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About time. Maybe a real restaurant will go up in that spot soon!

They have been serving nothing but swill for the past five years.

I highly disagree with your remark. I will cede that they have fallen slightly from their once great heights, but that is not saying that the Felix was taking its final breath.

I get a lot of bad remarks about the place when I talk about it with friends, but what people don't understand is that the Felix didn't serve the newest and the trendiest--they served history. Items on the menu were classic icons of the early Tex-Mex days, and thats what made the place a real treasure. Its a shame to see it gone.

My husband went there recently and had the same waiter his family had always had as a kid 30 years ago! I was never a big fan of their food, but it's a shame to see one of Houston's few landmarks close without a tribute or explanation.

The food was always subpar, but it was our terrible Tex-Mex. If you didn't grow up on it you could never understand.

Felix's was more than a Mexican restaurant to me as a kid. It was both a sort of window to another culture and the place where our family would go to celebrate. (Ours was the long-gone Kirby location, but many of the staff from that one ended up on Westheimer.) In fact, it was pretty much the only restaurant we ever went to for much of the '70s and '80s.

Anybody who is glad to see Felix's go is not a true Houstonian, flourescent, powdery con queso or no.

Hey! Iloved the flourescent queso! And the tacos under the broiler! And the last of the old school enchiladas!

After the old woman died a few years ago (shocking many of us who thought she was too mean to die) the spark sort of left the place, but it was still a true favorite of mine.

Viva Felix!

My favorite Felix was on Main Street. My fellow scout buddies (circa 1965) would take a bus downtown, explore Foley's, have a pizza slice or hoagie at Woolworth's, walk down to Market Square to visit Bichon's Drugstore that sold voodoo and occult charms, walk around European Import and then lunch at Felix the downtown location of which was cafeteria style. You'd decide which combo plate you wanted and then they'd serve you from the steam-tables. What a great place that was. The same little mini tacos stuffed with that wilted lettuce and wacky ground beef filling.

In the 70's I was dining at the location on Westheimer. When I paid my bill I bought a couple of vintage 1940's hula dolls that Mrs. Tijerina had for sale by the register. The next time I went there, there were a couple more and I bought those two. On my third visit,there were more and I asked her if she had a lot of these. She said that she had a box in the warehouse and I bought them all. I still own them and even with attrition over the years I still have 32. If you want to have a look at them, go to my youtube site "jaypfrancis" and search for 'Felix Mexican Restaurant Hula Dolls".

Our entire family is sad and grieving as if we have lost a family member. The queso and cheese enchiladas were the best anywhere, hands down! The guacamole and hot sauce were a particular favorite as well. My parents have been married 51 years and have spent many anniversaries at Felix. It was my birthday spot for the last 20 years. So very sad!

There are other old school Tex-Mex places around town deserving of a visit. Fiesta Loma Linda on Telephone Road for crispy tacos in puffed up shells, to my knowledge the only place still doing these. Mi Sombrero off of North Shepherd for cheese enchiladas.

What is a Felix? The only restaurant that ever mattered on this subject was the old Leos over by the American General complex of buildings off Allen Parkway. Early 80's eatery replete with old Mr. Leo doddering off in the corner on a stool. I think that was the place that did the spread for ZZTOP's Album Foldout on Tres Hombres and I normally know my shit.

Felix was my mother's side's family joint. My dad's side was Spanish Village, which happily is still there on Almeda.

I'm gonna head over there soon.

Vonroach; you're obviously not from Houston. If you went to Felix's for tofu or a high priced cup of coffee; I'm sure you were disappointed. You, as many other transplants; did not know what was the best.
Felix had THE best cheese enchiladas in town and THE best queso ever created. Everything else is an immitation. This was not some place to get a Arabian Mocha Sanini, with a Buttermilk Squash in Coconut Milk with Tofu & Toasted Almonds. This was a restaurant for real people, who shaped this city. Then, your type moved in and laws prevented us from disallowing pricks like you to move here, and you all ruined this city. I'll bet your an Obama man/women or combination. Guess you have to hang at Mary's down the road and see what happens to this space.
You would probably enjoy Taco Cabana. Give them a try.

