mucho margs

Where to eat and drink on Cinco de Mayo: Houston's favorite bars and restaurants fire up feisty fiestas

Raise a margarita at River Oaks hot spot Armandos' two-day Cinco de Mayo bash.

Photo courtesy of Armando's

It's time for Houstonians to celebrate the historic day on May 5, 1862. That date marks the Mexican army's pivotal defeat of the French army at the Battle of Puebla, during the Franco-Mexican War. Contrary to popular perception, May 5 is not Mexican Independence Day, but Cinco de Mayo is a time-honored calendar date in the U.S.

And it's a time to party. Here in Houston, that means local bars, clubs, and restaurants will serve up Mexican fare, beer, and mucho margaritas. Here are some favorite spots for a serious Cinco de Mayo celebration. Fiesta safely, Houston.

Legendary River Oaks hot spot/see-and-be-scene hang Armandos kicks things off on Thursday, May 4 with the restaurant's now-legendary, anything-goes, late-night dance party.

The fiesta continues on Cinco de Mayo proper, with one more late-night bash a DJ spinning danceable tunes. Indulge in classic sips or the extravagant River Oaks Rita ($46), made with Jose Cuervo Reserva de la Familia Tequila, Patron Citronge, fresh lime juice, agave, a house-made “green” salt rim, and a 24-carat gold lime slice.

Tacos A Go Go is spicing things up with irresistible specials and a party on the patio at its Greenway Plaza location. Taco lovers can head to any of the four locations to enjoy $5 elote street corn, $2 Mexican sandy shots, $5 Ranch Water or a bucket of 6 for $25. 7 am.

The five Los Tios bustling locations will serve an all-day happy hour, featuring the famous $5 house margaritas, $6 gold margaritas, plus $1 off beers, plus merch giveaways. Those near the flagship San Felipe location can enjoy a Cinco de Mayo Parking Lot Party from 2 pm to close. Those festivities include a DJ, mariachi, a live donkey for photo opps, food, and more.

Over at Home Run Dugout, enjoy $4 Mexican Beers, $4 Mexican candy shots and $12 margarita flights. Stick around for live music by Los Cool Arrows, starting at 7 pm, and surprise contests with your chance to win a Home Run Dugout gift card. 11 am.

Hilton Americas-Houston will offer a Tacos and Tequila pairing. Enjoy two Blackened Gulf Snapper tacos with avocado crema and charred jalapeño lime slaw and a Classic Margarita with House Tequila for $25. Available at Lobby Bar and 1600 Bar + Grille.

All the Molina’s Cantina locations will have $6.50 Molina’s margaritas during happy hour and mariachis from 6 to 8 pm. To eat, choose from grilled fajitas with beef, chicken, or combo. 11 am.

The Rustic will have live music, drink specials, food features and more! This free event will also feature $5 margaritas (frozen or rocks), $5 Dos Esquis drafts, and $20 Dos Esquis beer buckets. 11 am.

Over at The Union Kitchen's Memorial location, indulge in a mouth-watering three-course dinner for $60, and savor the flavors of Mexico. 11 am.

Chic Montrose Italian steakhouse Marmo will serve up the Margherite ($18), a special, off-menu cocktail featuring Corazón Blanco tequila, cantaloupe, honey, and smoked salt. 11 am.

Axelrad will feature two drinks with Gimmie Gomas, a locally made chamoy. Customers can also enjoy $1 off margaritas all day and enjoy live music starting at 7pm from Mariachi Imperial de America and Andrea Mariachi. Noon.

Houston, Axelrad, April 2016, patio The party is always brewing at Axelrad. Photo by Jamaal Vince Photography

Authentic Mexican eatery Arnaldo Richards’ Picos — or Picos, as it's commonly known — will celebrate outside in the parking lot underneath a 50-foot tent from noon to 11 pm. Look for a cash bar full of Cinco de Mayo drinks and margaritas, a food station offering street tacos, ballpark nachos, and guacamole and chips for purchase, and more. Tunes come courtesy of two DJs and a mariachi band from 6-7 pm. Be sure to grab the goodies and swag. Noon.

Heights Thai favorite Kin Dee will shake it up with two, award-winning margaritas — with a buy two, get one free special from 5 pm to 6:30 pm. Try a sweet and spicy Tom Kha Margarita ($18), featuring Don Julio Blanco, lime juice, Thai herb-infused syrup inspired by the famous Tom Khaki soup, and a kick of galangal. The Butterfly Pea Margarita ($18) is made with Don Julio Silver, Cointreau, fresh lime, and butterfly tea infused with lemongrass syrup.

La Grange will open early, with DJ Blue Heron Yacht Club providing tunes from 7 pm to midnight. The Montrose hotspot will also serve up a special cocktail, called Millionaire Margarita, for $25. Noon.

Downtown favorite El Big Bad's 13th annual blowout will feature liquid nitrogen frozen margaritas — touted as “the coldest frozen margaritas on the planet” — along with $5 house margaritas all night long. In addition, the night will offer a holiday market, face painting, and DJs. The party continues on May 6 with a charity pub crawl (3-7 pm) that benefits MuXerHTX. 1 pm.

Kirby Ice House will celebrate the festive holiday in style with tequila, margaritas, and Mexican beer buckets all day and night. Partygoers who stop by the Memorial or Eastside locations can also enjoy the mariachi bands that will be onsite. Happy hour specials run from 2-7 pm.

The Heights Social will have festive Cinco de Mayo-themed drinks, a special kitchen menu and featured deals on bottles of tequila. A DJ will join the festivities in the evening. 3 pm.

Warehouse 72 will have chef Jaime Salazar’s special, four-course Tres Generaciones Tequila dinner for $99 a person. Enjoy dishes like aguachile de atun, sopes de pollo ahumado, wagyu carne asada, and tres leches cake for dessert. 3 pm.

