Coquitos - Comida Hondurena

6121 - V Hillcroft, between Gulfton and Westward


I went to Coquitos the first time almost a year ago to try the Sopa de Caracol, the conch soup that is a Honduran specialty and is advertised in the window. The waitress said they didn’t have it the day I was there and when I asked for a recommendation suggested Sopa de Gallina, the hen soup, and that proved to be a satisfying and fortuitous choice. Steaming hot with large, bone-in pieces of white and dark meat with large chunks of carrot, yuca, plantain, potato and cabbage in a rich broth with a side of white rice and 2 thick, hand-made corn tortillas, it was very good. The vegetable pieces were so large it was almost necessary to use a knife and fork to eat the soup. I was feeling a little under the weather that day and though I hadn’t expected it the Sopa de Gallina proved to be just what the Doctor ordered. Plus with all the starch, it was very filling and a good bargain.


On a subsequent visit I tried the pastelitos for an appetizer - Honduran style empanadas made with corn meal (arepas) like those of Venezuela and Columbia. They were stuffed with a ground meat and rice mixture and almost full size but were lacking in seasoning. They were accompanied by a generous portion of a shredded cabbage salad with marinated red bell pepper, a warm tomato dressing and shredded queso. It was very good and at only $3.75, was very filling, almost enough for a whole meal. I had also ordered Casiamento con Coco, a rice and beans dish cooked in coconut milk, the Honduran version of Jamaican rice ‘n peas with the addition of onion and bell pepper and a more generous use of coconut milk. It was accompanied by some avocado and queso and corn tortillas. I was so full from the appetizer I wound up taking most of this home and discovered it’s much better reheated the next day.

Meanwhile I had seen the Pollo Frito being served and it looked very good and I planned to return to try that. I also noticed Mondongo on the menu, the Central American term for Menudo, and some other dishes that looked interesting.

I only got around to going back for the Pollo Frito recently. The restaurant has been spiffed up a bit with table cloths on some of the tables and additional seating. I was there around 2pm and the place was very busy, in part because there was only one server and one cook and they were running way behind.

The menu has also changed, or at least been reprinted and organized a little better. There are now Baleadas on the menu which I don’t recall from before. There are three to choose from with the basic one called Baleadas Regulares. I ordered just the basic Baleada as an appetizer but wished I had tried one of the ones with some add-ins; the ones I saw being served looked spectacular. I think the daily lunch specials portion of the menu is gone, too, and there are more Mariscos.

The Pollo Frito consisted of 2 small pieces, a leg and thigh. Like this dish at the other Honduran restaurants I have tried, it was overcooked, though not as badly. It was a very dark brown color; the skin and flesh of the thigh had been scored but whether that was to facilitate even cooking or easier eating I don’t know. It wasn’t quite as dried out as what I’ve had elsewhere but so well done on the exterior that it was kind of like eating a cross between chicharron and chicken. This too comes with a big pile of the cabbage salad with a simple warm tomato dressing; some online sources say is it is common in Honduran cooking that this is nothing more than canned tomato sauce. This is all served over a bed of banana chips that have been lightly sauteed to crisp them up only slightly. I’ll have to give this Pollo Frito another try before deciding where it belongs in my Chicken Fried Odyssey rankings.

Honduran food is not spicy but my main complaint here is blandness. Everything is underseasoned. As I’ve been trying to lose weight for a year and half now I’ve weaned myself off an over-dependence on salt. One of the benefits of eating lots of ethic foods is the seasonings and spices make it interesting and flavorful without the use of salt and pepper and there are many small ethnic eateries where S&P are not on the tables at all. But at Coquitos, I need to reach for the salt; just a little helps a lot. I guess if you’re actually on a salt-restricted diet, that’s good. There is Tabasco on the tables but I’ve never used it and also soy sauce - the menu for instance lists Shap Suey con Pollo o con Cameron. The food I’ve had here so far is not quite as good as at another local group of Honduran restaurants but on the other hand, you don’t have to deal with a deafening juke box at Coquitos.

One nice touch is the coffee. It’s always been prepared fresh when I’ve ordered it and may be a special Honduran variety; it’s presented with a small pitcher of warm milk.

