900 tortillas per hour

Armandos' family-friendly, Tex-Mex sister restaurant serves up highly anticipated opening date in Bellaire

The wait is almost over for Bellaire residents who have been craving fajitas, burrito bowls, and margaritas. Palacios Murphy hospitality group will open Mandito's Tex-Mex on Thursday, April 13 (5101 Bellaire Blvd.).

Part of the restaurant group behind Armandos, the 45-year-old, River Oaks Tex-Mex institution, and Italian restaurant Lulu’s, Mandito’s is a more family-friendly establishment than its upscale sibling. Joining an original location in Round Top, the restaurant takes its name from the childhood nickname of co-owner Armando Palacios — “Mandito” is “little Armando.”

While Armandos is known for its fine dining aspects such as white tablecloths and its signature Thursday night dance parties, Mandito's will be a more family friendly establishment with a more casual atmosphere. It will still offer a high level of service and utilize technology such as a digital waitlist that allows customers to put themselves in line for a table via smartphone.

The menu centers around burritos, enchiladas, flautas, and fajitas as well as the signature burrito bowl, a clever reimagining of a taco salad with ground beef, steak, or chicken topped with lettuce, corn, cheese, avocado, beans, and more. Mandito's will also offer plant-based options such as the Tex-Mex Kale Salad, kale and mushroom tacos, and crispy tacos made with vegan Beyond Beef.

Pair them with a range of margaritas and house original cocktails. Mezcal expert Courtenay Greenleaf Torren consulted on the restaurant’s agave spirit offerings that includes raicilla, bacanora, mezcal, tequila, and sotol. Mandito’s “Make it a Margarita” offering allows diners to utilize any of those spirits in a margarita that comes with a choice of five different salts. In addition, a rotating frozen margarita will spotlight seasonal ingredients.

Inside, a BE&SCO Press and Oven greets diners. It will supply the restaurant with up to 900 tortillas per hour. Other design details include handmade straw light fixtures and custom prints by artist Sarah Shoemake. The dining room includes a 16-seat bar and a 42-seat, climate-controlled patio.

“We are thrilled to have the pleasure of introducing Mandito’s Tex-Mex to Bellaire and equally delighted to be able to reach new guests in the surrounding neighborhoods and greater Houston area.” Palacious Murphy COO Alex Curley said in a statement. “Our growth is focused on creating unforgettable guest experiences through genuine hospitality, amazing spaces, quality Tex-Mex cuisine, and an incredible beverage program. Mandito’s Tex-Mex in Bellaire provides us the perfect opportunity to do that, and our team can’t wait to open the doors and welcome the community.”

Mandito’s opens daily for lunch and dinner at 11 am.

Photo by Kirsten Gilliam

Mandito's is known for its burrito bowl.

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New York Times critic awards Houston restaurant 2 stars in glowing review

Courtesy of ChòpnBlọk

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Let’s just call 2025 the year of ChòpnBlọk. In a review published Tuesday, December 16, the New York Times has awarded the Houston restaurant two stars (“very good”).

Written by chief restaurant critic Tejal Rao, the review touts many of the same qualities that the Times already praised when it included ChòpnBlọk on its list of America’s 50 best restaurants.

Rao writes that she usually avoids restaurants that serve food in bowls, but she’s impressed by the way that chef-owner Ope Amosu has put a West African spin on the concept.

“For inspiration, Ope Amosu looked to the kind of chain restaurants that were built to scale, where flavors are often subdued to appeal to the broadest possible audience, focus-grouped to death. But the delight of ChòpnBlok is in its sure sense of self, its lively, multidimensional cooking and clear, delicious vision for modern food from the Black diaspora,” Rao writes.

She singles out specific dishes, including the Nigerian red stew with short rib, the Black Star bowl with shrimp, and the signature Motherland, made with chicken, greens, and plantains. “It’s utterly simple, but draws you in for more with the mouthwatering twang of not-too-much MSG — an international shortcut to building umami that tends to be used carefully, and layered with other forms,” she writes.

The review also touches on the way Amosu switched the restaurant from counter service to full service — described as “warm, informal, and quick with the jokes” — and his time working at Chipotle to learn the basics of the restaurant operations.

A two-star review is only the latest instance of ChòpnBlọk receiving national attention. In addition to the Times 50 best list, Esquire recently named it one of America’s best new restaurants. The Michelin Guide awarded it a Bib Gourmand designation for 2025. Amosu earned a semifinalist nomination for Best Chef: Texas in the 2025 James Beard Awards.

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