My close friends and I typically treat everyone to a nice birthday dinner each year. One of these friends has a birthday next month, and for the last couple of years we've taken him to El Tiempo - partly because whenever we ask him what he wants to eat for his birthday, he just says 'Mexican or Tex Mex I guess'.

El Tiempo is delicious and their drinks are great, but I feel like there are other places in Houston where we could get a great Tex Mex dinner for less than the cost of our firstborn children. I also hate to take him to the same place three years in a row because we can't come up with something new.

Does anybody have any recommendations? We're willing to drive to other parts of town for a great meal, but typically stick to Midtown, Upper Kirby, West U, Galleria/Uptown, and the Heights when we go out for dinner as a group.