Back in the age when my friend Steve R was alive, he had a favorite Tex-Mex restaurant on Kirby in the River Oaks area called Jalapeños. Here’s an old review that describes it better than I could:
A visit to this bright Upper Kirby cantina decked out in eye-popping colors and playful artwork on the walls is always a fiesta. It hops at happy hour, which features more than 40 tequilas and most every Mexican beer. We like the innovative menu items like crawfish quesadillas, quail frito or outstanding spinach enchiladas—a dish that’s creamy and garlicky, with just the right amount of bite from poblano peppers. They’re evenly matched on a combo plate with corn enchiladas that are sweet yet spiked with onions. Seafood fans go for the extensive fresh fare from the Gulf, including snapper and shrimp Cancun, baked in a banana leaf. Traditional fajitas are even done right here: charred and tender with rosy centers and sizzling onions and peppers on the side.
One of the things not mentioned is that you might spot President George HW Bush and wife Barbara dining there (not a selling point for us, particularly at the height of the AIDS epidemic).
Back in those days, I didn’t eat Mexican food, or Tex-Mex, but I’d go with Steve and get something basic like nachos. One day, he persuaded me to try a bit of his spinach enchiladas, and I was hooked. It was the cilantro white sauce–not overly spicy like the red sauce usually on entrees, and I liked it so much.
Tom and I were sad when Jalapeños closed in 2005, because it became a favorite place to go with friends and for him to take his father when he visited Houston. I don’t know if it was last year or this year that I had reason to research it and discovered that one of the former chefs, Seco, had his own Mexican-Latin fusion restaurant in the Rice Village area called Seco’s, where it’s possible to get spinach enchiladas based on the old Jalapeños’s recipe.
We were in the area on Tuesday and picked up carryout that included the enchiladas, rice, and beans (I got the refried black beans; Tom had the charro beans). The spinach enchiladas don’t taste exactly as I remembered them, but they’re better than those I’ve gotten at any other restaurant, so I was full and happy.
It’s not near us, so I don’t know how often we’ll get food from there, but if you’re in Houston, it’s neatly tucked behind the Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream shop on Kirby. Give it a try!
My dentist is right behind that Ben & Jerry’s. I’ll have to mention the restaurant to John. Thank you 🙂
You’re welcome. If you get food from there, enjoy!
It doesn’t look particularly appetising, but that’s probably because it’s presented in polystyrene, but I’m sure it would look much better on the plate! And taste is the most important thing…
I did ask Tom if we should put it on plates before I photographed it, but we’d had a long day and we were both hungry. Function over form, in this case.