Beloved East End takeout shop supplies picnickers with barbacoa, tamales, pork, and not much más but it’s no filler, all killer.

7120 Canal St, Houston, TX 77011

(713) 926-1735

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8AM–3PM Tue–Fri; 5AM–1PM (Sat–Sun); Closed Monday

La Casita Mexican Products is a long-standing Houston institution providing barbacoa, tamales, and other time-consuming, Texas-style comidas. It’s also a prime exemplar of that holiest of holies for the connoisseur of regional cuisine: the local mart that overachieves with its prepared food while maintaining a low profile. La Casita only does take-out, hosts no website, and really doesn’t advertise. Regardless, they have been doing a brisk trade in slow fare for more than 40 years.

The big draw is the barbacoa, which they often sell out of, so you really can’t mess around on weekends. Neighbors and pilgrims alike arise early Saturday and Sunday to queue up at the back of La Casita’s faux wood-paneled interior to place their orders at the counter. This up and at ’em spirit is rewarded with humble foil-and-paper tubs of the good stuff.

Barbacoa ($11.50 per order). La Casita swings for the fences and hits it out of the park with their barbacoa de cabeza de res, otherwise known as whole beef heads slow-cooked until the meat breaks down into meltingly-tender shreds. Three varieties are available: carne, which is probably mostly cachete, or cheek ($11.50); lengua, or tongue ($11.50); and assorted head meats called mixta ($10.50). And if you feel ambitious or run your own taco cart, they can hook you up with a whole cabeza de res for $79.95.

We ordered the carne and received about a pound of relatively lean (but soft and oily enough to make it goooood) beefy filling for the slow-cooked taco of our dreams. On a scouting mission a few weeks ago, we also tried the mixta, which was fattier but had more textural variety care of a few nice chunks of lean lengua in the mix. La Casita’s clientele lines up each weekend for a reason. This version of Texas-style roast beef head will make any barbacoa fan rejoice.

Each order of barbacoa comes with a warmed package of “Rio Grande”-brand corn tortillas, which are supple, delicate, and surprisingly satisfying for the bagged kind. To finish off your tacos, La Casita sells tubs of its own salsas roja y verde. Both are good—and spicy—but we preferred the green for its tart, jalapeño flavor.

Carnitas ($7.95 per order). What’s not to like about golf ball chunks of pork shoulder braised leisurely in its own fat? La Casita’s carnitas weren’t as crispy as some, but shredded and doused in salsa verde, they make a delicious, savory taco filling. And it goes without saying the leftovers raise the bar for late-night refrigerator raids.

Tamales ($8.95 per dozen). These are homey, well-seasoned, meaty tamales with dough that doesn’t hold back on the manteca. Goddamn delightful. We ate a few and stashed the rest in the freezer for rediscovery on some joyous mid-week evening.

Those who know and love La Casita are deeply devout, and many have been customers for decades. It is our highest recommendation that you become one, too. We ourselves aren’t done by a long shot. We will be back for the meaty, fist-sized, fried chicharrones piled temptingly beneath the warming glow of heat lamps behind the counter. And familiar items remain to be craved, anticipated, and returned for with a sense of urgency.

We suggest this game plan: pack some chopped onion, cilantro, and lime wedges at home, get to La Casita on the early side, buy their meats and anything else appealing to you plus a tub or two of salsa, grab Topo Chico or bottles of something else from their coolers, and trundle it all over to nearby Mason Park for an unforgettable picnic before the day gets insufferably hot. If this is your kind of thing, you’ll love it. Just go there.