Tex-Mex and Mexican food

Tex-Mex is Houston's home cooking, and the city can fairly claim to have shaped it. Corn and flour tortillas, melted cheese, cumin-scented chilli and sizzling grilled meat grew up here out of Mexican American kitchens in South Texas, and Houston gave the world the fajita platter. Alongside it, Houston now offers regional Mexican cooking that is closer to Oaxaca and Mexico City than the border, and we think the contrast is the best reason to eat Mexican food here.

Ninfa's and the birth of the fajita platter

In 1973, Mama Ninfa Laurenzo opened a small taqueria on Navigation Boulevard in the East End, serving tacos al carbon made from skirt steak that she grilled over charcoal. The dish, soon called fajitas, spread across Texas and then around the world. Ninfa's on Navigation still operates, and a plate of sizzling meat with tortillas, guacamole and green sauce there is the best introduction we know. Pair it with EaDo and the East End for an afternoon of murals and breweries.

The original dish used the cheap skirt cut that ranch hands traditionally took home, and it is the reason a Houston fajita still arrives on a hot iron skillet with an audible hiss. Order the beef, chicken and shrimp combination if the table is undecided, and keep the flour tortillas warm in their cloth.

Classic Tex-Mex institutions

Molina's, a Houston family restaurant dating to 1941, built its reputation on cheese enchiladas and chile con queso. El Tiempo Cantina and Pappasito's Cantina serve large, lively plates in a more modern setting, and Irma's Original, close to the downtown stadiums, is famous for a daily menu that depends on what the kitchen decides to cook. We like to arrive hungry and order a shared platter with a frozen margarita.

Cheese enchiladas with chilli gravy, crispy tacos, rice and refried beans are the benchmark order, and they taste better than they sound. Houston Tex-Mex is a comfort cuisine, built for sharing, so go with a group and let the platters circulate.

Regional Mexican cooking

For deeper flavours, Montrose has Hugo's, where Hugo Ortega serves cooking from across Mexico, including slow-braised goat, moles and handmade tortillas. Downtown, his restaurant Xochi explores the cuisine of Oaxaca, with its black mole and tlayudas. Make a reservation for both, as tables fill quickly on weekends and evenings.

Smaller kitchens in the neighbourhoods around Gulfton and Hillcroft add cooking from Michoacan, Puebla and Veracruz, including seafood cocktails, carnitas and fresh tortillas pressed by hand.

Taquerias, trucks and tamales

The best everyday meals come from taquerias in strip malls and from trucks along the roads east of downtown. Look for tacos de barbacoa, lengua, al pastor shaved from a spit and cabeza, served with onion, coriander and lime. Tamales appear in large numbers before Christmas, when families and small kitchens sell them by the dozen, and they reward a detour through the Second Ward.

Salsa verde, pickled carrots and grilled onions are free at most counters, so sample freely. Cash-only places are common, and we find that a short wait is a reliable sign of a fresh kitchen.

Breakfast tacos

Houston takes breakfast tacos seriously: flour tortillas folded around egg, potato, chorizo, bacon or beans, wrapped in foil and eaten on the move. They are the city's morning ritual, and our kolaches and breakfast guide maps where to find them alongside the Czech pastries that Texans love.

How to eat Tex-Mex well

Start with queso and chips, share a sizzling fajita platter and finish with sopapillas or tres leches cake. Salsa heat varies, so ask which sauce is hottest before you commit. Summer days in Houston call for a long lunch indoors, and we find a Tex-Mex dinner is a pleasing way to end a day at the downtown sights. For other cuisines, see our overview of Houston food.