As a person who lives and eats in Houston, I already have a relationship with a number of Tex-Mex restaurants. I’m guessing you do, too. There are many in the city that offer tasty, satisfying food, and loyalty is often merely a result of proximity to your home, the strength of the margaritas and habit, food quality being more or less equal. And when you visit El Real for the first time, you might expect this restaurant to blow all the others out of the water due to its pedigree — chef Bryan Caswell and Bill Floyd of Reef and food critic Robb Walsh are the owners. But you shouldn’t. Tex-Mex at its best is a comforting, lard-laced exercise in simplicity and that’s what it is at El Real. Whether that’s a disappointment to you is a matter of expectations.

The menu is straightforward; expect fajitas served on sizzling comals, enchiladas and puffy tacos. All these items have history — greasy puffy tacos dripping with picadillo beef were born in San Antonio, the stacked enchiladas borunda smothered in guajillo chili are a West Texas phenomenon. The refried beans are replete with pork flavor thanks to rendered Revival Meats lard (as opposed to the hydrogenated grocery store kind) and a strong argument for a return visit. An in-house tortillaria is on view in a small glass booth, and the energy is festive in the cavernous, colorful two-story converted movie theater.

The truth is I am too young to have nostalgia for chili gravy. The food, while tasty and conceived with great attention to detail, didn’t strike me as particularly singular. While I recognized the poster-sized photo of Mama Ninfa on the wall, I didn’t know who Leo Reynosa Sr. was and I certainly feel no wistfulness towards them. Yes, youth can be ungrateful. But we also stay up very late, and that’s where we will show our appreciation. Located right on the Montrose/Westheimer strip, El Real will provide heaven-sent hangover food at 2 am on a Friday night. And for the Houstonians who remember Felix’s chili con queso, it will serve as a well-executed homage to the past.

El Real, 1201 Westheimer    713-524-1201   elrealtexmex.com