Shawn P.'s Profile

Before I get to the review, I have to admit this really should be 4.75 stars instead of 5, but I'm going to give it another shot soon to give it a more accurate rating.

As someone who eats at any hole in the wall restaurant as long as the food is good, I'm not going to say much about the decor.  That's not my thing.  It was inviting, comfortable, and blah blah blah.

Whatever.

Before we get to the food, let's talk about the chef.  If you are Mexican and into cooking shows, you probably know who Aquiles Chavez is.  If you are an American, you probably walk into this place and wonder what's the big deal about Guy Fawkes with dreadlocks.  He's sort of like the Anthony Bourdain of Mexico, having a few cooking shows.  In one, he travels around the country and introduces people to cool places to eat just like a traditional travel food show.  In his other show, it's almost like a less formal version of Conan O'Brien if everyone were drunk and stoned and instead of a comedian behind a desk you have a chef trapped in a circular kitchen that spins while he cooks food and people say funny things.  Anyway, the fact that a celebrity chef opened a restaurant in a city like Houston surprised me.

On to the food.  You really have to have eaten these dishes elsewhere and have a distinctive palate to truly appreciate this place.  Seriously, the food is amazing.  For example, I was blown away by their jamaica.  If you've never tried it, jamaica is basically an iced team made from a type of hibiscus (in the Carribean they mix it with strong spices and call it sorrel.)  Jamaica is a simple thing, easy to make, and I make it at home all the time.  This was the most flavorful jamaica I've ever had, and it had the perfect amount of sweetness, flavor, and was refreshing.  I can't explain it, but it was perfect.  Plus, you get free refills.

As to the food, some of it was familiar and others shocked me a bit.  For example, they bring you totopos (the real Mexican version of tortilla chips) and some salsas that are basically mayo or cream in squeeze bottles mixed with other things such as tamarind, chipotle, etc.  I hate mayo but I tried them anyway, and they weren't bad.  I tried a "la fisheria coctel" which was a shrimp, oyster, and octopus cocktail.    Most places you go in Houston, the octopus is hard and chewy.  They nailed it here.  Also, some people complain that cocteles taste like catsup, well they are supposed to taste like it to a degree, but it tasted exactly like what I expected from my time in Mexico.

The red snapper ceviche was awesome, but not what I expected at all.  The key to ceviche is that the fish starts out perfect, and your job in preparing it is to add flavors and things that enhance the flavor, not override it.  The Mexican ceviche I am used to has strong citrus flavors and strong chile in it.  The ceviche here had a lot of the same ingredients, but they were more muted in order to let the fish present the flavor on its own.  I started off looking for a bottle of Valentina, but after a few bites I realized what was going on and decided that I preferred the ceviche the way it was.  It was probably the best ceviche I've had in Houston, partially because of how fresh the red snapper was (inspiring me to go to Galveston the following weekend to buy some of my own) and partially because of how Aquiles made no effort to enhance the flavors beyond what they should have been.

The last dish I tried was the red snapper pibil style, which the waiter assured me was one of the most popular items there.  It was good, but I didn't like it as much as the other two things.  For one, the pibil style seasoning was powder-based and I was hoping for fresher ingredients because of how fresh everything else was.  There was some sweet potato spread included that was really awesome, and among the best use of sweet potato that I've ever eaten.  The real disappointing thing with this dish, however, was the mixed vegetables that accompany it.  I was unable to tell the difference between them and the frozen mixed vegetables from the grocery store.  Overall this dish was good, but I personally don't think I'd order it again with how great the other options are.

The service was ok, but they are still acting a little like they are new (which they are.)  It seems like they mix the worst of Mexican and American restaurant service, by hovering around and being way too chatty when you don't need them, and walking outside and completely disappearing when you do need them.  I think this will get better as they gain experience.

