Cafe Maiz - Review #2

Cafe Maíz de El Cholo 27567 Puerta Real Mission Viejo, CA 92691 (949) 367-0777 Listing on Yahoo! Local Facebook Page Official Site

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(UPDATE: Cafe Maiz has closed.) Met a brother for lunch the other day at El Cholo's Cafe Maiz in Mission Viejo. Quite a bit had changed since my last visit a few months earlier. The biggest change is that it has converted from an order-at-the-counter type place to a table service place.

Look for the quotes on the beams above the patio

They also now have tableside guacamole where your server makes fresh guacamole for you according to your specifications. We asked for it medium in spiciness and it was still quite spicy so if you don't like your food too spicy start mild and keep some of the peppers to add if you find you need to.

They also now have brunch (I think on Saturday and Sunday from 11am - 2pm) and I tried out the chilaquiles, which are scrambled eggs, chicken, and green onions over corn chips. There was much less sauce on these chilaquiles than normal (which meant my chips didn't get too soggy too quick) but they gave me some extra on the side. There was a certain lightness to these chilaquiles that I found appealing; it wasn't the usual mushy mess (see here for Gustavo's complaint/resignation about the typical sogginess of chilaquiles).

My brother enjoyed his fish taco and al pastor taco with rice and borracho beans:

Another new thing on the menu is roasted corn on the cob served with butter, cheese, chile powder and lime wedges:

This was appropriate since it fits the name of their place to have corn on the menu and also because I recently started seeing chili-lime corn on the cob for sale at Disneyland.

They also began serving flan which is good because I was waiting for them to add some dessert items. I think out of other restaurants theirs tastes the most like the flan I make, and I think mine is pretty darn good.

Of course you end your meal with some complimentary pecan pralines, one of El Cholo's signature items:

The total with tax and tip for our guacamole, one corn on the cob, two entrees, and two flans was $35. On the way out I noticed they are building a Cafe Maiz Cantina next door.

El Cholo - 85 Years Young

→CLICK HERE←to see our entire El Cholo in Orange County coverage all at once. My site traffic tells me people come here looking for info on El Cholo in Orange County but they don't click that link above that will take them to the information they are looking for so I am going to keep making the link bigger until people see it. Or HERE to see our entire El Cholo coverage in LA County.

El Cholo Free Meal

As one of the longest running Mexican restaurants in the greater Southern California area (since it started in 1923) the El Cholo chain is about to hit its eighty-five year mark. On that day, October 27, 2008, they will be offering area teachers, firefighters and police officers a free meal beginning at 5pm, as is their annual tradition.

"In addition, all proceeds from meal sales that night to those employed in other walks of life will go to childrens' charities, selected by each restaurant. In the past five years, El Cholo has raised nearly $150,000 for charity from those who have come to honor our heroes with us."

This "anniversary offer is valid at the El Cholo restaurants in La Habra and Irvine, as well as our new restaurant, Café Maiz, in Mission Viejo."

Click here to download the flyer (in PDF format). Click here to get details of this offer as it relates to LA County.

The El Cholo chain has three restaurants in Orange County and we have covered them all. See our complete coverage by CLICKING HERE.

Cafe Maiz - Review #1

Cafe Maíz de El Cholo 27567 Puerta Real Mission Viejo, CA 92691 (949) 367-0777 Listing on Yahoo! Local Listing on Ask.com's Citysearch Official Site

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(UPDATE: Cafe Maiz has closed.) Stopped earlier today for lunch at a soft opening of Cafe Maíz, the new fast casual concept from the El Cholo chain and met up there with Nancy Luna, the OC Register's Fast Food Maven (click here to read her report of the visit). They were getting ready for their grand opening to the public tomorrow. The interior was mostly finished and is very clean but also with a very traditional Mexican theme. Outside the construction workers were working on taking down the temporary banner and putting up the permanent sign.


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Nancy placed her order first then me and we both found out later that we had each ordered an al pastor taco, made with slow-cooked, pulled, marinated pork. I believe this was the first al pastor taco I've had that was garnished with strips of pineapple. Generally, having al pastor tacos on the menu makes a Mexican restaurant's authenticity go up a notch. If you get them at Cafe Maíz try them with the Medium salsa. I also had very good carnitas taco that I gobbled down really quick but now that I think back on it I believe it had two kinds of pork in it. And that went good with the medium salsa too . . . and so did the nachos that Nancy and I shared. Actually the medium was the only kind I got but it was really, really good and I think it must've had some citrus kick to it. I even asked for the recipe on the way out but that remains El Cholo's secret.

Nancy's blog had mentioned a guacamole kit for large parties to create their own customized bowl of guacamole with. I found out today that that concept is being tested first at the Irvine El Cholo location and, if it's successful, it'll be added to Cafe Maíz.

The El Cholo family of restaurants was one of the first places that helped Mexican food catch on in Los Angeles and Orange County back in the 1920's and when I was at their newest location today I saw many of the members of the family that have kept the tradition alive. The owner, Ron Salisbury, pointed out to me a picture of his parents on the wall who were the second generation of El Cholo managers.