The restaurant is clean but not fancy; not every waitress speaks English but the menu has full English translations. Parking in front is very tight. The menu and business cards and sign on the exterior read Coquitos but one sign in the window and the b4 listing is for El Coquito.

Fritanga Nica

8611 Synott, just north of Bissonnet



Ever since reading about the nacatamale, a tamale with meat and vegetables and olives described as throw pillow-sized, I have wanted to try Nicaraguan cuisine, La Comida Nica; so far as I know this is our first and only Nicaraguan restaurant. It occupies the space once occupied by the small Brazilian home-style buffet, Cariocas.

The owner is very friendly and speaks very good English. So does one of his sons who helps out with just about everything on the weekend, anyway. The menu is quite small, only a page and a half, and there are no translations. They have been open a month and unfortunately they do not do the nacatamale.

On my first visit the owner steered me toward the Vaho, pronounced baho, a weekend special consisting of beef, plantain and yuca steamed in a banana leaf and served with rice. It was good; it is basically a stew sans broth. Fritanga comes from the word for to fry but there is at least one other steamed dish on the menu, the appetizer Vigoron, which includes yuca and chicharron, steamed in a banana leaf I think (I haven't had this).

I also had an Enchilada Nicaraguense, a corn tortilla topped with shredded beef and rice, folded over and fried to make essentially an empanada. Both dishes were topped with the typical Nicaraguan salad of cabbage and carrot with tomato and purple onion; it isn’t on the menu separately but I think they call this Ensalada de Repollo.

For a beverage I had Cacao, the Nicaraguan version of chocolate milk which includes grated, roasted cacao beans and was very good.

The owner offered to do a half order of the Vaho when I inquired about portion sizes; it proved to be enough food to leave me very full.

Other appetizers include Vigoron, Chancho Adobado, and Tacos Nicas, which are like Mexican flautas, with chicken or beef. Platillos Tipicos include Salpicon, Carne Desmenusada (deshebrada), Pechuga or Bistec Encebollado, Carne Tapade, Arroz a la Valenciana (the Nicaraguan version of paella) and Carne Asada, which the owner said was basically fajitas.

Sides include Tajadas verdes (plantain), Queso frito, Maduro Frito, Gallo Pinto, and Guacamole. All plates come with the salad and some have frijoles fritos or tajadas verdes or frito or rice.

On my second visit I tried the Chilla (cheeya I think) which is like a tamarind agua fresca and was the best I’ve ever had, rich with bits of fruit. Other refrescos include Chicha and Cebada which I got a free sample of; I understand it includes guava and barley; it was good but not as good as the Cacao or Chilla. They also have typical American sodas.

For a main on my second visit I had the Sopa de Cola, a weekend special, a rich, satisfying oxtail stew pictured above with corn, plantain and yuca, tomatoes and carrot, parsley and cilantro, plus cabbage, rice and fideo, with a side of more rice. It was awesome on a chilly Sunday and I enjoyed it very much. A Nicaraguan family arriving for a meal oohed and aahed over my bowl.

Other weekend specials include Indio Viejo and Sopa de Albondiga on Sunday. Postres include Arros con leche, Atolillo and Bunuelos.

The menu is undergoing changes. I got an old menu to take home and a couple of dishes had been changed. Even more had been crossed off the new menu on my second visit. The most expensive thing on the menu is $9.

The restaurant is closed on Tuesday, open other days 11a to 7p. I’m sure Cariocas succumbed to too little business; they were not helped by their very limited hours and the food went downhill after a couple of months. I hope these people make it; I had the place to myself for a while on my first visit but the second time the place was bustling.

I will definitely be going back to try the Arroz a la Valenciana.


Vaho or Baho. In the glass is Cacao, a very satisfying version of chocolate milk. This is a half-order of the Vaho.

Taqueria D.F., 100% Chilanga - CLOSED

6905 Bissonnet, just west of Beechnut

UPDATE 3/25/0 - UNFORTUNATELY THIS ONE IS CLOSED, NOW A MARIO'S PIZZA. THEY DID GREAT TORTAS AND I WILL ALWAYS MISS THE TORTA HUERFANO. I'LL HAVE TO CHECK OUT SOME OF THE TACO TRUCKS AROUND TOWN BY THE SAME NAME.