Bummer, yet another houston tradition is gone...
BTW Rolrok, Leo's was on S Shepherd between SanFelipe and Westheimer.....

Larry's on Highway 90 in Richmond has almost the same tacos. Felix helped Larry start out in the 1940's and has some similar items on his menu including the very hot queso. Ask for the Larry's original tacos, not the gringo variety.

I liked their cheese enchiladas very much.

Indeed, the cheese enchiladas will be missed. I always got mine with extra onions on the side.

While we're talking cheese enchiladas, I believe the best in the whole world are at the Old Spanish Trail restaurant in Bandera.

I am the one who left the note to help my grieving process. The night I was last there expecting to get my fix of queso, a guy had driven all the way from Conroe only to find out they had sneakily closed. Can anyone find out WHY they closed in such a clandestine manner? What happened to the wait staff? They were like family!

Thanks to the Houston Press for their article
attempting to shed some light on this mystery.

No business will survive without providing quality service at a fair price - I don't care how beloved they were. Obviously they didn't care too much about the customer or they would have provided an explanation - don't you think? It is a good likelihood that the taxes became too high to justify staying in business. Just theorizing. I must confess, though, after learning of their closing that my "queso" taste buds were churning for days until I got my fix somewhere else.

As a fourth generation (my son is fifth and
grandson is sixth) who loved the food I wish someone would put out a genuine Felix Cook Book. I will deeply miss the food and staff.

I was first taken to Felix's in a carbed in 1945 and have gone at least once a week ever since. I am in mourning, as is my sister and many of my friends.

I am a longtime Felix fanatic. We cannot let this happen. Please send me your Felix remembrances, photos, stories and I will post them on the blog. Thanks for your support.

Email to: johnmerriman [at] gmail [dot] com

I moved to Houston in 1954 as a very small child. Felix's was the first Mexican resturant that my family had ever eaten at and has been our very favorite all these years. We celebrated birthdays, promotions, baptisms and every out of town relatives visit with a trip to Felix's. This was just about the only resturant that my family frequented. The queso is something to behold.I still have one quart remaining in my freezer and I will be extremely cautious with whom I share it! Only a true lover of Tex-Mex would deserve this honor! If anyone does produce a true Felix's cookbook, please let me know.

As a native Houstonian, the first Mexican food I ever ate was Felix's child's plate of Mexican spaghetti back in the 1950's. Still remember how good it was. Happened to look up this site this morning because I wanted to take my 89 year old mom to Felix's one last time. Sorry we missed out before it closed. There are lots of us who will miss Felix's great food.

My husband and I ate at Felix's on our first date, in 1975. We are both native Houstonians and he had eaten there since he was very small. I will dearly miss it, my favorite thing was the Chili Relleno, though of course the enchiladas and the con Queso were great, as was the guacamole. It will be difficult to tell my children that it won't be there when they come to visit.

For all of you complaining about Felix,you obviously dont get it as you are probably all franchise freaks and homosexual liberals from California or somewhere up North. Go home and eat your vegeterian fag food and get the hell out of Texas!

Hey,let's lighten up here. I am (or was) a HUGE fan of Felix Mexican Restaurant, an Obama woman, a longtime supporter of gay rights, and a native Houstonian. Why do we have to start name calling just b/c we are sad about losing a wonderful restaurant? I know it's tempting when I read some of these comments . . .
Anyone know the recipe for the sublime, heart-stopping chile con queso?

Sigh.......I rest my case.

sigh............I rest my case.

Sorry everybody, I didn't mean to repeat myself.

I am very sad about Felix closing. LIke many others I have eaten there all my life and the Bellaire location was where my family went. We also went there for all family occasions and even though I moved fifty miles away, I would still trek there regularly. I was heart sick when I went there a month ago and it was shuttered. I just found this blog as I had asked around with no response.

I agree that it's a part of Houston history. Not everyone 'gets' the nostalgia and love for their food. I, for one, loved every bit of it and am grateful that there was a Felix when I was growing up.

I have the recipe for the queso. It was printed in the Houston Chronicle many years ago.

