Where: Last Concert Cafe – 1403 Nance St, Houston, TX 77002
When: March 1, 2013

Last Concert Cafe is a Houston institution neither of us had ever been to. To be honest, I had no idea where Brenden was taking me as we parked on a sketchy street in the Warehouse District. The Last Concert Cafe famously has no signs and you must knock on the red door to gain entrance. That night there was a sign on the door that asked us to enter through the band entrance. There was a table at the stage entrance and the woman behind the table asked us to pay cover. Unsure, we mentioned we were here for the restaurant and the person allowed us in and told us we were only allowed to sit in the restaurant section. We found our way and took a seat.

We sat in a booth and took in the quaint “cafe” portion of the LCC. We could still hear the music from outside, a TV was on and many people kept coming in and out to get a drink from the bar. It was Texas Independence Day eve and Brenden thought it was important that we have a traditional Tex-Mex meal. We ordered 2 Lone Stars and kept an eye out for a Billy Gibbons appearance. I heard a cover of “In Spite of Ourselves” from the patio and smiled.

For our meal, I ordered the special – crab enchiladas – and Brenden ordered the Apolinar’s Beef Enchilada Dinner. Those were the best enchiladas I had ever had. I’m serious.

We think the Apolinar’s roasted beef is longhorn – it is shredded and juicy and not sticky. Brenden describes it as dense, with a barbacoa like texture or similar to what is in a tamale. In other words, yes. It even came with a taco.

We ended the night with a Tres Leche cake, which I moaned through. So, so delicious.

Last Concert Cafe was probably the best date of our 52 Houston dates. We’ve been back to Last Concert very often – it’s now one of our “go-to” restaurants and it’s in walking distance of Brenden’s shop. They have decent happy hour specials and run food specials from time to time. I’ve never seen the crab enchiladas on the menu again, though.