Overall, after I eat here a few more times this may become my favorite Houston restaurant.  While in one sense it is a traditional Mexican seafood restaurant, the chef puts his own personal touch on the place to make it one of a kind.  If you eat seafood, I highly recommend it.

Fish is one of those foods that are perfect to eat immediately and only go downhill with time.  I don't care where you buy it from in Houston, it's always second-rate because it's either been frozen or was caught a few days ago.

Whenever I go to Galveston, I make it a point to take a cooler and pick up some extremely fresh, right off the boat seafood from Katie's.  The red snapper makes a great ceviche and they will filet it for you there (although you pay for the weight of the fish, not the filet) so you can be good to go.  Everything here looks pretty fresh and tastes great.  There is a place next door which I've never gone, but they never seem to have customers while Katie's is always full.  If I have visitors coming and I want to cook seafood, it's worth the long drive from Houston to get fish here.

This place apparently has new owners since my last review.  The food has become horrible (I can only comment on the Moroccan dishes, not the Indonesian ones which I haven't tried.)  Do you like dried out old lamb shanks that probably have been sitting under a heat lamp for a while?  Ok, maybe it was microwaved, but either way, that meat was terrible.  The couscous is now the store-bought plain stuff, not the subtly spiced couscous that they had before.  The tajin is now just a plate of stuff slopped together and also without much flavor.

Given the quality of the food, I feel like a victim of bait and switch now.  It should have changed names once it became an Indonesian restaurant, and if they can't cook Moroccan food well, why even have it on the menu?  Rename this place Borneo or something and just sell Indonesian food.

I have always been a big fan of the other Tampico, but I have only gone to this location twice.  The food is about as good, although for some reason the cooked dishes don't seem quite the same.  Personally, I prefer to get the ceviche, which is very tasty at both locations.

The setting itself is much nicer than the one on Airline, and there is always plenty of room to eat.  The service is friendly, although they can be a bit slow.

Overall I am a fan of this Tampico and it's currently my go-to place if I'm eating near the airport.

This is the "poor" man's churrascaria.  Ok, not actually for poor people since they still charge quite a bit, but relative to the places on Westheimer that you are familiar with, they are cheap.

The quality of the food is good.  Basically, if I had never gone to the churrascaria that everyone knows and thinks of as a default that is on Westheimer, it would be amazing.  However, having eaten at many churrascarias, I'm going to give this place about 3/5 relative to all the others in terms of quality.  Sure, the meat is great, but they seem to bring out the chicken and pork and other cheaper cuts of beef a lot more frequently, and the picanha is not brought out quite as much.  However, you can tell them what specific cuts of meat you want and they will bring them.  There also is less of a selection than some other places, but it is more than sufficient.  Also, the salad bar is ok, but not great.  If you're going out to eat and drag along a vegetarian, this is not the right churrascaria for you to take them.  It's a typical salad bar that you would find in a pizza place, for example.

The setting, as others have mentioned, isn't nice.  It's dark inside and not well decorated, but it seems clean enough.  Still, the lack of decor shouldn't really matter since you're going here for a buffet of meat designed for a lazy person.  Service is also generally decent, but when things get busy they seem to get confused and forgetful.  As a result, it's not uncommon for them to forget to bring you drinks, sides, etc. after you've told them twice.  I like to eat some cuts of steak with mashed potatoes, and they kept forgetting to bring them to my table last time after I asked at least three times.

I know this review has sounded less than enthused about this place, which seems out of place with my rating.  The fact of the matter is that this place is a decent price for something that is normally a type of food I rarely get.  The quality of the steak is high enough that I really enjoy eating here and can ignore all the bad parts.  Realistically I'd give them 3.5 stars out of five, but I'm being nice so they are rounded up to 4.

This place can be great, or it can be mediocre.  Unfortunately, I haven't found a great way to determine what days are the best to go or what.

