Sippin’ Saturday: Cena’s Kitchen | Houston Press

It isn’t often that I get a Saturday free of family obligations or much-needed housework. Last Saturday, though, my husband was in Chicago for a Beatles festival, my adult children had plans of their own and I decided the dust on the ceiling fans wasn’t really that noticeable. With a free day to myself, I decided to call my longtime pal, Kingwood Kim, for a play date. It’s a bit of a drive for her to my side of town, but the lure of margaritas and tacos is always a successful bait. Now, I had to decide just where to make good on my promises.

We had originally planned on trying a participating brunch spot for Houston Restaurant Weeks, but we had left it kind of late and most of the restaurants weren’t anywhere near my house or hers. After a couple of hours doing an internet search, I discovered that a Mexican restaurant near my house had rebranded and the menu seemed a good fit for us. Cena’s Kitchen is the new name of the spot, which had once been Aguirre’s Tex-Mex. I had been to Aguirre’s once before and found it decent, but unremarkable. Since it was just a 15 minute drive up Tomball Parkway, we decided to give it a shot.

The Tomball location is actually number two for the concept. There’s also a Cena’s Kitchen on FM 529. The exterior at the Tomball restaurant is pretty much the same. Only the signage has changed. However, the interior was a delightful surprise. The whole place is illuminated by Edison-style bulbs and little neon lights, giving it a festive feel. The many faces of Frida Kahlo look down on guests, while a metal sculpture of a majestic bull serves as a focal point.

While I love the kitschy charm of dive-y Tex-Mex joints with serape wall-hangings and velvet paintings of pretty senoritas, I also like the more upscale spots which mimic lush Mexican villas. Cena’s has a style of its own that blends both contemporary and retro elements. Besides that, the booths were very comfortable.

Kingwood Kim and I munched on the quickly-brought chips and salsa while scanning the menu for margarita options. The green avocado salsa was tasty, but I suspected it was not homemade. The red salsa, though, was a sheer disappointment. And I am rarely disappointed by salsa in Houston. It tasted as bland as a can of unseasoned crushed tomatoes. My friend agreed.

Our disappointment, however, was completely erased when our flight of frozen margaritas arrived. They were a thing of beauty, the vibrant colors matching the neon bulbs overhead. The flights can be served on the rocks or frozen, but the flavors we chose were best done as frozen drinks. For $16, we received four small glasses, each with a different flavor. We chose Mixed Berry, Blue Curacao,  Mango Chamoy and Passionfruit.  And they were exactly what the doctor ordered, if the doctor was Jimmy Buffett.

It was smart of us to split a flight, because the frozen drinks were melting rather quickly. Luckily, we each had two favorites. They had a nice kick of tequila, but not overwhelmingly so. The Blue Curacao one, however, was a bit more potent with the addition of the liqueur.

Happily hydrated, we checked out the lights in both the dining room and the bar area. Some bulbs had neon flamingoes, others had little sayings. I could probably go there a dozen times and still find something new. It’s visually quite interesting.

Originally, we had planned on a couple of appetizers, but being the forward-thinking gals we are, we decided to get meals that would leave us enough grub for our late-night binge-watching later in the evening. Kingwood Kim loves street tacos, particularly pork, and that’s what she ordered. She was a little worried that they wouldn’t have enough of the standard condiments, but her fears were alleviated as the five tacos arrived topped with plenty of cilantro and queso fresco. The pickled red onions on the side were an added bonus, as was the super spicy jalapeno dip in the middle. It was purely the essence of jalapenos, which was a surprise considering the blandness of the red salsa. Maybe the two salsas need to hook up.

The pork was extremely tender and Kingwood Kim was very happy with them except for the fragility of the tiny corn tortillas which fell apart very easily. The restaurant should probably double up on the tortillas to make it easier to eat.

My Plato Vaquero ($14.89) was massive, but I wanted to try a little bit of everything and this was a perfect way to see what Cena’s had to offer. The in-husk pork tamale was better than a lot of Tex-Mex eateries, but I would have liked a little more spice in the pork mixture. A spoonful of jalapeno green sauce helped to liven it up.

There were two enchiladas, one beef and one cheese. I loved the chili con carne on top. Everyone has an opinion about enchilada gravy, but I am in the chili sauce camp. And there was real cheddar-jack cheese on top. A small ramekin of blanco queso was a nice extra.

The taco al carbon was served in a homemade tortilla and the steak inside was slightly chargrilled and tender, enough so to tempt me to return for Cena’s fajitas next time. The plate comes with sour cream, pico de gallo and guacamole that actually tastes like avocadoes and not citric acid. The cilantro rice was also a pleasant variation. I never really eat rice at Mexican restaurants, but this version was fluffy and flavorful.

My meal also came with a choice of beans. I chose charro and they were smoky, meaty and perfectly-cooked. Because I had so much food already, I slid them over to Kingwood Kim, because her pork tacos ($12.98) did not come with any sides. What kind of friend lets another friend go side-less?

As we slowed down our eating to save some food to take home, we opted for another flight of margaritas, in all new flavors. I warned my friend that the banana one would be too sweet and it was. My melon version took me back to my bartending days when Midori was a thing. Kingwood Kim didn’t notice any difference between the banana rita and the apple-flavored one, but it’s possible our taste buds were beginning to become inured after so many flavors. It’s a hard-knock life, sometimes.

We both agreed that it would be a good idea to come back another day for the top shelf margaritas, but the flights might be too tempting. With the prices of cocktails around Houston hovering in the $15 to $18 range lately, a flight of four mini margaritas for $16 seems a pretty good deal.

When we asked for the check, our very young server told us, “I really like y’all”.  And I think she meant it, because, well, we really liked her. Maybe it’s the fresh Tomball air, but the service was super-friendly, from the hostess at the front door to our new, sweet friend. We’ll definitely ask for her when we return.

And we will. There are only so many days you can spend sipping margaritas with friends. Cena’s is a great spot to do so.

And they have free soft serve ice cream on the way out. Even after the number of frozen treats we already had, we couldn’t resist.

Cena’s Kitchen
27727 Tomball Parkway
832-559-8804
cenaskitchen.com