Historic Houston Restaurants

[dmil]

You might try contacting members of the Sartwelle family. I'm sure someone with the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo could provide you with contact information. I tried Google and Yahoo for restaurant information but had now luck. There probably was a café or restaurant there since most Stockyards and Livestock Auction facilities usually have one next door or nearby. Those cowboys got to have a decent place to eat a steak!

[Libbie]

I ate at Cardet's in the mid 70's. If my memory is correct, they were part of a Latin food market. Does anyone else remember? The food was good there.

 

I started eating at Cardet's in the late 1970s. The food was good, and the restaurant was attached to a little grocery store--Cuban, of course, like the restaurant--that sold normal groceries and also a few exotic vegtables, like malangas (google it), as well as Cuban records and even books.  I'm pretty sure the Cardet family originally lived above the store; in later years it appeared that the cook and her family lived there.

I would see Cubans and people who seemed to be from the West Indies shopping there. After the 1980 Mariel Boatlift catapulted a lot of destitute Cubans into the country, I noticed several new employees. The food, if possible, got even better. Then, in 1983, it was sold to some Koreans,who re-named it Latina Cafe (this name jarred a bit if you knew Spanish and caught the incorrect grammatical gender of Latina + Cafe). But they kept the same cook and wait staff. I remember seeing a diminutive oldish Cuban waiter upbraiding his Korean lady boss in Desi-Arnaz-rapid-fire Spanish (the time I remember it was something about that customer didn't want his milk-coffe pre-sweetened). The new Korean owners soon learned enough Spanish for self-preservation, and I remember seeing their pre-school daughter sitting at the counter, the pet of elderly Cubans doting on her. The Koreans tried a Korean dish or two but eventually reverted to all-Cuban food. I didn't go for several years. When I went back, the daughter was old enough to take my order! A few years later, I heard it had been sold to some Indonesians, who, fortunately, kept the menu and the cook. Not all that many years ago, it ceased to be Cuban/Korean/Indonesian/Cuban, and became The Roost. I ate there once. The food is quite good, but the place was too noisy for quiet conversation, at dinner time, anyway.

[Libbie]

Phil's is now known as 59 Diner.

 

Phil, the owner of Phil's, which did indeed relocate to Shepherd, off Richmond, and is 59 Diner, worked there as a host for a number of years after he retired. Around 1992, when my mother was 80-something, she went there to eat but had forgotten her purse. Phil (also 80-something) was there, hosting, and he lent her the price of her meal--a true gentleman!

[GEM]

Phil's..

[brucesw]

I stumbled on this last night while rummaging around, looking for a photo of the old Mrs. Baird's bakery on W. Gray (I get distracted easily).  Story Sloane writes this feature for Houston Lifestyles emag using some pictures from his great collection at Sloane Gallery and a couple of years ago published this one about old restaurants.

 

I know what the mystery cafe is.  I wonder if he's got all ten winners yet.

 

I'm still working my way through all the other articles but there are some great photos.

[brucesw]

I believe it was Los Troncos...try this site; it's loaded with info...http://blog.chron.com/bayoucityhistory/2010/07/los-troncos-restaurant/

 

 

Los Troncos has been talked about here, too.  I remember I posted a postcard, possibly earlier in this thread.

 

[Subdude]

Hi,

I just saw your post from over a year ago regarding Windswept Inn.... I remember that restaurant like it was yesterday... I grew up in Houston and we went there regularly back in the 70's... There was a skating rink next door to it.... ANy how, I believe that was Airline Drive that it was on....

That is where I first had Red Plum Jelly for the rolls... Do you remember them serving it in a little bowl with a spoon?

Do you remember the jukebox up against the wall by the front door?

The fried chicken had such a thick cruncghy batter on it.... and there was always more food to eat then people to eat it.... it was the BEST!!!! Oh the good ol days!!!!!!LOL

 

 

[Purpledevil]

Wow, Subsude, you never cease to amaze! That's the Windswept Inn building I remember. Certainly a far cry from what it looks like in its current incarnation as Tacos de Julio.

[Firebird65]

Wow, Subsude, you never cease to amaze! That's the Windswept Inn building I remember. Certainly a far cry from what it looks like in its current incarnation as Tacos de Julio.

