Never mind the construction work still going on in the parking lot next door: B4-u-eat guesses El Real Tex Mex No. 7 will open quietly at 1201 Westheimer this Saturday — well, at least for a broadcast of the Southbound Food radio show. Actual opening date for the vintage Tex-Mex venture put together by Bryan Caswell, Robb Walsh, and Bill Floyd in the old Tower Theatre? Uh, “soon.” Chefs were busy pouring on the lard, and waiters were getting some training there earlier this week. If you’re looking for El Reals Nos. 1 through 6, you’ll need to wait a bit longer.
- Ramping Up: Waiter Training [El Real Tex Mex]
- Previously on Swamplot: Lard Almighty: Tower Theatre’s Coming Attraction Is Grease II, Critic’s Choice: Tower Theatre Will Go Tex-Mex, The Tower Theatre Puts No Name in Lights, Drive-By and Walk-By Reports on the Tower Theatre’s New Headliner, What’s Playing at the Tower Theatre?, Going Attractions: Hollywood Video Gives Up on the Tower Theatre
Photo: Candace Garcia
Culturemap reports opening will be today or tomorrow.
The tower lives…
I’m not sure I’ve ever been this excited about a restaurant opening. Some amount of disappointment is probably inevitable.
It sort of looks like the bizzaro world version of El Rey.
Bring back Felix’s all-time special!
If I’m not mistaken, Nos. 1 through 6 were the various Felixes around town over the years; No. 7 is yet another of El Real’s homages to the place.
Glad to see this awesome building put to good use.
Just hope the food lives up to the hype.
I gave my arteries a pep talk this morning, in anticipation of our first foray to el Real.
MoMong’s customers normally fill that tiny parking lot up pretty fast as it is. Parking situation isn’t going to be pretty.
Parking was painful (valet didn’t accept a tip, though!), but food was on a par with the best of Felix’s; I think they may even have bought the old Felix chairs! Enchiladas with a fried egg on top… and old John Wayne movies on the wall… Good all around!
I read that Mr. Caswell wanted to re-create Tex-Mex
food as it was like 50 yrs. ago. I hope he can duplicate Felix’s Chili con Carne dip! It was totally different than ANY other. It was NOT Velveeta based. Many people used to have Felix Fed-Ex it to all parts of the country. I sent it many times to relatives in the Florida Keys and North Corolina.
Can’t wait to try this new place after they get the opening kinks worked out.