Today I bring you the October culinary recommendation. On this occasion, it involves a style of cooking I never thought I would recommend and I will explain why. I was born and raised in Mexico City, so when I moved to Texas I struggled understanding Tex-Mex cuisine. I think my mistake was trying to consider it Mexican food when it simply isn’t.

After learning that Tex-Mex is a fusion of two cultures where, occasionally, you have a hint of Mexico combined with American comfort food, that's when I began to understand the concept.

Years later, due to the culinary revolution that has taken place in Houston, local and international chefs began to develop flavors and ingredient combinations in an extraordinary way that has given Tex-Mex food the culinary credit it deserves, exposing a sophisticated way of fascinating and explosive flavors.

The perfect example of this concept is the restaurant, State of Grace.

For starters, State of Grace has The Oyster Room, where they offer a menu of seafood from different places such as New York, Prince Edward Island in Massachusetts, (that I had the opportunity to visit and their seafood is spectacular), and of course from the Gulf of Mexico.

When I started reading the menu I was clueless on what to have, the Enchiladas “Felix”, the Texas Blue Crab Fingers, the Shrimp “A la Plancha”, the Bone Marrow in Salsa Verde or a fried oyster sandwich. But Heather McQuillin came to the rescue! Our wonderful and experienced waitress described in detail each dish and suggested several plates that were a huge success.

As a starter, I had the Crudo – a mixture of scallops with coconut, lime, serrano peppers, parsley and radish. It was delicious! As my main course, I had the Seafood Pozole (one of Heather’s recommendations) and I immediately understood why it’s one of their best-selling dishes. It was wonderful as you can see in the photo. We also tried the Risotto with corn and Cotija cheese, and the spectacular Butter Burger topped with fried oysters. This burger was named one of the best burgers by Texas Monthly magazine in July. To be honest, I was amazed by this place and the food. The ambiance and the service were also superb.

So now you know, if Tex-Mex isn’t your cup of tea as my British friends say, give it another chance at State of Grace, you wont regret it.

Yo Mariana can’t wait to share with you our November recommendation. If you know of a new restaurant that’s worth visiting, let me know at: yomariana@yahoo.com

State of Grace - 3258 Westheimer Rd, Houston, TX 77098

* The hamburger is sold only during lunchtime.