 

The Wind Swept Inn is older than most people think. I can't give you an exact date of its opening, but I have found evidence that it was in business as far back as at least 1948, albeit at a different location.

 

In 1948, the Coles Directory listed the Wind Swept Inn's address as 9010 Airline. That's at Airline and Gulf Bank.

 

Sometime in the 1950s the restaurant moved to then U.S. 75 and about Rankin Road. I do not have a date for this because I only fully researched the area that corresponds with today's Aldine High attendance zone and Rankin Road is out side of that.

 

In 1963, the Wind Swept Inn moved to its final location at 10719 Airline. Judging from the date, I can guess the move had something to do with the construction of the North Freeway. Perhaps the land the restaurant was on had to be taken for the construction of the freeway and that forced the move? I don't know, but that's my guess.

[NenaE]

I would have guessed the Windswept was a late fifties bldg. The clues are the medium tan brick (as opposed to the 30's-40's light, yellow-tan brick), those high, rectangular sliding windows and the ornamental screen. The forties seemed to use a lot of white brick and/or black shiny tiles. 

[mkultra25]

Great pic! Thanks for posting this, Subdude!

[barry92]

Hello. First post from a newbie.  I used to live near the Oak Ridge area up I-45 in the mid to late 70s.  My folks would take us to a Mexican restaurant at the Robinson road exit.  Casa __________  I believe was the name.  Can anyone fill in the blank?  It was a chain, probably unremarkable, but I have some specific and fond memories of meals there.  There was another location on FM1960, in the vicinity of Stuebner Airline.

 

Thanks for any help.

Edited September 20, 2014 by barry92

[IronTiger]

Casa Olé? That's an unremarkable chain for you.

Edited September 20, 2014 by IronTiger

[barry92]

IT - no, definitely not Casa Ole.  This one doesn't seem to exist anymore.  Thanks though.

 

Edited September 21, 2014 by barry92

[IronTiger]

IT - no, definitely not Casa Ole.  This one doesn't seem to exist anymore.  Thanks though.

Casa Elena - had a Kingwood location

Casa Tomas - had a Woodlands location, gone by '93

 

Either of those sound familiar?

[barry92]

IT - BINGO!  Casa Elena.  Thanks very much!

[FilioScotia]

Iron Tiger:  MOST of Houston's Tex-Mex restaurants are unremarkable. They're adequate for a meal out, and you probably won't come home with food poisoning, but they're nothing to write home about. There are some that are better than adequate, and a small few that are simply great, even "remarkable, but I'm keeping their names to myself.

 

Nothing ruins a great restaurant quicker than spreading the word about how great they are. As Yogi Berra once said about a certain New York City restaurant he once frequented: "Nobody goes there anymore. It's too popular."

 

Just kidding. I will share the name of the single finest Mexican Restaurant I ever went to when we lived in Houston. Notice I said "Mexican." It isn't strictly Tex-Mex. It serves real Mexican food found in the southern region of Mexico's interior. On any given evening you will find most of the people eating there are Latinos.

 

The name is Romero's Las Brazas Mexican Kitchen. It's at Hwy 6 and Longenbaugh in Copperfield, about 2 miles south of 290.

 

http://romeroslasbrazas.com/

 

Check it out. It's worth the drive to Copperfield. I promise you won't be disappointed. When our son got married in 2006 we held the rehearsal dinner there. It was fantastic.

Edited September 22, 2014 by FilioScotia

[Subdude]

You know what Mexican restaurant I miss?  Las Alamedas on the Katy Freeway.  Going there always seemed like a special occasion.

 

We even had a special Las Alamedas song (to the tune of Guantanamera):

"Las Alamedas

We ate at Las Alamedas!

Las Alameeeeedas!

We ate at Las Alamedas.."

[IronTiger]

Las Alamedas closed in 2008, didn't it?

[barry92]

Iron Tiger:  MOST of Houston's Tex-Mex restaurants are unremarkable. They're adequate for a meal out, and you probably won't come home with food poisoning, but they're nothing to write home about. There are some that are better than adequate, and a small few that are simply great, even "remarkable, but I'm keeping their names to myself.

 

Nothing ruins a great restaurant quicker than spreading the word about how great they are. As Yogi Berra once said about a certain New York City restaurant he once frequented: "Nobody goes there anymore. It's too popular."