Good to see El Cholo adapting with the times while also holding onto their traditions. Four Speedy Gonzaleses:

The Legend of the Nacho Table

I've just been informed that each El Cholo location has a "Nacho Table." It's typically one of the "worst" tables in the house, and when people get seated there they get complimentary Carmen's Nachos to make up for the location. Now, the locations aren't terrible. You're not in the bathroom or getting hit in the back with the kitchen door, per se, but it's just a high traffic area outside the kitchen or something. Guests can actually ask for it if they know about it - there is often a wait for those tables even if other tables are available. So, if any readers sit at the Nacho Table leave a comment here and let us know.

UPDATE

Here's two photos taken when I went back a while after they had been officially opened:

Click on the 'el cholo' label to read our complete coverage of the El Cholo chain in Orange County (we have a separate review for each of their locations):

Cafe El Cholo - Review #1

Date of Visit: July 31, 2007

Cafe El Cholo 840 E Whittier Blvd La Habra, CA 90631 (562) 691-4618 Listing on Yahoo! Local Listing on Ask.com's Citysearch Official Site

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This may have been one of the longest excursions I have taken just to review a Mexican restaurant for this blog. Went out to La Habra the other day, the far north corner of the county (so far north in fact that it's telephone number is in the 562 area code), and met up with Nancy Luna and Cynthia Furey of The Orange County Register for lunch at Cafe El Cholo, part of the El Cholo chain that began in Los Angeles in the 1920s and currently has two locations in Orange County. This particular location has been around since 1962 which easily makes it one of the oldest Mexican restaurants in the county.

We all went for some type of enchilada platter. Cynthia ordered a chicken enchilada platter from the lunch specials menu:

Nancy ordered the Blue Corn Enchiladas: "Marinated Breast of Chicken Enchiladas wrapped with Blue Corn Tortillas, Tomatillo Sauce, Sour Cream, and Avocado Garnish. Served with Black Beans and Rice."

And I ordered the Annie's Early California Enchilada: "Garden Fresh Vegetables, Spinach, Sauteed Mushrooms, and Jack Cheese, Corn and Tomato Salsa." These were excellent vegetarian enchiladas that made me forget I was eating vegetarian food.

An interesting feature about Cafe El Cholo's website is that their online menu tells you when each item was introduced.

For dessert Cynthia and Nancy shared a pecan praline sundae (the photo doesn't do it justice):

While I ordered the deep-fried ice cream, which was good and filled the dessert role just right but wasn't so heavy that it made me feel guilty of gluttony:

As with the Irvine location each member of the party gets a pecan praline cookie when the check comes:

I think you might actually be able to bags of these cookies before you leave. The El Cholo chain is getting ready to open a third restaurant in Orange County, a venture into the fast casual realm. Read an advance report on it at Nancy's blog, and you can bet it will be covered in full here when it opens. For now, Cafe El Cholo earns a four Speedy Gonzales rating:



Here's some extra photos:

Click on the 'el cholo' label to read our complete coverage of the El Cholo chain in Orange County (we have a separate review for each of their locations):

El Cholo Cantina - Review #1

El Cholo Cantina 5465 Alton Pkwy Irvine, CA 92604 (949) 451-0044 Listing on Yahoo! Local Listing on Ask.com's Citysearch Official Site

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Since I live and work in Irvine (don't ask how that happened) it's very easy for me to get to Mexican restaurants in Irvine. I try not to focus on them too much to the detriment of restaurants in other cities but I think El Cholo Cantina may be one of the last Irvine Mexican restaurants to cover.

El Cholo Cantina is part of a chain of Mexican restaurants that began in Los Angeles in 1923. If you read the history on their website you can learn from an interesting anecdote how the chain got its name, and see their claim to have started the nacho craze in America.

While snacking on their chips I was thinking that I should describe the corn chips at various places in more detail. Shortly after that I got an e-mail from somebody requesting that I describe chips in more detail. So here goes: El Cholo's chips were a little on the thin side and a little on the dry side. On their own they were a little bland but with El Cholo's salsa they perked up pretty good. Most of the chips in the basket were of the standard yellow variety but there were a few red corn chips as well.

Blue Corn Chicken Enchiladas

I went on this visit with two co-workers: Michael and Eugene. We were intending that at least one of the three of us would order El Cholo's signature green corn tamales but after we placed our orders we realized none of us had. Michael ordered a veggie burrito which he said was excellent, Eugene ordered the chile relleno/chicken enchilada platter, while I ordered the blue corn chicken enchiladas. Eugene asked if they were tacos when he saw them and I don't blame him as their tortillas were folded in half rather than rolled up. My dish was $13 plus change on the menu but I was only charged $9.95 for it. I later found out that it is on special on Mondays and Tuesdays.

When your check comes you get a complimentary little pecan praline cookie for each person in your party. You can also buy bags of these cookies on your way out.

Veggie Burrito

Speaking of their green corn tamales, these are a famous item but they are only available between May and October each year so you still have about a month to get them before they go out of season again. You can try them at the restaurant or even have them shipped to you.

El Cholo Cantina earns a four Speedy Gonzales rating:



Click on the 'el cholo' label to read our complete coverage of the El Cholo chain in Orange County (we have a separate review for each of their locations):