Tex-Mex Restaurants

I live in Waco and can confidently state that Jorge’s rib appetizer is the best thing you can eat at a Waco restaurant. I love it so much. The rest of Jorge’s is almost as exquisite. First, it is a beautiful restaurant and bar, with large tables and booths for comfortable seating. Second, the bar serves killer drinks of all types. Third, the dishes are inventive in the sense of a slight twist on established standards rather than a complete redo. In a nutshell, sophisticated Mexican while wearing shorts. Just about perfect.

Lisa Wong has been doing this for 40 years, and she gets better every day. Lisa started with $7,000 from her college fund, which she redirected to her first restaurant, Lisa’s Mexican Restaurant. Lisa combined her Mexican abuelita’s cooking tradition and her Chinese grandfather’s entrepreneurial spirit to arrive at an acclaimed San Antonio staple. In 1992, Lisa purchased Rosario’s out of bankruptcy. At the time, Rosario’s was in a very different South San Antonio, about two blocks from its present location but in a much smaller building.

She was up to the task, and Rosario was soon as popular as ever. At the same time, “Southtown” became a gentrified and vibrant hotspot. In 2019, Lisa bought the former El Mirador. She spent several years constructing Rosario’s new and “forever” home. What a home it is.

The large, sleek, and open restaurant whispers sophistication. The rooftop bar screams fun. No matter how modern the restaurant is, Lisa’s steady presence in the kitchen remains the same as it has been for decades. These are the San Antonio staples, the mixed dishes that Diana Kennedy dismissed, done with freshness and flair.

Ninfa Laurenzo, otherwise “Mama Ninfa,” is the OG of cooking abuelitas despite being a single widow with five children when her restaurant career began in 1973. Ms. Laurenzo owned a small tortilla factory that was failing and needed renovation. Houston banks had no interest in financing her, so friends in Mexico City lent her money. She used the funds to divide the tortilla factory, converting the front half to a very rudimentary restaurant. Word of mouth soon made it the place to eat in Houston, hosting everyone from future president George H.W. Bush to John Travolta, who commanded his own table while filming Urban Cowboy.

Mama Ninfa’s secrets? First, char-grilled meat. Second, a soft, warm tortilla rather than a hard fried shell. Third, ebullient hospitality. What we know today as Tacos Al Carbon and Fajitas reflected Northern Mexican cooking that had not yet made its way into the regular Tex-Mex lineup. Mama Ninfa changed all that.

We are particular in pointing out the original location on Navigation Street in Houston. The Laurenzo family (Mama Ninfa died of cancer in 2001 at the age of 77) and subsequent buyers have had difficulty replicating the Ninfa’s experience despite many attempts. A handful of restaurants operate as Ninfa’s, but they are licensees and otherwise disconnected to the original. Their quality varies–the one in Waco is quite good. The original is also not in family hands, but the owners have deep experience at that location. It stands the test of time.

What one location has served more Mexican meals than any other restaurant? I would not be surprised if it is Mi Tierra Cafe Y Panderia in Market Square (or El Mercado, depending on your desire to use fake Spanish) in San Antonio. Owned and operated by the Cortez family since 1941, the original three tables have grown into a substantial-sized operation. El Mercado provides a constant stream of traffic, so the restaurant is always busy. For decades, the restaurant was always open except for Christmas Day. When I say always open, I mean 24/7. Thus, the “meals served” number must be in the millions.

Mi Tierra serves a lot of tourists. Too many people confuse that fact with the idea that it is a tourist trap. Not so at all. Mi Tierra is uniquely San Antonioan. It is a long-time feeding spot and watering hole for the city’s Hispanic power structure. Mexican families on vacation who know the food flock to the restaurant. The bakery and the separate bar are first class. Most of all, the Cortez family ensures the family recipes are still done the family way.

As a bonus, you get the full Tex-Mex experience. The decorations are lively and pervasive. The strolling mariachis meet the auditory requirement. The margaritas are first class. “Millions served” is not a bad thing.

I have to check myself here. Is this pick based on sentiment or reality? The original Mi Cocina opened in our neighborhood in the early 1990s. We were early adopters of and advocates for the Preston/Forest location. When we moved to Far North Dallas, the Coit and Campbell location was within walking distance. Movie nights often involved The Plano Angelika and the Legacy Mi Cocina. Trips to Highland Park Village found us at Mi Cocina because it was the only thing we could afford in that center. So we have had a thousand meals with family and friends at Mi Cocina.

