For Old Times' Sake.Houston now has a third El Tiempo location (by my count) specifically on Westheimer in the Briargrove neighborhood. Strategically, where it sits makes perfect sense. It sits right in between the "1308 Annex" location in the trendy Inner Loop "Montrose" neighborhood, and the West Houston location on Gesnner. El Tiempo does a lot to define the modern landscape of "Houston Tex-Mex". If you do not know much about its rich history, and how Dominic Laurenzo came up with the concept following the demise of his grandmother's historic franchise, Ninfa's, it is worth looking into. The only thing I will add on this point of history is that when I lived here, I used to travel A LOT. I vividly remember sitting at airports and on planes and listening to the chatter of other Houstonians at that time exclaim to other folks visiting the city that they *had* to go to El Tiempo. I could not have agreed more at that time, and still proactively tell outsiders to come to an El Tiempo if they want an authentic "Houston" treat. On with the review.It is an El Tiempo, need I say more! I like the location a lot. It is serving up that classic Houston Tex-Mex with comfort and love, just like any other location. By now, my only true measuring stick due to lifestyle choices is beef fajitas, but since that is the gold standard (IMO) of Tex-Mex, please take my word that they are still executing on that front extremely well. Based on this and past experiences, I can only assume they are keeping high culinary standards on the rest of their dishes as well.I will say they are a bit lackluster with their service standards. And I get it. It is a new location in a new market for them, and finding good loyal and dependable waitstaff in a competitive foody city like Houston is hard to come by. So without going into specifics of my one single experience, I will say this is probably the one thing they need to improve on at this location to go from "good" to "great".If you are in the area and are hankering for some good old fashioned Houston-style Tex-Mex, consider stopping by their new Briargrove location. The more their demand increases, so will all other perceptive standards.
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