EXTOL EATS
part train car and part Mexican market and café.
With a name like La Pasadita, you might expect
good Mexican food. After Isabel, my kind hostess-
waitress-server-cashier, seated me, she asked, “Have
you ever had authentic Mexican food before?”
Slightly taken aback I inquired: “What do you
consider to be authentic Mexican food?”
Isabel replied, “The main difference between
Tex-Mex, which is what most people consider
Mexican food to be, is that ‘authentic’ means using
traditional family recipes from the various regions
of Mexico in your particular restaurant.”
As for the restaurant’s name, “There isn’t an easy
translation,” Isabel admitted. The closest translation
I could find for pasadita comes from the word pasar,
which means “to pass” or “passage.”
While that was close, Isabel added that the word
“probably translates to ‘passing by’ or ‘passing on’
when used colloquially.” That was good enough for
me as I thought if I was hungry and “passing by”
a place, I’d like to try some traditional Mexican
recipes that had been “passed on.”
With the treasure hunt and Spanish lesson
behind me, I was now seated in the stainless-steel
tube of an old dining car, which was behind the
big red engine of the now defunct Clark Nichols
Railroad, and ready to order lunch.
The menu items were primarily in Spanish
but with informative descriptions in English of
what you were ordering. In addition to many
recognizable offerings, the menu also included
chicharrones (pork rings), flautas (deep fried
chicken tacos), huaraches (shaped masa cakes),
and the atypical Tacos De Tripitas, Chorizo, and
Lingua (tripe, chorizo and tongue tacos). There
were plenty of huevos (egg) offerings and tortas
(Mexican sandwiches) as well.
Incidentally, there is one menu for both lunch
and dinner, and specials for each. On the day of
my visit, the lunch special ($5) included two tacos
(either Mexican style or deluxe with choice of meat)
with rice and beans.
That was my starter, along with a lime Jarritos
($1.50) to drink. There are a variety of Mexican
beverages both on the menu and in the cooler to
purchase in the market. You can even get a Mexican
Coca Cola should you choose. There are three
Mexican beers ($3/each) and three domestics in
bottles ($3) on the menu. And bottled water, too ($1.)
Soon, out came the salsa and chips and the
“... I TRIED THE
GUACAMOLE AND
AS EXPECTED, IT
DID NOT DISAPPOINT.
SIMPLE BUT GOOD,
IT WAS FRESH
AND CREAMY WITH
CHUNKS OF AVOCADO
THROUGHOUT AND
A NOTICEABLE
CITRUS KICK,
LIKE THE SALSA.”
Jarritos, followed by my tacos. A Mexican Taco here
is a small, flat, corn tortilla with choice of meat,
chopped onions and fresh cilantro. A Deluxe Taco
includes the above plus lettuce, tomato, cheese and
sour cream. I had ordered a deluxe with chicken
and a Mexican with beef. Both were extremely
tasty. The meat was tender, marinated and spiced
– but not spicy. I drizzled salsa on both, which was
interesting as the sauce was thinner versus chunky,
but full of flavor, with onion, cilantro and a notable
citrus kick. The chips were crunchy with the right
amount of salt. You can get a hotter version of the
salsa upon request. It is thicker and amped up with
habanero, but not too amped up.
I asked Isabel what was La Pasadita’s signature
dish. She seemed to lean toward the beef choices
and cited Carne Asada (grilled skirt steak; $8.99)
as her choice. I have had Carne Asada elsewhere,
so I opted for something different and selected
the Guisado De Puerco (pork stew in green sauce)
while Extol photographer Christian Watson – who’d
just arrived – ordered the Quesadilla Con Carne
(translation: beef quesadilla; $8.99) and a mango
Jarritos. Both of our meals came with refried pinto
beans and rice, tortillas and a small salad comprised
of lettuce, tomato and avocado.
The tortillas, which have great flavor and are
specially made for the restaurant, are soft corn
tortillas served hot off the grill. You’ll notice big
corn flavor in this simple little gem. However, be
prepared for the texture change of this corn tortilla
versus the flour tortilla that most of us are used to,
thanks to the Tex-Mex options in this area.
My Guisado De Puerco was served with chunks
of tender marinated pork in a delicious green
sauce that was more like gravy. An ample portion
for sure, as are most things here, but I still wanted
more. Like the tortillas, the refried pintos and the
rice were really flavorful sides. And did I detect a
hint of adobo or secret spice in the recipe?
It was consistently busy at lunch on this day, and
Isabel was in constant motion and multitasking.
But she seemed to manage and no one seemed
bothered. I just would not have wanted or needed
to be in a hurry that day.
I didn’t see desserts on the menu but did
notice a small case with fresh pastries (Tortas
y Dulces) in the market. Just before paying my
bill, I ordered a side of guacamole ($1.50) to go.
At restaurants, I sometimes look at a single item
that can represent the overall quality of the food
OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2018 : EXTOL
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