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    TMX Update

    Ronnie Killen teases surprising ingredient in his new Tex-Mex restaurant

    Eric Sandler
    Oct 26, 2018 | 11:45 am

    Ronnie Killen has changed at his mind. Or, at least, shifted his focus.

     

     Killen’s TMX, the restaurant he’s opening next month in Pearland, will still serve Tex-Mex classics like queso (both white and yellow), enchiladas, fajitas, and margaritas, but that’s not all it will serve. Instead, Killen wants to focus on the regional Mexican dishes he’s become inspired by over the past five months.

     

    Taken together, Killen wants TMX to be as different from most Tex-Mex restaurants as Killen's STQ is from regular steakhouses. That’s the lesson he learned from opening Killen’s Burgers — a pretty good version of a familiar cuisine isn’t good enough. Diners have higher expectations for the chef’s restaurants.

     

    “A lot of people are going to be expecting a Pappasito’s, or a Gringo’s, or a Ninfa’s,” Killen tells CultureMap. “I talked to [Gringo’s owner] Russell Ybarra for a long time. He told me people come for queso, cheese enchiladas, fajitas, and margaritas . . . I’m going to have my own spin on it and make it more regional Mexican cuisine."

     

    Later in the conversation, he makes his goals clear. “I’m shooting for a top 10 restaurant again,” he says. “I’m a competitive person. I want it to be a destination restaurant, where people go because they know I’ve done my homework.”

     

    That homework has involved trips to both Cabo San Lucas and Mexico City where Killen has taken cooking classes and dined at restaurants like Pujol and Quintonil — widely considered two of the finest Mexican restaurants in the world. During those travels, he’s developed an appreciation for different styles of mole, salsa, and other dishes that aren’t part of the Tex-Mex cannon.

     

    “This is completely out of my comfort zone,” the chef says. “Getting outside of what you [normally] do is fun. As a chef, you love to learn. You love to taste different methods and [experience] different cooking techniques.”

     

    Diners who stop by Killen’s Barbecue this week may get to taste one of his experiments, a barbacoa beef rib that gets smoked then braised. At Killen’s TMX, it would be served with homemade corn tortillas and a version of elotes.

     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     
     
     
     View this post on Instagram
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     

     Beef ribs. Working on a new menu item, could be on to something?

     

    A post shared by Ronnie Killen (@ronniekillen) on

     

    Oct 25, 2018 at 6:38am PDT

     
     
     

    Trips to Cabo have inspired Gulf seafood dishes prepared in the style of the city’s cuisine. Killen thinks that adding the smoke element will help TMX stand out from other Mexican restaurants in the Houston area.

     

    “I’ve been to Xochi and Caracol. I’ve tried a lot of their food,” he says. “I don’t think people will think I’m copying Hugo. It’s not going to be like that. It’s going to be different. That’s what makes it interesting and fun.”

     

    Killen also wants to empower his cooks by asking them to contribute dishes to the menu that reflect where they’re from. If one of them comes up with an especially strong dishes, it will go on the menu with his name, as in, “enchiladas de Torres.”

     

    “As a cook or sous chef, having your menu item on the menu, that’s what drove you. It was always an honor,” he says. By putting a cook’s name on the dish, “they get to take ownership and pride in it . . .Those culinaries make us who we are, and I want to glorify them.”

     

    Beyond the food, Killen wants TMX’s interior to look and feel Mexican, too. Initial plans for only minimal renovations have given way to a more elaborate remodeling that includes tiles, tables, chairs, sconces, lighting fixtures, and other design elements sourced from Mexico.

     

    “Our glassware is from Guadalajara, it’s all hand-blown,” he says. “I never thought I’d spend this much on glassware; it’s almost more expensive then Riedel stems.”

     

    Deedee Killen’s, the chef’s ex-wife and partner in Killen’s Steakhouse, will lead a beverage program focused on tequila and mezcal. She will also bring her experience as a partner in acclaimed Clear Lake-area bar Rosewater to the restaurant’s cocktail offerings.

     

    “It’s going to be a cool place,” Killen says. “I can’t wait for it to open.”

    Ronnie Killen has big plans for TMX.

    Ronnie Killen head shot
      
    Photo by Robert Jacob Lerma
    Ronnie Killen has big plans for TMX.
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    What's Eric Eating Episodes 474 and 475

    Houston chef dishes on his comeback restaurant in Memorial

    CultureMap Staff
    Jul 7, 2025 | 6:00 am
    Latuli exterior
    Photo by Frank Frances
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    On the most recent episode of “What’s Eric Eating,” chef Bryan Caswell and his business partner Allison Knight join CultureMap editor Eric Sandler to discuss Latuli, their new restaurant in Memorial.



    Open since late May, the new establishment is a bit of a comeback for Caswell, the Houston chef who earned a James Beard Award finalist nomination and a Food & Wine Best New Chef Award for Reef, his pioneering Gulf Coast seafood restaurant. He also operated Stella Sola, an Italian restaurant, and El Real Tex-Mex Cafe.

    Caswell discusses the way that all of those influences play out on Latuli’s menu. “At the end of the day, you want to give people what they what. Some of those are things I love. They’re a huge part of my life. There are stories and anecdotes that go along with the crab cake or the mac and cheese, all those different things that I had throughout my career that people love. I wanted to have some of that,” he says.

    “What people don’t see is the evolution of those dishes. Even though they might have had them at one point, they’ve still been tweaked and perfected along those 15 to 20 years. A lot of them we’re doing differently, or we’ve added something.”

    Knight brings a background in both finance and commercial real estate to the restaurant. Sandler asks her about the restaurant’s size, which includes a spacious dining room, an adults-only bar and lounge, a covered patio, and a second-floor private dining room.

    “Part of it was a function of the real estate. We did purchase the real estate,” she says. “Before that, we had to make sure we’d generate enough revenue to support the costs, which meant a certain number of seats. Starting from scratch gave us the opportunity to do what is right for the restaurant, rather than trying to fit a square peg in a round hole . . . It was a larger project than I intended, but it gave us the opportunity to check a lot of boxes.”

    Listen to the full episode to hear Caswell talk about the lessons he’s learned that throughout his career that have been applied to Latuli. Knight also shares her vision for the restaurant’s future.



    In another recent episode, Sandler and co-host Chelsea Thomas discuss the news of the week. Their topics include Thomas Bille winning Best Chef: Texas in the James Beard Awards, Tristen Epps winning Top Chef, and Austin’s Emmer & Rye Hospitality’s plans to open a restaurant in Houston.

    In the restaurant of the week segment, Thomas and Sandler recap their meal at King Steak, the new, casual steakhouse near the Galleria. They find some highs as well as areas for improvement.

    -----

    Subscribe to "What's Eric Eating" on Apple podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Hear it Sunday at 9 am on ESPN 97.5. 

    Latuli is now open in Memorial.

    Latuli exterior
      
    Photo by Frank Frances
    Latuli is now open in Memorial.
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