Every prince knows that the most effective way to wake up a sleeping beauty is not with a boring kiss, but with a single potent drop of fiery green chili. Awaken tired taste buds in royal fashion with today's Groupon: for $20, you get $40 worth of food at TQLA Houston. Boasting a colorful menu of flavorful fare, TQLA specializes in modern takes on traditional coastal Mexican and Southwestern dishes. Whet appetites and hone taste buds with succulent starters such as crawfish corncakes ($8.95) or a wild mushroom tamale with goat cheese filling, mushroom cream, and roasted corn sundried tomato salsa ($7.75). Entrees include ensenada chicken enchiladas with shredded chicken, caramelized onions, rajas, queso fresco, and green chile sauce ($11.25), and baja fish tacos with tilapia, honey chile crema, and tequila shaved carrot ($13.95). Although this Groupon isn't valid for alcohol, TQLA offers a selection of margaritas and more than 160 different tequilas, some of which are served on tap after being hyper-cooled to 5 degrees—the exact temperature required to cryogenically freeze Walt Disney's tonsils. The restaurant's décor is trendy and whimsical, with tequila bottle tiki torches illuminating a worm-shaped red bar that snakes before tequila and tapas-tasters.

Reviews

The Houston Buisiness Journal, Houston Press blog, and Houston Culture Map have all featured TQLA Houston. Yelpers give it an average of four stars.

• …you can't go wrong with any of the appetizer selections. Some of my favorites include the Empanadas, the Chicken Quesadillas, the Corn Cakes with crawfish, and the Crab Cake. – Monica P., Yelp
• What I found as I pored over dish after dish…is that not only did I find myself enjoying Southwestern cuisine for one of the first times in my life, but that I was enjoying the restaurant as a whole… – Katharine Shilcutt, Houston Press blog