The Northeast Mexican Restaurant Shuffle

I think I may have sort of gotten the scoop on the ownership changes on all the food joints on the 2400 block of Central.  It's complicated, so pay attention:

The former owners of Chiapas are now operating Durango Bakery next door.  Former Durango owners are no longer in the business.  The new owners of Chiapas are the same people that had opened Adelita's across the street, not the other way around as previously thought.  The recently opened Dos Puertos is now closed.  San Pablito is now operating in the former Dos Puertos space, with either the owner or chef being a former owner or chef at Me Gusta on East Lake Street (the tail end of that story got lost in translation, sorry).

What part of the above paragraph matters?  None of it, but pay attention to this:

San Pablito delivers!

That's right Northeasters, our options have opened up beyond pizza and Afghani cuisine.  Not that we were complaining about Snap or Crescent Moon, but it's always nice to have options.  And Mexican delivery is a pretty nice option, if you ask me.

Especially when it's good Mexican, which is exactly what I had for dinner at San Pablito last night.  I tried the tacos de nopales platter--which I've tried to order twice recently over at Chiapas, but both times they were out of nopales--and it was wonderful.  Tangy cactus strips grilled up with sliced onions and mushrooms, then sauteed with gooey Oaxaca cheese.  Served with a hearty heap of refried pintos and seasoned rice, as well as a perfectly citrusy, perfectly salty Mexican salad (that lovely pile of lettuce, tomato, onion, cilantro and lime juice which accompanies most entrees).  All that with a stack of warm, soft corn tortillas and I needed nothing more to be totally sated-- although the basket of chips and ridiculously hot red salsa were certainly not turned away.  The green salsa is much milder; I recommend both.

My Mexican had the alambre platter with various meats, which is basically a handful of open-faced tacos topped with your choice or choices of meat, sauteed with onions, peppers and Oaxaca cheese.  (If you've never had it, Oaxaca is kind of the Mexican mozzarella, so you can imagine the great gooey, chewy texture it adds when melted with grilled meats and vegetables.)

Service was very friendly and fast.  No beer on sale, but there are plenty of glass-bottled Mexican sodas to quench your thirst.  Don't forget to have them throw a couple in your delivery order.

Takeout menus were not available yet, and it sounds like delivery is only during the day and sporadically at night (just like Crescent Moon, you know the drill).  Delivery is limited for now anyway, until business picks up and they have the staff to regularly run orders for dinner. 

So go to San Pablito and let's get another full-time delivery option on the Northeast map!

Comments

[Brian]

I am so glad someone took the time to sort it all out. Thanks for the update. Haven't been to the new San Pablito space since it was La Tortuga. I'll be a little disappointed if they don't get a beer/wine license though.

[Girl Detective]

Good news. But I'll complain about Snap. Undercooked crust, too tomato-paste-y, oversweet sauce. But good cheese on top. I was so disappointed when the pizza place that opened near us was mediocre.

[Alexis]

I have a love/hate with Snap.

In general, it's almost always undercooked. When the vegetables are still bright green, red, yellow, whatever color they are when raw after they come out of the oven, and the cheese is melted but no part of it has turned golden brown, your pizza is undercooked. I usually put my slices under the broiler for a minute or two before I eat them.

Northeast would be blessed to have a Pizza Luce or even Davanni's, but our delivery options are limited to the national chains, Pizza Man and Snap. And I say no thank you to the first two options.

Oh, but there's always Afghani pizza from Crescent Moon. Mmmm, Afghani pizza.

[foxmarks]

Broadway pizza delivers up your way, too, I believe.

I've been working on a NE Luce for a couple of years. Nice to hear confirmation that it would be welcome. They have intentions on an NE location, insiders there tell me. We need a suitable site available when they're ready to expand again.

Do you ever ask SNAP! to cook your pie a little longer? I like the crunchy veggies, but see how it can be considered underdone. The sandwiches sometimes get too crunchy for me.

And, thanks for posting some real data on Latino row. I hear plenty of rumours, but hearsay AND translation together make for sketchy info.

[Marchelle]

Wait, wait -- I thought you hated cilantro.

[Alexis]

Requesting to have my pizza cooked a little longer never ends well. I'd just as soon order delivery and finish it at home than dine in on undercooked or burned pizza.

Cilantro is something for which I was required to develop a tolerance. There are so many dishes I cook at home that just wouldn't be right if I didn't use it. I've found that a quick blanch will tame the taste quite a bit.

[jmn]

Thanks for the info. I've been meaning to venture up Central and try some of these places since I moved to the area.

Pizza Luce delivers to me, although I'm closer to downtown near Broadway & Jefferson. I wish Leaning tower would open up in northeast. The Dinkytown location delivers to me, but it needs some reheating by the time it gets here so I usually don't bother.

[Alexis]

I think Chuck and Lorika (who live less than 5 blocks from me) gets Luce delivery too, but I'm just slightly too far north and east. I don't get Davanni's, Erbert & Gerbert's or Milio's either. It's almost enough to consider relocating closer to Broadway & University. Almost.

[David Foureyes]

I still miss La Tortuga. Best owners and best Mex on Central until the family sold the joint. The next three restaurants that occupied the space never bothered to paint over the giant tortoise on the wall, so it was always a source of conversation about "how much better this place was when it was La Tortuga."

[Alexis]

Ooh, and I got really sick from La Tortuga on two occasions. And that was before I found a piece of steak in my veggie burrito. I think LT wasn't "accessible" enough for their primarily gringo clientele, and not "Mexican" enough for the Latinos that patronized the other restaurants on the block.

[Alison]

Just wait until you see what is going in the old Palm Court place! I'll keep you guessing but it will round out the flavors on Central really well.