Bar Louie is offering $7 Dos Sauza margaritas, plus guests can also enjoy the brand-new Rock & Rita on this special holiday. Pair these refreshing drinks with 50% off bar bites such as the trio dips & chips, chicken quesadillas, and other flavorful options. 4 pm.

Cadillac Bar will have a party DJ, along with a mariachi band so you can enjoy live music all night long and dance the night away. There will also be a taco stand with street tacos, cantina nachos, chips & queso, and chips & salsa. 4 pm.

East End Backyard will have a fiesta with music, food, and drinks. Enjoy tacos, tortas, gorditas, quesadillas, and more from La Esquina Food Truck. Mariachi Houston will also stop by to play some of your favorite classic songs. 4 pm.

Hilton Americas-Houston will have a tacos and tequila pairing at the lobby bar and 1600 Bar + Grille. Enjoy two blackened Gulf snapper tacos with avocado crema and charred jalapeno lime slaw and a classic margarita with house tequila for $25. 4 pm.

Houston Cinema Arts Society is teaming up with The Storyhive for "Cinco de Hive-o" bash. Join them for an evening of entertainment featuring Folklorico dance by Ballet Folklorico Herencia Mexicana de Houston, a photo booth, and some fantastic raffle prizes. 5 pm.

Urban South HTX will have a celebration, with a DJ, a taco truck, beer releases, a michelada vendor, a Mexican candy vendor, and more. Also, sign up to paint your very own canterito to take home. 5 pm.

Down on Allen Parkway, Flora will celebrate with festive decor, $8 Flora margaritas, and free pours of Santanera Tequila. In addition, its private dining room will become the Frida Patio Bar. 6-10 pm.

Cinco de Mayo Parties holidays news-you-can-eat

Rising Star

Houston restaurateur dishes on swapping Tex-Mex for new retro steakhouse

Photo by Eric Sandler

Star Rover is now open in the Heights.

Restaurateur Ford Fry surprised Houston diners when he announced in January that he was closing his Tex-Mex restaurant Superica and replacing it with Star Rover, a casual, family-friendly steakhouse. With Star Rover now open for dinner and weekend brunch, Fry — who also owns Star Rover's neighbor La Lucha, casual taqueria Little Rey, and River Oaks fine dining restaurant State of Grace — explains that the decision came down to both economics and his own desire to provide the Heights with something he thought was lacking.

“This was our smallest Superica. Superica for us takes so much — every day you’re making salsas, tortillas, it’s so prep heavy,” Fry says. “We weren’t big enough to be that successful. We didn’t have enough seats to make the labor make sense.”

Rather than compete against Houston’s seemingly limitless roster of Tex-Mex restaurants, Fry saw an opportunity for a steakhouse that occupied a space somewhere between chains like Texas Roadhouse and Outback and fine dining staples like Pappas Bros. Enter Star Rover, which already has a popular location in Nashville.

Just as La Lucha channels Fry’s childhood memories of the San Jacinto Inn, Star Rover takes some inspiration from iconic Houston restaurant Hofbrau. Diners of a certain age will see places like Hofbrau in the restaurant’s design. The walls are adorned with framed pictures, taxidermy, vintage advertising, and more.

“The inspiration is if you were some old Texas dude who wanted to start a steakhouse you’d find a bunch of crap and put it on the walls,” Fry says. “We want to make it cool, but it’s got to take you away from what it was. Did we achieve that? I hope so.”

Fry tasked chef Bobby Matos with updating the Star Rover menu for Houston. It starts with a selection of steaks — chopped, filet, T-bone, ribeye, or skirt — along with a half-chicken, blackened redfish, and chicken fried chicken. All of them come with milk rolls, salad, fries, and onion rings. Diners who want a little surf and turf can add either a crab cake or a fried lobster tail.

The appetizer menu is similarly tidy, consisting of shrimp cocktail, oysters (raw or fried), potato skins, and vegetable crudités. Desserts include a selection of pies as well as soft serve ice cream.

Since the steaks are thinner than those served at upscale steakhouses, they’re cooked hot and fast on a plancha and basted in butter.

“We control the costs by the size of the meat,” Fry explains. “Meat is so expensive, how do you do a family-friendly steakhouse? It’s a 12-ounce ribeye and it’s choice. We put the right amount of age on it.”

Tucked away in the corner of the menu is text that reads “Cheeseburger?! Just ask!” People should, because it’s a hearty half-pound, New York tavern-style burger that sits on grilled onions, is topped with cheese and mayonnaise, and is served on a classic potato bun. Think of it as the thick-patty counterpart to La Lucha’s thin-patty Pharmacy Burger.

“I call it a lowbrow steakhouse burger,” Fry says. “It’s not a Peter Luger, but it may be better and it won’t cost as much.”

Star Rover’s weekend brunch menu features the same pancakes that had been a staple at Superica. They’re joined by some new items, including baked-to-order cinnamon rolls, breakfast tacos, and kolaches that use sausage from Houston’s Roegels Barbecue Co.

Photo by Eric Sandler

Star Rover is now open in the Heights.

The restaurant has one other old-school touch in the form of an eating challenge called the “I Ate the 76er.” Available with 24 hours notice, diners who finish a 76-ounce steak, milk rolls, salad, onion rings, and fries in under an hour will receive the meal for free, plus a t-shirt and the opportunity to sign a winners’ wall. The challenge reflects the spirit Fry is bringing to Star Rover.

“A lot of it is scratching that itch of something fun I want to do versus what I think the neighborhood will like,” he says. “We did a version of this in Nashville with a stage. It’s where I eat when I’m in Nashville, because it’s what I want to eat when I’m there.”

news-you-can-eat openings the-heights interview