W
hat’s your favorite food? My
answer is always Mexican. I’ve tried
just about every Mexican restaurant in
Spokane, so I ventured over to Coeur
d’Alene and found this hidden gem
that’s been in business, (for obvious
reasons), for over 27 years!
The first of which is the fact that they
truly care about their customers and
remember their names. The second
reason they have been able to stay in
business so long is their fried tacos. And
the third is the “Plato el Patron.”
The owner is originally from
Tlaltenango, Zacatecas Mexico. He
moved to Spokane from Los Angeles
in the late 1980s and opened his first
restaurant in the Spokane Valley, which
eventually changed its name to Casey’s
Place (sandwich shop).
In 1991, he opened Las Chavelas across
state lines. Using a combination of
family and hometown recipes, he created
the genuine menu that can be seen to
this day. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the
opportunity to meet the owner because
he was in Mexico, but his daughter,
Vanessa, was our wonderful host for the
afternoon. She has been working in the
restaurant since she was fifteen years
old.
She said that one of her favorite things
about Mexican culture is the focus on
family, and Las Chavelas reflects that
value wholeheartedly. Vanessa and the
other waiters knew the other customers
by name and treated them just like they
were family. She worked tirelessly
to ensure that our experience was
comfortable, fun and enjoyable.
Now that I’ve got you feeling warm and
fuzzy about the people of Las Chavelas
(and trust me, they really are that
incredible), time to get down to business
and talk grub! Their specialty is fried
tacos and it isn’t hard to see why.
March | April 2019
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