Our 1st stop was at a wonderful shop in the Heights on 19th Street called Casa Ramirez Folkart Gallery. The store was filled with hand embroidered Mexican dresses and shirts, guayaberas, straw hats, Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) art, beautifully detailed Mexican dolls, games, toys, jewelry, books, etc. The kids loved looking at and trying everything on or out. We could have "played" here all morning long. The kids also discovered some yummy Mexican wedding cookies close to the door as we were leaving which sweetened the adventure!
Our 2nd stop was supposed to be at The Little Piñata Shop, but when we arrived there was nothing there. If anyone has a recommendation for a piñata shop, I'm all ears!
Our 3rd stop was at Granel Spice Market, just off Airline across from Canino's Produce Co. As soon as you walk in, it smells of chili powder (so if you're allergic to chilis, this is not the place for you). However, I loved the smell and was impressed with the cleanliness of this store as well as it's organization and the shear variety of spices they offered. If you are in search of spices not found in your standard grocery store, try shopping here! You could also find a variety of teas, candies and other odds and ins.
This is the colorful & creative fence made of pallets in the parking lot!
The 4th stop was a short walk across the street to El Bolillo, named for the traditional Mexican bread that is akin to the French baguette, but shorter in length. It smells of fresh baked bread as soon as you walk in and stacks of cookie sheets line the perimeter of the store. The procedure for shopping here is to grab a large round metal tray and a pair of tongs and proceed to load it with all of the breads and sweets to your heart's desire! Other attractions here included the ladies making the fresh tortillas and cooking them on a fancy tortilla machine, the display of huge decorated cakes and the domed ceiling painted with colorfully dressed dancers.
Our 5th stop was an unplanned detour on Airline Drive to take a picture of a cultural mural that seemed significant to the neighborhood but I couldn't find any information about online.
For lunch we made our 6th stop at Spanish Flowers. I can't say whether it's authentic or not, but it was close by and we were hungry and it satisfied our parched throats and our growling bellies.
Finally, we stopped by St. Joseph/St. Stephen Catholic Church in Historic 6th Ward, in hopes of getting a glimpse of this 1901 historic building and perhaps a few parishioners, but alas, it was closed. That said, it would really be best for us to visit it on a Sunday at 12:30 pm for the mariachi service. I bet it's an incredible experience!
To embark on your own Mexican adventures in Houston, click HERE and print my list of attractions.
Adios amigos!
Great place, wonderful food with modern ambiance and comfortable seating with plenty of room. It is now probably one of the best Los Angeles venues in my list. Perfect food, great decor and vibrant atmosphere.
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