El Hidalguense
Long Point Road restaurant is Houston’s enduring source for authentic barbacoa de borrego and other regional Mexican specialties.
(713) 680-1071
Facebook page
8AM–9PM (Mon-Fri); 7AM–10PM (Sat-Sun)
Just about everyone in Texas knows that barbacoa is made from slow-cooked cow heads (for some of the best barbacoa de res in Houston, hightail it over to La Casita). But in the state of Hidalgo and other parts of interior Mexico, barbacoa is usually lamb, generally a whole lamb wrapped in maguey leaves, cooked in underground ovens, and served with consommé de borrego—a soup made from the barbacoa’s smoky drippings. (If you have a Netflix subscription, episode 5 of The Taco Chronicles will whet your appetite.) Recently, we joined a group of friends to feast on barbacoa de borrego, consommé, and machitos (goat intestines and tripe) at El Hidalguense, a fixture on Houston’s Long Point Road since 1994.
On the busy Sunday morning of our visit, El Hidalguense was a hive of activity. Yellow-shirted waitstaff bustled through the space, taking orders and delivering food and drink. A small group of women at the front of the kitchen produced an endless supply of fresh tortillas from a mountain of masa. Halfway through our meal, a huapango trio in matching outfits took to a small stage by the front windows and treated the crowd to a long, spirited set of traditional Mexican music (and in keeping with Houston’s general diversity, two of the band introduced themselves as hailing from Central America). As the band played, diners made animated conversation above the amplified violin, jarana, and huapanguera. Big trays of barbacoa and cabrito emerged from the kitchen to be devoured by the hungry crowd. As soon as we sat down, our waiter brought a small, complimentary plate of lamb flautas and a dish of thick, red chile salsa. The crunchy flautas were a welcome upgrade from the Tex-Mex staple of free chips and salsa, but in our hungry haste to sample them, we neglected to snap a photo.
Barbacoa de borrego ($25.99 for one pound, served with nopales salad and two bowls of consomme). It’s not easy to find Hidalgo-style lamb barbacoa in Houston. In our limited experience acquired by dining at an excellent, identically-named restaurant in Mexico City and a street vendor in Malinalco, El Hidalguense’s barbacoa holds its own. It’s moist, tender, and unctuous, coating your lips in a luxurious oily film with each decadent bite.
To cut the grease, add a squeeze of lime juice, a forkful of salad made from tart nopales (cactus pads), a smear of El Hidalguense’s brick-red salsa, and sprinklings of cilantro and chopped raw onion, and pile it all on a fresh corn tortilla, hot from the comal, for a perfect taco.
Consommé (included with barbacoa, also available à la carte). El Hidalguense’s efforts really shine here, and this consommé managed to out-do similar bowls we sampled in Mexico. Savory and slightly smoky with ovals of oil floating on the surface, this simple soup of lamb drippings with garbanzos, rice, and carrots soothes and absolves any excesses from the previous Saturday night. We’d go back just for the consommé ($6.99 for a large bowl or $4.99 for small), and throw in some extra barbacoa for $1.99.
Machitos ($12.99). Better than it sounds and looks, this is a sizzling platter of goat tripe and intestines with caramelized onions. El Hidalguense’s machitos were well-cleaned with no funky smells or off flavors. They are quite greasy, though, and worked best for us in a taco. If you’re game, you’ll find the onions supply a pleasing sweetness.
With one visit, El Hidalguense went straight to the upper stratum of our favorite Mexican restaurants in town. We loved the food, music, and lively crowd, who made for great people-watching. If this place only had some agave-based liquid amenities (namely, mezcal and most especially fresh pulque), we’d be lining up for brunch every weekend. On that note, we suggest getting there early on weekend days if you don’t like waiting for a table. When we arrived at about 10:30 on a Sunday morning, the place was already starting to fill up, with many large family groups occupying the long tables lining the interior of the space. When we got up to leave, around noon, every table was packed and many people were waiting outside in the small trailers provided by the restaurant for this purpose.
Note: In researching this article we came across a negative review by Alice Levitt on Houstonia magazine’s website that we take issue with for a few reasons: 1) If the author wanted barbacoa with salsa verde, beans, and rice, it’s right there on the menu (Barbacoa de borrego en salsa verde, $10.99). El Hidalguense’s presentation of barbacoa by the pound is perfectly representative of how it’s done down south, so diners are expected to add their own salt, lime juice, and salsa to taste. 2) As is typical for consommé de borrego, the restaurant’s version includes garbanzos, not “hominy.” We suggest ignoring this prominent, yet ill-informed review and giving El Hidalguense a try for yourself.