FELIX'S CHILE CON QUESO

1 small onion, chopped

1/2 cup chopped tomato (canned or fresh)

4 tablespoons paprika

3/4 cup corn oil

1/2 cup flour

1 cup water

1 pound grated American processed cheese (or Velveeta)

1/2 teaspoon salt

Red pepper to taste (1/2 to 1 teaspoon recommended)

Sauté onion, tomato and paprika in oil until onion is transparent.

Stir flour and water together to make a paste, then add to
onion/tomato mixture to thicken. (The heat should be very low
at this point.)

Add grated cheese and salt. Start adding red pepper to taste. Remember it will become hotter overnight, so don't overdo the pepper.

Serve as a dip with chips, or spread on chips and broil until bubbly.

Still can not believe that Felix's finally closed. I had my first meal there while in my mother's womb and ate there whenever I could. The best Chili con queso and cheese enchildas, but the one thing I will miss more than anything was there hot sauce.

Felix was the best Mexican food in Houston. It will be sorely missed.

If I could get copies of the recipes I would reopen it under new management.

Unfortunately, the ownership has not responded to my letters.

Wow. I'm so sad Felix's is gone. We live in Dana Point, California (between LA & SD) but my wife is from Houston. We have made frequent trips over the years to see her family who still lives in Houston and Sargent. We would always make it a point to stop at Felix's and would always bring home 2 quarts (frozen for travel) of their GREAT Chili con Queso. In fact, I'm writing today because when I asked our son what he wanted for his birthday (20 on Friday), he said "I just want some of that queso from Felix's." He will be disappointed. Again, I'm so sad to see such a cultural icon of Houston disappear. Thanks, Felix, for 60 years and 4 generations of service to our family. Also, thanks to the blogger who posted the recipe for the queso. I'm going to give it a try!

I moved out of state, but the last time my daughter visited Houston, she brought me back 1/2 gallon of their chile con queso... It was truely food of the gods.....

The Westheimer location opened the year I was born. My parents took us there most Sundays, every year of my childhood. I hope that chile con queso recipe works. All this talk about them having sub-standard food seems strange to me. Maybe that happened since I moved to Austin. I have never found it's equal.

I was raised on Felix's food. I love it. I would like a cookbook or the recipes so I can make my own cookbook. The chili gravy and "salsa" they served and the seasonings they used. Please let me know of any recipes. thanks
Gail

We started with Felix in Beaumont in the 50s. Then Houston at Westheimer when we moved here. My daughters, now grown up and in LA, always request Felix when they visit. Oh, that queso, how we will miss it. I found the photo of dinner #1. That says it all. And my husband always got the Envueltos de Picadillo - available no place else. And the wait staff, especially Evrista, we will miss you.

I can only hope that some workers in the kitchen will open up their own restaurant and recreate the enchiladas, tacos, and queso. I know word would spread and they would do well in a good location. I am having to survive on second rate Mexican food at present, and I need a fix. Nothing else out there comes close. If any of you know of any restaurants out there that be come close; please let us know. Larry's in Richmond is good, but it's not Felix's.

There are several photos of Felix, a history of the restaurants, and some recipes from the early days in The Tex-Mex Cookbook.

I must admit that I never liked most of the food there, but I LIVE (ed) for the Queso!! My dad lived in Houston and every time we'd visit we'd go and buy like a gallon or two of the cheese to take home and freeze. I have 2 pints left--suddenly it's worth more than gold. I tried once to make the recipie posted in the Chronicle all those years ago but it just wasn't right. I'm gonna try again though, and try hard, cause I just can't live without it!!

5 generations of my family have eaten at Felix and Carlos has been my waiter for 35 years. He still recognizes me on sight even though I live far away now and only come in once a year or so. If anyone can come up with a queso recipe that works, please post it here. I tried the famous Chronicle recipe years ago and it didn't work. I still have the original clipping from the paper. I will keep trying it though, maybe now that I am older and a better cook, I can figure it out. A Felix cookbook should not be too much to ask after 60 years of devoted patronage. Please print some recipes!