Last year when we at Houstonia published our list of the 50 best restaurants in Houston, I used this space to make the case for my own personal favorite restaurant in town. Somewhat smugly—happy to broadcast, perhaps, my lack of pretension—I declared the Pappasito’s on 290, not far from my house, as my pick for the 51st restaurant to merit a spot on the list. Little did I know, I would never grace its doors again.

Reader, I discovered Superica.

The place quickly won my heart in a dozen different ways. First and foremost, of course, the margs: Whether the classic frozen, the martini-like Superita with olive, or the surprisingly delicious, punch-packing, off-menu skinny, the bar gets them right here. The ever-important chips arrive warm, along with two carafes of excellent salsas, a red and a green. Each table gets a squeeze bottle of vinegary hot sauce, too.

I love chef Ford Fry’s crazy-simple guac, seemingly just avocado, lime, cilantro, and a few slivers of radish, served with sturdy chips. The perfect bean-and-cheese nachos. The fajitas, definitely, but also the veggie fajitas, spectacular in their own right. The more unusual offerings, like Delta tamales, a simmered-not-steamed Mississippi iteration, delivered with their own sleeve of saltines. The crave-worthy, humbly named house salad, which is so much more than that.

These wonders—along with the stylish but casual Heights space itself—were, apparently, enough to make me say: Pappasito’s, who? I’m not alone in my enthusiasm for Superica, by the way. Not only is the place always packed, but Houstonia’s crack team has included it in this month’s super-fun Best New Restaurants feature.

Beyond the discovery itself, what has all this taught me? That my personal favorite restaurant is probably always going to be Mexican, and that it’s probably always going to be a short drive from my house. Also, that I am a restaurant-goer with ever-shifting alliances, who will turn on a place on a dime! What can I say? I’m a Houstonian, through and through.