With that full disclosure, I tell you that the many return trips are the feature, not the bug, of this report. Mi Cocina is so special because the food is consistent, and the atmosphere is always welcoming. The original location was bare bones, but whoever does the design now (each location is different) is spot on. And I have never had a poor waitstaff experience in all those visits. Mi Cocina did not invent anything; it just perfected the Friday night Tex-Mex.

We have long loved Goode Co. Taqueria at its location on Kirby. The Goode family started in the barbecue business, and the taqueria’s strength was always its flavorful and tender meats. So while great, we always thought of Goode Co. Taqueria as a “meat place.”

Well, they solved that problem with Goode Co. Kitchen & Cantina. There are now four locations, but we have only eaten at the one in the Heights. The marinades, the grilling knowledge, and the roasted vegetables are all there. Now they are wrapped in beautiful, casual settings with unhurried service. The sides match the meat. Get the cream corn and save room for dessert.

The Heights is a wildly competitive food neighborhood. Even updated, a Houston staple may not fit the exciting new restaurant on every corner idea. If elegant, casual Tex-Mex is your preferred meal, this is one you want to sample.

Our Austin fans are apoplectic at this point—Austin and San Antonio battle for Tex-Mex supremacy based on the number and quality of their restaurants. We have not listed any Austin sites yet. How can that be?

This is an art, not a science. Austin may suffer ever so slightly from iconic Tex-Mex overload. Despite having a ton of great options (many listed in the honorable mention category), they all seem similar. Enchiladas Y Mas, on Anderson near Burnett, wins us over based on exceptional cheese enchiladas and exceptionally strong Margaritas. The best thing about this traditional and low-key spot is that it’s all old Austin, with no “see and be seen” crowd.

Finally, the value proposition here is over the top. Pricing is ten years behind (don’t tell anyone). You get that when your sole focus is food and drink rather than marketing.

We struggled with whether to include Mixtli on the list. One of the great attributes of Tex-Mex food is that it is familiar, and another is that it is at least relatively affordable. Mixtli smashes both of those rules.

The menu is seasonal, for example. Like clouds (this is the restaurant’s metaphor), it moves around Mexico, emphasizing different aspects of the country’s cuisine. On the day this article is written, you would be sampling Cabo San Lucas, which sounds pretty good to me. What is consistent is the technique for preparing the food, which is decidedly old school, reaching back centuries. The other consistency is pricing, which is fairly described as exorbitant. In other words, not your run-of-the-mill Tex-Mex eatery.

And yet, any Michelin-starred restaurant deserves consideration. Mixtli is on the list because it is adventurous and glamorous and reminds us where our daily Tex-Mex is descended from. Or maybe just as a little note to Diana Kennedy that Texas can do Mexican as well as anybody.

I mentioned San Antonio and Austin being locked in a duel for Tex-Mex supremacy. That duel is based on absolute numbers. On a per capita basis, the title likely goes to Laredo. We spent four days there and did not have to eat anything besides Tex-Mex. We barely made a dent, so we are likely missing some places worthy of the list.

But we know Obergon’s should be on it. This is authentic with a capital A. As a side note, you are in a real-deal place when you have to rely on your high-school Spanish to order. For the food, wow! Obergon’s is justly proud of their tacos, but I had the best Huevos Rancheros of my life there. The salsas and sauces are masterful.

Pricing is even better than Enchildas Y Mas. The place is open daily from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. In other words, it is a true family, blue-collar diner that happens to serve Tex-Mex. The difficult question for the return trip is whether we should revisit Obergon’s or continue to explore the 90 or so spots we have not hit yet. The answer is to stay another day.

If the marketing tagline is “The old place by the graveyard,” you have to assume the food is good. You would be right. Originally founded in 1927 under the name “Tony’s,” the restaurant provided a respite from prohibition and offered slot machines—a mini-Las Vegas in the Texas desert. As L & J’s approaches the century mark, the fourth generation of the family carries the tradition forward.

The pro tip here is to order the Chile Con Queso appetizer. The cheese is light, and the chile, tomato, and onions are earthy and flavorful. If you have a group, go family-style because everything on the menu is worth savoring. We did not, so I did the next best thing and ordered the Mexican Combination Plate. Too much to eat. And yes, I did. The Chile Verde Con Carne was spectacular.

The room was packed fairly late on a Friday night. The mix of people was impressive; they came from all over El Paso. UTEP kids and professors, laborers, bosses, and professionals. The common denominator was clean plates when the meal was finished. Honestly, we expected more out of the El Paso Mexican food scene. Generally, we found competence but nothing special. L & J’s made up for that in batches. This is a landmark restaurant (Clark Gable once ate there) that, if located in Austin, would have a billion customers. When you are in El Paso, do not miss it.