 

Just kidding. I will share the name of the single finest Mexican Restaurant I ever went to when we lived in Houston. Notice I said "Mexican." It isn't strictly Tex-Mex. It serves real Mexican food found in the southern region of Mexico's interior. On any given evening you will find most of the people eating there are Latinos.

 

The name is Romero's Las Brazas Mexican Kitchen. It's at Hwy 6 and Longenbaugh in Copperfield, about 2 miles south of 290.

 

http://romeroslasbrazas.com/

 

Check it out. It's worth the drive to Copperfield. I promise you won't be disappointed. When our son got married in 2006 we held the rehearsal dinner there. It was fantastic.

 

Great tip.  Thanks!

[ArchFan]

Las Alamedas closed in 2008, didn't it?

 

That sounds about right.  Someone (they, or at least family members) eventually opened another Las Alamedas in Cinco Ranch.  The setting is different and they have altered the menu, but the food is good and reminds me of the original location.  They also opened a place in Addicks called Las Ventanas, which strikes me as a bit more casual, but is also good.

 

As with any place that aspires to be "interior Mexican" here, they both have to walk a fine line between authenticity and appealing to Anglo-Texan tastes.  Fortunately, they both seem to also draw a large number of affluent Spanish-speakers from Mexico, which I guess helps them avoid having to turn the menu into Tex-Mex in order to stay in business.

[IronTiger]

Was it the recession or the widening of Katy Freeway that killed Las Alamedas?

[Ross]

Was it the recession or the widening of Katy Freeway that killed Las Alamedas?

More of a landlord issue, if I remember correctly.

[SpaceGhost]

Was it the recession or the widening of Katy Freeway that killed Las Alamedas?

 

Yeah the property owner died. The surviving family then opened a property dispute. So when the lease that was valid when the owner died, finally expired. A new lease couldn't be granted due to ownership disputes.

 

Eventually the restaurant just relocated. I believe they're out in Katy now. I'm not sure if a deal was ever met on the ownership of the property. Even if it was though, that strip of land is nothing like it once was in terms of businesses. So you'd probably be hard pressed to find someone willing to take that big of a lot that they'd have to tear down anyways. (I don't think that building has been maintained since 2009).

[fortbendtomontrose]

Does anybody around here remember Las Casuelas? The greatest Mexican food restaurant in Houston history? In a big old house at the corner of Fulton and Quitman out in the barrio on the near north side? I think it was even better than the original Ninfa's on Navigation.

 

 

I remember it well, or pretty well.    It was a great all night greasy spoon for menudo, caldo de res, etc. and as much atmosphere as I've ever experienced. 

 

BTW...there is still a Las Cazuelas on Little York in the Northside, but I have serious doubts it's affiliated in any way.

 

 

Edited December 31, 2014 by fortbendtomontrose

[KristinDaugherty]

I will share the name of the single finest Mexican Restaurant I ever went to when we lived in Houston. Notice I said "Mexican." It isn't strictly Tex-Mex. It serves real Mexican food found in the southern region of Mexico's interior. On any given evening you will find most of the people eating there are Latinos.

 

The name is Romero's Las Brazas Mexican Kitchen. It's at Hwy 6 and Longenbaugh in Copperfield, about 2 miles south of 290.

 

http://romeroslasbrazas.com/

 

Check it out. It's worth the drive to Copperfield. I promise you won't be disappointed. When our son got married in 2006 we held the rehearsal dinner there. It was fantastic.

Oooooh, thanks! Right around the corner from home.

[ArchMemoH]

What I want to know, off of Chimney Rock and Airport (current used car lot) /Hiram Clarke and West Fuqua are old buildings that resemble a chinese temple...I vaguely remember going in there as a kid but where they chinese restaurants?

 

 

They are all dry cleaners, along with Gessner @ Hammerly

[mollusk]

They are all dry cleaners, along with Gessner @ Hammerly

 

There was another on Memorial on the bend east of the beltway.

[brucesw]

I grew up near Hillcroft and Main Street.....

I remember an ice cream place on Hillcroft before you got to Braeswood on the corner in the same parking lot Rice used to be in...before that right past St. Thomas More Church, there was a place called Jacks Yogurt Stop that was the first place I ever tried Frozen Yogurt that was right before the Frozen Yogurt craze of the 90s...

