Las Ventanas [Houston, Texas]

Las Ventanas is at the SE quadrant of I-10 and Highway 6 on Grisby. That little development houses a number of restaurants and has done so for years. Pasta Lamonte and Lupe Tortilla have both been there for decades.

The location of Las Ventanas was home to The Grisby Grill for years and years. Also in that immediate are China River, Spice Runner, Watson’s Pub, Ginger Thai and a few others.

Anyway, Las Ventanas is a “sister” restaurant to Las Alamedas formerly at I-10 and Voss and now relocated out in Katy somewhere in @Jaymes neighborhood.

Anyway, I was there at 12:30 on a Tuesday and there were only two other tables occupied.

As this was my first visit, I ordered a combination plate with a crispy taco, cheese enchilada and tamale and of course, the requisite rice and beans.

The server warned me that the enchilada came covered in “gravy” as opposed to enchilada sauce. She struggled to describe it in any further detail but I carried forth. She didn’t lie. I am not sure how it’s made but it’s an opaque, (however not chile based), viscous sauce with not a lot of flavor. I suppose it’s a roux of some kind, but except for keeping the enchilada from drying out doesn’t seem to serve much purpose. The enchi was good though.

The tamale had been taken from it’s shuck and crisped up in a skillet, (I think). Kind of unique and very tasty. Quite different. The taco was OK, but the crispy shell hadn’t been toasted. I remember thinking that was kind of a slip-up.

All in all, I would give them another try if I was in the area, but not before I first went back to Pasta Lamontes, Lupe Tortillas, or tried Ginger Thai, Spice Runner and Watson’s Pub.

YMMV.

Let’s eat!

These two options are news to me. I’ve been to Lamonte a couple of times and it did not make it to my “where do we go for Italian?” list. The Lupe Tortilla is the original, I remember folks lining up at 5:00 decades ago for the margaritas and sandbox child diversion. It is 1000X better than all the pop-up franchises about town and still closes between lunch and dinner. Attended a celebration at Las Ventanas in a private room with fajitas which were okay, I did not know it was related to Las Alamedas. Were the cheese enchiladas $18? That’s what I remember about Las Alamedas. That, the margaritas and the lovely views.

We go to Las Alamedas out here in Katy a lot. Nice place. In particular, love the ceviche.

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