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    New Mexican Restaurant

    New Mexican restaurant opens with serious homeland cred — and free taxi service for margarita nights

    Eric Sandler
    Sep 12, 2014 | 1:46 pm

    Houstonians should be well-accustomed to the idea of restaurateurs from Mexico opening locations in the Bayou City.

    La Casa del Caballo's original location is in Saltillo, and La Fisheria chef Aquiles Chavez moved to Houston from Mexico to open his seafood restaurant. Another seafood restaurant called Peska — an off-shoot of places in Mexico City and Acapulco — will open later this year near the Galleria.

    Locally, restaurants like Pico's, Hugo's and Cuchara all serve authentic Mexican cuisine that's as different from traditional Tex-Mex as Italian food is from French.

    To ensure that diners can enjoy an appropriate number of margaritas, the restaurant will pay for taxi service.

    All of which helps explain why Grupo Impulza, which operates 84 bars and restaurants across Mexico, chose Houston for its first American outpost. Newly opened La Bikina operates in an environment where diners are already primed to accept its traditional Mexican cuisine. Tacos al pastor and queso with chicharron are familiar flavors for all but the most stodgy diners.

    However, several things set La Bikina apart.

    The first is location. Rather than opening inside the Loop, La Bikina chose The Woodlands, where it hopes to appeal to the well-traveled population of oil and gas employees who are flocking to the northern suburb. Second, all of the restaurant's decor has been sourced from Mexico: From floor to ceiling including tables with custom glass holders built into the legs.

    The lyrics to the song that gives La Bikina its name are painted on the walls and Spanish-language hits mixed with American '80s classics play on the sound system. Eventually, trained songbirds will perform on the patio.

    While the cumulative effect might not be so dramatic to transport diners from The Woodlands to Mexico, the lively atmosphere sets the restaurant apart from some of its more staid neighbors. To ensure that diners can enjoy an appropriate number of margaritas, the restaurant will pay for taxi service within The Woodlands or subsidize it for trips back to Houston.

    Eventually, trained songbirds will perform on the patio.

    General manager Jorge Cabrera tells me that so far they're getting a good response for area residents. He's particularly happy that the location on Research Forest Drive is already something of a food destination thanks to the presence of both Japanese and Italian restaurants in the shopping center.

    "Americans are ready for this food," Cabrera says. "They travel. They know Acapulco." Furthermore, La Bikina isn't trying to be too avant garde. "Our dishes are a little step (from the familiar) with different flavors you're going to like," Cabrera says.

    While an organized tasting prior to dinner service doesn't demonstrate what the kitchen is like when its trying to satisfy a full dining room, my visit demonstrated that the food at least has potential to please. Credit chef Daniel Miranda, who trained in Mexico before coming to America to work at La Lupita in The Woodlands, for getting the food off to a solid start.

    Of the starters, the panuchos, black bean-stuffed corn tortillas topped with cochinita pibil (spiced pull pork) had a good balance with the pork, creamy beans and slightly crunchy tortilla. Instead of Tex-Mex queso, La Bikina serves its cheese bubbling-hot in a stone molcajete.

    Both tacos al pastor and a slow-cooked pork shank further demonstrate the kitchen's ability with that protein. Both preparations were flavorful and well-seasoned. Shrimp tempura tacos had a crispy batter and were nicely juicy, but the fried lobster tacos were a little chewy. Salmon served over black rice (dyed with squid ink) was a more successful seafood preparation — served properly medium with clams, chorizo and a mushroom sauce.

    La Bikina's churros are easily two-feet long, with a crunchy exterior and chewy interior. All of the three dipping sauces are good, but the dulce de leche is the table favorite.

    It's too soon to put the newcomer in the same league as Pico's or Hugo's, but La Bikina's style and flavors are reminiscent of the two local favorites. Woodlands residents looking for a change from Tex-Mex would be well advised to check it out.

    Start with panuchos: black bean-filled corn tortillas topped with cochinita pibil.

    La Bikina in The Woodlands tasting September 2014 Panuchos tacos 2
      
    Photo by © Jack Thompson
    Start with panuchos: black bean-filled corn tortillas topped with cochinita pibil.
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    news/restaurants-bars

    family-friendly outdoor bar

    Massive, German-inspired beer garden coming to new Energy Corridor project

    Eric Sandler
    May 13, 2025 | 5:31 pm
    Katy Beer Garden outdoor patio
    Photo by Eric Sandler
    The new beer garden will be similar to Katy Beer Garden.

    One of Houston’s most successful bar operators is bringing his talents to the Energy Corridor. Steven Salazar is opening Ashford Beer Garden at the Ashford Yard mixed-use development.

    Slated to open in early 2026, Ashford Beer Garden will build on the success Salazar has had with Katy Beer Garden, the project he opened last summer at The Dryer, a mixed-use development on the property of Katy’s historic Cardiff Rice Dryer. Like KBG, Ashford Beer Garden will be large — roughly 21,000 square feet — divided into a 10,000-square-foot indoor beer hall with a companion cocktail bar and a 11,000-square-foot outdoor beer garden that’s shaded by trees.

    “We’re sticking with that Bavarian charm,” Salazar says about his vision for Ashford Beer Garden. “Bring your family. It’s really relaxed. The kids are playing. You have multiple generations hanging out. It’s worked well in Katy. We’re excited to bring it to a new area.”

    Of course, the new project will make some improvements on the original. Most importantly, Ashford will have a full kitchen (KBG mostly relies on food trucks and a nearby food court). Salazar says he’s looking for a chef to lead the kitchen.

    In response to customer demand for private event space, Ashford Beer Garden will also have a larger second floor patio than KBG does. The beer garden will have a larger screen to make it easier for people to watch sports.

    Located on the site of a former Schlumberger campus near the intersection of Dairy Ashford Rd. and Briar Forest Dr., Ashford Yard is a 12.7-acre development that will include apartments, restaurants, and retail tenants. Salazar says he found his values aligned with the projects developers, Houston real estate firms Market Square Companies and Tenon Property Company.

    “We have a similar vision of quality for the community and creating a space and having great neighbors. Not being a strip center but a true development that’s above and beyond what the area has to offer,” Salazar says. Later, he adds, “It seems great for us to be surrounded by companies such as Shell and Baker Hughes and all these great neighborhoods."

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