Galveston's Original Mexican Café
Written: Oct 28 '05 (Updated Jun 23 '06)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Old, established restaurant serving good traditional Tex-Mex fare.
Cons: Crowded with the medical drones during weekday lunchtimes.
The Bottom Line: The Bottom Line never tasted such good tamales.
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| counsel's Full Review: Texas Gulf Coast |
Galveston's Historical East End provides much fodder for the history buff - beautifully restored Victorian homes, shaded walks with monuments to events long past, names and streets which stir the minds of anyone with a historical bent - and a cafe', 84 years old, that's the oldest continuously operating restaurant on the island.
Oddly, it's a Tex-Mex restaurant on 14th and Market. Tex-Mex restaurants are fixtures in Texas, but they are not typically historical fixtures. The Original Mexican Café distinguishes itself not just by its historical location and ambiance, but by its very good traditional menu and food preparation regime.
Located in the East End Historical District, the Original was founded in 1916 by Raymond Guzman at the spot where it sits now. My wife and I lived but two blocks away during our first year of marriage (in the servants' quarters of a large Victorian mansion on 16th and Market). We walked to the Original, sitting in the midst of this Victorian neighborhood, several times that year, and enjoyed the food as much then as we did during a recent weekend, when we paid a visit to Galveston Island for a much-needed break.
The Original has had only three proprietors since Seńor Guzman departed. The café's premises, once old and run-down, have been renovated and provide a great deal of Tex-Mex charm and ambiance for the first-time visitor. The predominant colors are a sort of burnt maroon and forest green throughout; small wooden tables and chairs speckle the floor and a few booths line the walls. There's separate spaces for smokers and non-smokers. As the place sits in a residential area, most patrons come from the surrounding neighborhood. Their presence is marked during peak hours with temporary influxes from the nearby University of Texas Medical Branch and the adjunct hospitals, just a few blocks away - the place is full of scrubs then, wolfing down fajitas, mainly, while the more traditional dishes go untouched.
When we were there, we were courteously greeted by the mostly-Latino staff and seated. To my dismay, I neglected to check the "specials" blackboard, or I would have immediately ordered the Barbacoa - a long-time traditional dish [see note below]. Appetizers included Chili Con Queso, Guacamole, Taquitos served with guaco and sour cream, and stuffed jalapenos. We grabbed some guaco (very good, btw) and used it to supplement our hot chips and The Original's excellent, excellent homemade salsa (hot, but not too, and great flavor). Their menu is substantial, and I urge you to check out their web site at www.galveston.com/theoriginal to view all the choices. The prices are the usual low- to mid-level prices one usually finds at a Tex-Mex restaurant in Texas. I chose the tamales, because I sensed that the people here would know how to make them properly, and tamales - to me - are an acid test of Tex-Mex culinary skill. If you take note, many Tex-Mex establishments don't even offer tamales. Coincidence? I think not.
I wasn't wrong. While I was but a young stripling at college, a sainted lady named Mrs. Contreras made this huge batch of tamales for a group of us guys that came down to visit her at her place near Blanco twice a year. We cleaned her yard up (her son ran some kind of auto salvage place, and the junk sort of spilled over into her yard) and took the stuff to the dump. When we got back, she loaded us down with tamales - lord, it was from the Mexican gods themselves - perfect, creamy corn masa and thick shredded pork and other stuff in the center, all wrapped in damp, steamy corn husks. I judge all tamales I eat by the ones I got from Mrs. Contreras. I think she worked harder at making the tamales than she would've had she cleaned the yard herself - really good tamales are a big job.
The Original did not let me down. Thick with soft, fragrant corn masa, the tamales were wrapped in corn husks and had a side of chili sauce. The sauce was unremarkable, but the tamales themselves were great . . . the masa wrapped itself around just the right combination of shredded pork mixed with Tex-Mex unmentionables - you know, the good stuff; the stuff that makes northerners say "Ewww!" Think menudo; think chichirones, you'll get my drift. It was great.
My wife had fajitas. They were good, but not remarkable - I have tasted better beef marinade recipes at Pappasito's and At The Border, both Tex-Mex chain restaurants.
I think that if you go with the traditional Tex-Mex dishes (tamales, enchiladas, tacos, or some of their combinaciones) you can't go wrong at The Original. I really missed a chance with the Barbacoa, and I don't know of too many places that serve it. I'll be back again for that.
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[note] Barbacoa, also known as barbacoa de cabeza, is a traditional Mexican dish made from the head of a cow. Traditionally prepared by ranch hands in Mexico and south Texas, there's a bit of ceremony surrounding its preparation, and it's usually eaten on Sunday mornings. It was late Sunday morning when we visited the Original, so it would have been perfect. It tastes great, despite how it looks when you first buy it at the butcher's. You normally prepare it outdoors in a pit; it's wrapped with vegetables and spices in a burlap bag and buried in coals. It cooks for about 12 to 14 hours (thus the morning thing; preparation begins on a Saturday evening).
I recommend The Original Mexican Café for any person visiting Galveston and wanting a change from all the seafood offerings.
EXTRA NOTE:If you want to know the details concerning one of the greatest of cuisines by two excellent people who know what of they speak, check aggiebrett's and mshawpyles' meta-Tex-Mex descriptions here. Curtisedmonds' fine offering on the subject, In a Narrow Booth is also available for your education and enjoyment.
Recommended:
Yes
Best Suited For: Families
Best Time to Travel Here: Anytime
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Epinions.com ID:
counsel
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 - Top 1000 |
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Member: Dwight
Location: Houston
Reviews written: 117
Trusted by: 499 members
About Me:
If I smell flowers, I start looking around for a coffin.
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