Tex-Mex that’s a cut above
Rita’s Cantina prepares staples with love, flair
Rita’s Cantina felt right to me the moment I crossed the threshold. From the colorful festoons of papel picado swooping overhead to the crocheted table runners covered by clear, shiny plastic, the room telegraphed cozy Tex-Mex comfort.
So did the beaming smile worn by hostess and co-owner Judy Gonzalez, who with her chef-husband, Javier, operates one of those restaurants so vital to our civic well-being: the family-run Tex-Mex spot where everything is done with care, and where the flavors and textures speak to the Houston soul.
You’re not going to hear about the expertly marinated beef fajitas or the crackly shelled chicken flautas from a press release, or by way of Instagram postings from a hosted blogger dinner. Word of mouth passes instead from Rita’s neighbors, folks from around its Decker Prairie neighborhood, a semirural outpost northwest of Tomball. For residents of The Woodlands or Cypress, it’s not off the beaten track.
I first heard of Rita’s from friends in the Houston barbecue community. When Anthony Compofelice, J.C. Reid and “BBQ Bryan” Norton all sing the praises of a Tex-Mex joint, I am inclined to listen, even if it means a 43-mile jaunt.
I’ve always been delighted I made the pilgrimage, from my first taste of Javier Gonzalez’s earthy, roasted red salsa
onward. Its tart green salsa counterpart has a dusky dimension that is equally compelling.
Those fine table salsas are just one of the many painstaking details, from the handmade white-corn tortillas to the cuatro leches cake that rates among the best in the Greater Houston Metropolitan Statistical Area, so milky and rich under its not-too-sweet cloud of meringue that its $5.99 price tag seems like a bargain.
So do most of the prices at Rita’s, with many entrees hovering near the $11 mark. It remains possible here for a solo diner to order a single portion of beef fajitas — an increasingly rare option in these trying times of soaring beef costs. A personal sizzling cast-iron skilletful can by yours for $13.99, complete with caramelized onions and peppers (including red-ripe ones) and your choice of excellent tortillas.
Please note that Rita’s is one of the few places where the corn tortillas are so supple and delicately made that they can stand in for the usual flour wrappers so vital to a fajita feed. (Ask for both kinds to see for yourself.) And the skirt steak, after a multiday marination, turns out with a big, rounded umami flavor that is neither too salty nor too sweet. These may not be the medium-rare, hard-seared, steaklike fajitas of my dreams, but they are so tender and beefy that I can’t bring myself to care. My style preference flies out the window here.
The same goes for Gonzalez’s version of green enchiladas. I like my enchiladas verdes made with tomatillo sauce, bright and tart with a little heat and maybe some cilantro. At Rita’s, though, the chicken-fajita rolls come to the table clad in a bright-green purée that involves spinach and poblano chile, with tomatillo as more of a background note among the dark, vegetal ones. These enchiladas may not have been what I was expecting, but I liked them.
A friend had good things to say about portabellos cooked fajitastyle, so I ordered the meaty mushrooms in red enchilada form. From the stand-up ranchera sauce to the soothing blanket of jack cheese, I loved them. Better still: the tall chicken flautas fried to a blistery crackle in their thinly pressed, oversized corn-tortilla shells. The chicken filling itself was unusually well done, subtle and juicy and generous.
I’ve had good luck with some of the requisite Tex-Mex staples, from the beef fajita nachos to the white chile con queso, an add-your-own-pickledjalapeño affair that got better and thicker and saltier as it thickened and cooled. And yes, the frozen margaritas for which the restaurant takes it name are respectable ones that do not tilt too far into the sweet zone.
My single disappointment over three visits was the bacon-wrapped shrimp (Camarones Ardientes) that were nicely executed but failed to deliver a pop of oozy cheese with their jalapeño filling. Fine, but a bit … austere.
What is not austere — far from it — are the decorative platings from chef Gonzalez and company. Everything is garnished and detailed to a rather delightful fare-thee-well that adds a sense of innocent occasion to the most modest meal here.
The warm hospitality of Judy Gonzalez and her serving crew makes everyone feel like an instant regular. And the clientele is puro far northwest GMSA, from svelte Woodlands types to booted and hatted fellows who look like they just got off a tractor, or a horse.
Part of this menu’s appeal for the area is the presence of some more upscale (but moderately priced) offerings among the Tex-Mex standards. Gonzalez’s chef training comes into play with such dishes as Pollo Espinaca, a grilled chicken breast stuffed with spinach and cheese in a ranchera sauce; or a Salmon Relleno with crab and shrimp. There’s something for everybody — a boon in an area where restaurants are scarce — and there’s even breakfast every day.
I am more than willing to bet it’s really good.