The best things on their menu are their fresh fruit juices and their ceviche.  Everything else is not that great.  I've tried their steaks, some other seafood dishes, as well as some pasta, and I just wasn't a fan.  The pasta in particular was actually kind of gross, as it seemed a lot like leftovers with the really dry tomato "sauce" and too much flavor of olives.

The location is comfortable and it's never completely full so you can go and relax.  I've seen families, couples, and individuals eat here with no problems.

Service is a bit iffy sometimes, and great others.  Even with the same wait staff, you really don't know what you're going to get from one visit to the next.  I think this place doubles as a hangout for the family and friends of the owners, so they must go off into a corner to talk to each other sometimes instead of serving customers.  I can't come up with any other logical conclusion.

I will gladly return here for the ceviche, but that would be about it.

I walked in here on their opening day, expecting to see something cool.  Granted, the Kinect displays outside the store are interesting, but can sometimes cause foot traffic jams while trying to walk by.

Inside the store?  It's a little less doctor's office looking than the Apple store, so that's cool, but as other reviewers have stated, it's just not different enough to really provide a reason for me to go in there.  Don't get me wrong -- I'm not a fan of Apple in the least and use all sorts of Microsoft technology with no problems.  It's just that I found the store kind of boring.  I don't care about Microsoft's phone technology, I don't trust their tablets.  I get their software cheaper elsewhere, I didn't see any exclusive or cool stuff for the XBox 360 that I couldn't get elsewhere.  

As expected, their staff tend to be more customer-oriented, so I wouldn't go in there expecting someone to talk to about the best way to integrate Exchange and SharePoint.  For professionals, you should either go elsewhere or better yet have a sales person from Microsoft contact you directly.

For the big marketing blitz that they did, I suppose I expected more.  Still, isn't this the way Microsoft has always been?  Great marketing, middling products, and attempts at copying the successes of their competitors.  I really don't see this store, especially with it's prime location over the ice rink, being profitable for Microsoft.  I doubt this location will survive long enough to see the launch of Windows 8.

I'm a big fan of Mexican breads.  They aren't overly sweet, they aren't as fatty as doughnuts, and the can be just generally tasty.

Tierra Caliente is sort of hidden in the corner of a shopping center, so if you drive around here you may pass it as I have in the past.  However, I tried it upon a recommendation as I didn't feel like dealing with the traffic and hassle of going to my favorite panaderia.

I tried several things -- cajeta and walnut (or pecan?) empanadas, apple empanadas, conchas, and other items that are typical to a place like this.  I was very impressed, and would argue that they compare favorably to any other Mexican bakery in town.  The only place I ding them is that they didn't label their breads, and the staff doesn't seem to know which are which, resulting in my guayaba empanada actually being apple.  It was a very good apple empanada, but still not what I expected.

However, this is overall one of the best panaderias I have eaten at in Houston.  It is nowhere near as popular as other panaderias that I like, which will result in me going to Tierra Caliente more often to avoid the crowds and parking issues.  In the future, I plan to return to try some of their cakes and other dessert items and will update my review accordingly.

It's loud, it's too busy so the staff doesn't really pay attention if you go through the drive through, and they removed all the nice seating arrangements and looks like they pulled their current tables and chairs from some dumpsters.

However, the quality of the drinks and food is consistent with Starbucks quality, and it's the only one I know of in the area with a drive through, so it is useful in that regard.  However, I really just prefer to go elsewhere.  I could go to the Starbucks further up Post Oak in Uptown Park if I wanted to hang out, there are a few inside the Galleria, and if I want to run in and out quickly the one on Westheimer I believe off of Fountain View is sufficient.

The bottom line is that unless you are already in this shopping center or really need a drive through, you should avoid this Starbucks.

I ate here for lunch not too long ago and I have to say that I wasn't totally impressed.  This place was ok, but kind of meh in my opinion.  The food was not great, sort of Tex-Mexish.  The service was extremely slow.  The prices were too high for what you get.  Maybe this place is better for supper, but I probably won't really care to go there again.