas for 2.
I haven't been, but Cuchara is near the top of the list of places I've been wanting to try. It's been around for a decade, seems to be very popular and has very good reviews, but very clearly Mex-Mex not Tex-Mex.
I meant this thread to be about high end restaurants but I don't mind the taquerias talk. I love this one. As stated in the OP I didn't even like Mexican food till I was introduced to taquerias. The first one I ate at was Ruchi''s. Now I feel weird not likinng Mexican food till I was about 23 years old I don't do Arandas. It trips me out that it's grown so much. There seems to be as many Arandas 's around Houston as Whataburgers
Is that Old place still down there (cannot remember the name, totally blanking on it) around Memorial/Dairy Ashford? Basic TexMex, and I know we both went there as kids...
HO HO HO Dining with Mexican Industrialists has clearly become a status symbol on Clutchfans. PGabs — I’ll make this easy for you. Based on your stated preferences, just go to Ninfas on Navigation. It’s the best mass appeal Tex Mex. El Tiempo on Richmond or Washington is in the discussion as well. GOOD DAY
There's only Candente now - the rest is all JV. Which is fine - plenty of great tex mex options, but Candente is in its own league. NON-tex-mex is where the true "high end" experiences can be found. Hugo's, Tatemo, etc... but as far as what TASTES good - none of them hold a candle to Case Ema. Candente (tex mex) and Casa Ema (mexican) are in their own league. This is coming from a guy that used to swear by the OG Ninfa's (year's ago) + Hugo's (Sunday buffet was killer). Warning - Case Ema is not somewhere you go if you're looking for a Margarita and 1on1 service.
Short version: I'm not a TexMex fanatic like most people. A couple of times per year at Pappasito's is enough for me.
I get it. As I stated in the OP I wasn't much of a fan until I discovered taquerias. I like the simplicity of street tacos and tortas. I stated that my favorite dish is seafood enchiladas at Guadalajara but that's seafood and the flavoring of the enchiladas are geared towards seafood. The flavoring is light not heavy like a lot of tex mex dishes
