Jalapeños at 2702 Kirby, just south of Westheimer, was an Upper Kirby favorite for years that succumbed to development at the end of 2005. Pondicheri among others rests on its ashes today. I wrote in the first edition of Houston Dining on the Cheap that “Jalapeños is back among the better Mexican restaurants in town. In fact, Jalapeños is, overall, one of the best Mexican restaurants in town.” Its spinach enchiladas were the first dish I recommended and were among my favorites there.
Those can be found at Seco’s Latin Cuisine tucked away in a small house on Nottingham, a stone’s throw from Kirby, and not far north from the Rice Village. Owned by the former chef at Jalapeños who has had Seco’s for about fifteen years now, which has a menu that has morphed over those years to one that is nearly fully Tex-Mex, if with a decided accent from the 1990s or so. Chief among that vibe is Chef Seco’s Famous Original Spinach Enchiladas. Featuring, rather unusually, flour tortillas that are filled with roughly chopped spinach and a mild cheese then topped with a cilantro cream sauce and served with lightly Spanish rice and choice of refried black beans or charro beans. The enchiladas taste comfortable to me – and an order in which I can try to believe I am eating healthy – and readily enjoyable with spinach that’s verdant but not overpoweringly herbaceous nor harsh, and the flour tortillas carry a surprisingly light touch, even with a cream sauce atop. It is a taste of Houston restaurant history, albeit not too distant one, but a remainder to me how much has changed in the local dining landscape in the past couple of decades.
Seco’s is set in an old house with several small rooms. It is quaint, and there are very few parking spaces at the restaurant. You should be able to find parking easily across the street, though.
Seco’s Latin Cuisine
2536 Nottingham (just east of Kirby), 77005, (713) 942-0001
secoslatincuisineinc.com
Just $12.99 and with chips and salsa, of course
Those can be found at Seco’s Latin Cuisine tucked away in a small house on Nottingham, a stone’s throw from Kirby, and not far north from the Rice Village. Owned by the former chef at Jalapeños who has had Seco’s for about fifteen years now, which has a menu that has morphed over those years to one that is nearly fully Tex-Mex, if with a decided accent from the 1990s or so. Chief among that vibe is Chef Seco’s Famous Original Spinach Enchiladas. Featuring, rather unusually, flour tortillas that are filled with roughly chopped spinach and a mild cheese then topped with a cilantro cream sauce and served with lightly Spanish rice and choice of refried black beans or charro beans. The enchiladas taste comfortable to me – and an order in which I can try to believe I am eating healthy – and readily enjoyable with spinach that’s verdant but not overpoweringly herbaceous nor harsh, and the flour tortillas carry a surprisingly light touch, even with a cream sauce atop. It is a taste of Houston restaurant history, albeit not too distant one, but a remainder to me how much has changed in the local dining landscape in the past couple of decades.
Seco’s is set in an old house with several small rooms. It is quaint, and there are very few parking spaces at the restaurant. You should be able to find parking easily across the street, though.
Seco’s Latin Cuisine
2536 Nottingham (just east of Kirby), 77005, (713) 942-0001
secoslatincuisineinc.com
Just $12.99 and with chips and salsa, of course
