I pulled in on a late weekday afternoon, grabbed a table on instinct, and let the meal unfold the way a good one should. No agenda. Escalante's at Hughes Landing does that to you.
It always starts with the chips and salsa. Escalante's chips are a cut above — thin, lightly salted, and they arrive with two salsas and a queso that earns its place on the table. A margarita with a salted rim made the whole opener feel deliberate rather than perfunctory.
The street corn tacos came next. They're the kind of appetizer that makes you recalibrate your pace — sweet, charred corn with enough richness to make you want to slow down before the main event arrives.
Then the fajitas arrive. Escalante's has built a real reputation across the Houston area for their fajita meat, and the combination beef and chicken plate is why. It comes out on a sizzling cast-iron skillet over a wood round, grilled peppers and onions underneath, beef sliced and charred properly, chicken breast carrying solid grill marks and staying juicy. Rice, charro beans, pico, and sour cream come alongside. The plate holds up to the hype.
The dining room is comfortable — warm leather booths, a full bar, the kind of space that reads equally well for a working lunch or a slow afternoon. On my visit I noticed a table of four women, all of them new to The Woodlands, having the kind of afternoon that belongs to people who just found their footing somewhere new. One had come from Spain, one from Guadalajara, one from Colombia, and the fourth also from Mexico. All four had margaritas in hand, and all four looked like they'd made a very good decision moving here. As a local, that's one of my favorite things to see — people discovering this community and immediately feeling at home in it.
If the weather cooperates, get on the patio. The view straight out to Lake Woodlands — fountain running, waterfront landscaping spread in front of you — is one of the better outdoor dining settings in The Woodlands. It's built for a slow cocktail or dinner as the sun drops below the tree line.
Hughes Landing has plenty of options these days, and I've covered a few of them. Escalante's sits at the top of my rotation for Mexican food in The Woodlands. Real talk — go on a weekday afternoon, park in the Hughes Landing garage, and aim for the patio by 4:30 before the after-work crowd fills it in.
For more on what's worth your time along the water in The Woodlands, take a look at The Woodlands Waterway Is More Than a Walk — It's a Full Life. And if you're newer to the area and still finding your go-to spots, Market Street Is Still The One is worth a read as a starting point.