I've noticed this taqueria for a long time and I wondered if they had Mexico City style tamales like those at Tamales Dona Tere. I finally decided to give it a try and when I pulled up to the door I saw a hand lettered sign that they now serve tamales. I guess I put my visit off just long enough.

The place is small; there was only one waitress and she was also watching over her small daughter but she was very friendly and helpful, apologizing that the menu is only in Spanish. I assured her I thought we would be able to manage; she spoke pretty good English and I speak a little Spanish.

I ordered a pork tamale and asked about the suadero taco - I was not familiar with that term. She said it was a pork meat taco; they also have pastor, chorizo, campechano, bisteck, cabeza and chuleta tacos. Besides tacos and tamales they have Quesadillas, Gringas, Sincronizadas, Tortas, Desayunos and some guisados.

The taco proved to be very small. It's been a long time since I had a Mexico City style taco and had forgotten that sometimes that means the tortillas are only about 4" in diameter. It wasn't very tasty; I thought if it was pork it was perhaps roasted sirloin and dry. I looked this up online and according to what I found, suadero is supposed to indicate a section of beef brisket.

The tamale proved to be much better. It was no where near as big as those at Dona Tere, a little dry for my taste (I like very moist tamales) and very spicy. Usually when you think of the term 'hot tamales' you're referring to the fact they're served steaming hot but these had a lot of spice heat, too. It was so good I ordered one of the chicken tamales which was not quite as spicy and not quite as good but still very enjoyable. Surprisingly the green salsa that was offered was quite bland and quite limey.

While waiting for my food I had picked up a copy of the menu to go and was perusing it and a torta that wasn't on the printed menu caught my eye, Torta Huerfana, which apparently translates as Orphan Torta. I asked the waitress about it and she explained it was a huge torta and reeled off a list of ingredients that I couldn't possibly remember (there were not only no translations but also no descriptions of the dishes on the menus). She said only one person had ever finished it, most wind up taking half home. It was $9, kind of pricy for a torta, but it sounded very interesting so I decided I had to come back to try it and a couple of days later I did.


It was a different waitress on my second visit and she spoke little English but she was also looking after a small child, a nino of about 6 whom she called over several times to help translate as I plowed ahead asking questions.

The Torta Huerfano proved an awesome sandwich. As best I can figure it out it includes ham, refritos, milanesa, avocado, tomato, yellow and white cheese (per the first waitress; I think they were American and Jack), chorizo, huevos and salchicha which I thought was a generic term for sausage but has always meant a wiener when I found it on a menu in Houston, all served on a nicely toasted and crusty telera. Both the red and green salsas that were served with the sandwich were very good.

There's no way I would have tried to finish that so I took about half home.

I haven't been able to find out much about the sandwich online and an effort to find out if they created it in-house didn't communicate well. A sign on the wall invites customers to try their 'nuevo creacion torta huerfana en Taqueria DF' but I don't know if it's a local creation of has Mexico City roots.

Whether it's a Houston original or not it's very tasty and I'll be back though obviously not often for that sandwich.

There's another location of the Taqueria at 8685 Hammerly and I've also seen taco trucks labeled Taqueria DF on Long Point and Telephone but I don't know if they're connected to the restaurants or serve the Huerfana.

ADDED: Dissecting the leftovers (and tossing the soggy bread) I discovered there's chicken breast in there too. I'm sure the waitress on my first visit listed chorizo but it was hard to identify any by taste or inspection.

Texas Oyster Industry devasted by Ike

I've been looking for some report and today this appeared in the Chronicle.

Briefly, 60% of the crop is lost, oyster beds are covered with silt and debris and probably won't recover without very costly intervention.

Not good news for oyster lovers or for the ecology of the bay in general.

The eye of the storm passed right over Galveston Bay but it was storm surge, not wind, that caused the damage.

Robb Walsh of the Press had written a great article on the Galveston Bay oyster industry 4 years back saying it was the most prolific oyster fishery in the nation with just one company there out-harvesting all of Chesapeake Bay.