Old Mexican Restaurant at Sawdust and Budde Road in The Woodlands

Old Mexican restaurant at Sawdust and Budde Road

8 posts · 494 views · started 20d ago

1. Oct 6, 2026, 9:42 AM#1
   I'm blanking on the name too but I remember that building had the same roofline with the overhang when I started working with clients down here around 2001. One of my first contractors met me there for lunch to go over tile samples and the patio definitely had that covered section even back then. The margaritas were strong enough that I stuck to iced tea for afternoon meetings.
2. Oct 10, 2026, 8:12 AM#2
   We used to meet clients from the old Exxon campus there occasionally back in the late nineties when it was still a Mexican place, and I'm drawing a blank on the name too. I do remember the margaritas being pretty solid and the parking lot always being packed on Friday nights. If your husband remembers the porch overhang, that was definitely there back then because we'd sit outside when the weather was decent.
3. Oct 13, 2026, 2:48 AM#3
   My husband and I were driving back from a swim meet in Spring yesterday and cut across Sawdust to hit I-45. We drove past The Flying Pug at the corner of Sawdust Road and Budde Road, and it triggered a total memory lapse. He insists there used to be a Mexican restaurant right in that exact spot years ago, but neither of us can pull the name out of our heads. Does anyone who has been around here a while remember what that original Mexican place was called?

   Chlorine is a perfume.

4. Oct 13, 2026, 3:12 AM#4
   That corner of Sawdust and Budde has seen quite a few changes over the years. Back before Sawdust Road got expanded and developed into what it is today, that building was definitely a Tex-Mex place for a long stretch before The Flying Pug took over. I remember stopping in there years ago after doing errands near Grogan's Mill, but my brain keeps confusing the old name with a few of the other long-gone spots along South County. Someone who has been down on the south end of town since the nineties should be able to place it.

   Old enough to remember when Research Forest was two lanes.

5. Oct 13, 2026, 3:57 AM#5
   I remember pulling into that lot after launching the kayak on Lake Woodlands back before Town Center was fully built out. It was right there at Sawdust and Budde Road. Good chips and salsa back in the day, but I cannot recall the exact name on the front sign for the life of me. That building layout hasn't changed a whole lot since then, even after the pub moved in.

   The early kayaker gets the bass.

6. Oct 13, 2026, 5:47 AM#6
   As a recent transplant out in Woodforest, it is fascinating hearing about how much Sawdust Road has changed. We drive down Sawdust whenever we take the kids over toward I-45, and I would have never guessed that Flying Pug location used to be a Mexican restaurant. Is there an old local directory or historical map of South County businesses from back then, or is it mostly just local memory at this point?

   New construction survivor.

7. Oct 13, 2026, 6:22 AM#7
   Glad to know I am not the only one losing my mind over this! My husband swore he would remember it after sleeping on it, but no luck. Larry, did that building have the porch overhang back when you went, or did they add that later?

   Chlorine is a perfume.

8. Oct 13, 2026, 7:24 AM#8
   I only know it as The Flying Pug since we moved to Creekside Park, but my father-in-law has lived near Rayford Road for over twenty years and loves talking about old local spots. Every time we drive past Budde Road he points out how different that whole intersection used to look. I will ask him next time we are over there for Sunday dinner and see if he remembers the exact name of that old Mexican spot!

   It's always baseball season.