 

Not sure why I haven't replied to this before but I can't find it - the ice cream parlor was either a Swenson's or a Carvel.  I only went once and I'm remembering old-timey ice cream parlor decor.

 

It's now a realtor's office, I think.

[ArchMemoH]

I just called the Jack In The Box corporate office, and they gave out a list of former locations.

 

 

 

 

601) 5832 King @ Browncroft; razed to Chevron

602) 4801 Almeda @ Arbor; remodeled Fitch Florist

603) 8327 Long Point @ Hillendahl; a restaraunt

605) 1902 North Main @ Hogan; razed to Dollar$ & Deal$

607) 3410 Old Spanish Trail @ Scott; razed to Texaco

608) 2709 Hillcroft @ Meadowglen; razed and replaced with 3625

610) 527 West Southmore @ Miami; remodeled Taqueria Sol de Jacisco

611) 5310 West Bellfort @ Chimney Rock; razed to Auto Zone

612) 1270 Spencer @ Perez; razed to Laredo National Bank, BBVA Compass Bank

613) 5302 Airline @ Tidwell; razed to a strip center

614) 12310 Kingsride @ Gessner; remodeled Papa Joe's BBQ, razed to Starbucks

616) 4302 Westheimer @ Midlane; razed to Bo Concept

617) 9310 Stella Link @ South Loop West; razed to parking lot of Discount Tire Company

619) 6109 Kirby @ Rice; remodeled Village Flowery/River Oaks Plant House

622) 2602 Shepherd @ Westheimer; razed to strip center

623) 1041 Uvalde @ East Freeway; Lone Star Title Loans

626) 2249 Strawberry @ Cherry Brook; * old fashioned hamburgers

628) 902 Decker @ West Texas; Pineapple Express

629) 3409 ella @ kempwood, prince's

636) 6901 Bellfort @ Wayside; was Cash Money Tax Services, empty

638) ?

639) 763 11st Street @ Stagg; Baskin Robbins

642) 14502 Memorial @ Dairy Ashford; was General Joe's Chopstix, razed to Burger King

643) 18001 El Camino Real @ Nasa; was Fish & Chicken, Daddio'z Pizza

648) 5127 Gulfway @ Dryen; was Yvonne's Mexican Imports, was G & Y Auto Sales, M & B Auto Sales

650) 1104 Jefferson @ San Jacinto; razed to Sacred Heart School

651) ?

652) 4302 Lockwood @ Cavalcade; razed to Auto Zone

655) 10804 Behmer; razed to Domino's Pizza

656) 11602 Bellaire @ Belle Park; was Belle Park Auto Sales; razed to strip center

657) 1410 Nederland @ 14th Street; remodeled Cook's Nursery

661) 163 Highway 6 @ Katy Freeway; razed to executive autos

662) 3333 Red Bluff @ Orel; Lone Star Title Loans

682) 2222 Navarro @ Park; Texas Seafood

688) 1190 Dallas @ West Davis; empty

699) 20251 Katy Freeway; razed to NTB

3604) 1601 West Main @ Gulf Freeway; Title Max

3607) 801 Main Street @ Rusk; inside a building

3610) 5602 Richmond @ Chimney Rock; Title Max

3611) 5104 Kirby @ Westpark; remodeled for Amazon Grill

3637) 5850 Eastex Freeway @ Dowlen; remodeled Mattress Firm

3639) ?

3649) 15802 Northwest Freeway @ Senate; razed for the Northwest Freeway lanes

3651) 7203 East Freeway @ Highway 62; empty

3900) 17203 East Freeway @ Magnolia; Franklin Motors

3902) 2527 Clinton @ Galena Manor; was Boston Seafood Steakhouse, Texas Star BBQ

3916) 631 Highway 146 @ 7th Street; Nautic

3926) 160 Main @ Allen/Raider; empty

4712) 2327 Texas @ Glynn; empty

4740) 203 northwest georgia, 79556

4741) 2709 north bryant, 76901

4757) 2002 east overland, 79601

4814) 4901 quaker, 79413

4821) 5270 4th, 79416

4822) 583 west university, 79401

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 14, 2016 by ArchMemoH