Residents of neighborhoods like Briargrove and Tanglewood will soon be lining up for Trailer Park tacos and Hillbilly queso. The Houston-area's 16th Torchy's Tacos will open December 11, the restaurant announced.
Located in a former Pronto Cucinino at 5885 San Felipe St., the new restaurant will feature all the usual Torchy's favorites plus a full bar. Its location in the Tanglewood Court Shopping Center that's also home to a massive H-E-B ensures plenty of parking.
To celebrate the opening, Torchy's will host a preview party on December 9 from 5-8 pm with free tacos, free drinks, free chips and queso, and more. Expect a crowd. Those who visit the restaurant on its official opening day will also have the opportunity to win free tacos.
While Torchy's has been an undeniable success, it receives frequent criticism for the quality of its flour tortillas, which are prepared offsite and delivered to each location. Houston Chronicle critic Alison Cook earned a James Beard Award nomination for a review in which she described them as having "all the verve of clammy plastic." Thankfully, the new location is part of a pilot program to introduce tortillas made in-house, a representative confirmed in response to CultureMap's request for comment.
The reaction on social media to the new tortillas has been positive. Not that anything is going to slow down the Torchy's juggernaut, but serving freshly made tortillas certainly can't hurt its quality.