This reliable little place manages to do great business while keeping standards and quality high. It’s not creative or anything, but some specials, like pollo mostaza and pollo corral will surprise you—the first, chicken in mustard cream sauce, is a bit heavy, but undeniably good; the latter is half a delicious roasted chicken covered in spicy red sauce.

Aztec-ish murals cover the walls; their dark and relaxing colors are warm and comforting. Sit at the wooden tables, and you’ll be greeted by Teotihuacán’s sweet, razor-thin chips and famous salsa. Neither the warm red nor the cold green is particularly spicy, but both are delicious, brandishing sharp, clear, smoky chile and tomatillo flavors. Chicken flautas are delicious, crispy on the outside with steamy, spicy goods inside. Shrimp is juicy and garlicky, and the parrillada is one of the best in town. Agujas (beef short ribs) are sometimes chewy, as are fajitas.

Accompanying charro beans are some of the best in town, like a well-developed, spicy soup with lots of pork buried inside. Even rice is beautifully textured and flavored, and homemade tortillas are unparalleled, whether the sweet, angular corn version or the wonderfully rich wheat-flour version; they’re translucent with fat, like Malaysian roti. We don’t know what it is, but we swear the North Houston branch is the best.