Houston

I have long been a fan of the original La Brisa, over in Bacliff. They opened a second location, two weeks ago. The new restaurant is located on the I-45 northbound feeder road, near FM 518, in League City, behind the Sudies fish restaurant.

Follow up:

The new location is huge. Immense. I would guess they can seat 300 people. There are multiple seating areas and a great looking bar. The restaurant is very modern and open. In that respect, it loses much of the "family owned" atmosphere of the original. The lack of rough edges gives it a bit of a sterility. They even have rooms for catered business meetings with projection screens and computers with PowerPoint.

The menu looks identical to that of the Bacliff location, with the exception that while Bacliff has two specials, each day, those specials are on the regular menu at the League City location. I had the Playa Car (pictured above). It's a plate I've had numerous times at the original location. It consists of beef and chicken fajitas on a bed of grilled onions, with barbecue ribs, and a stuffed avocado covered in cilantro sauce. On the side are pico de gallo, guacamole, rice, and charro beans. I have to admit it was a little better prepared than in Bacliff. I don't know if that is due to a better chef, the fact that restaurants are always more fastidious when they first open, or that the restaurant was not filled to capacity, as is almost always true in Bacliff. It was delicious.

It wouldn't be Saturday without a margarita. I had the El Patron. Delicious and very refreshing. I would have loved to have had three more and a nap.

The clientele of League City is probably a little bit more affluent than that of Bacliff - and the restaurant appears to recognize this. The prices were a little higher. Where the Playa Car is usually $11 in Bacliff, it was $14 in League City. In Bacliff, the premiere margarita is la Perfecta - for $7.49. El Patron is its little brother. I can't remember its Bacliff cost, but it's at least a dollar cheaper than la Perfecta. In League City, El Patron is $8.49.

While in my heart, the Bacliff location is my favorite, this new League City location is great and is most certainly the premiere Tex-Mex restaurant in League City.