Sombrero's - Review #1

Sombrero's Mexican Food 7006 Katella Ave Stanton, CA 90680 (714) 894-3542 Listing on Yahoo! Local Listing on Ask.com's CitySearch No known official website.

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Recently my wife (Mrs. Cheese Enchiladas) and I ate lunch at Sombrero's in Stanton. The restaurant is tucked on the end of a strip mall and most easily identified by the large MEXICAN FOOD signs. Inside the place has a 70's saloon feel to it. It's dated and funky with an odd selection of furniture. We were greeted warmly upon entering and the whole time we had great service. The guy up front was working very hard on making sure everyone was happy with their meals.

The menu has the typical things you'd expect in an old school Mexican place. Lots of combos, assorted burritos, some Mexican style salads and the usual Mexican appetizers. We were served chips and salsa right away. The default salsa is a tomato saucy, slightly spicy concoction with chunks of onions. It's pretty standard fare. The waiter asked if we wanted a hotter salsa. We said yes and were rewarded with fresh salsa verde that was really tasty and really hot.

Mrs. Cheese Enchiladas knew what she wanted right away as she saw a lunch special of two cheese enchiladas as we walked in. Our waiter told us they had a couple of specials that day, mole with costillas (basically pork spare ribs in small chunks) and chile verde with costillas also. These got my attention and I went for the chile verde. It proved to be excellent. It was obviously freshly stewed up with chunks of chile (you can see them in the photo). The heat level was nice and hot and pork ribs were succulent. The whole dish had really good flavor. Beans were also quite good as they weren't overcooked and had good flavor.

Our waiter and host told us they have "autentico" specials everyday including nopales, menudo and birria. Because of this I think Sombrero's is a great choice for pleasing a wide range of tastes. They have all the standard old school Mexican plates and mild salsa that many people expect but they also have some more challenging and, dare I say, interesting menu items for those of us who are tired of the "Don Jose" style Mexican food.

Oh yeah, the wife enjoyed her cheese enchiladas and said they were very good. But she confessed that the ones at La Siesta in San Clemente were her new benchmark. Guess we'll be back in South County soon.