THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, May 7, 1995 TAG: 9505040024
SECTION: FLAVOR PAGE: F1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BROWN H. CARPENTER, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 162 lines
ROBERTO RODRIGUEZ, the honorary consul for Mexico in Hampton Roads, feels more at home these days while commuting from Norfolk to Virginia Beach.
Driving along Virginia Beach Boulevard and Laskin Road, he is never more than 10 minutes from a plate of mole poblano, chilaquiles calientes or enchiladas topped with the genuine red or green tomato sauce he relishes when visiting south of the Rio Grande.
Rodriguez can wash it all down with a cold bottle of Negra Model or Bohemia, two robust beers from Mexico, the land of his birth.
Not only that, but the food will be prepared and served by a staff that speaks Spanish.
In the United States, Rodriguez said, ``Mexican restaurants, owned and staffed by Mexicans, have multiplied.
``The food is still a little Americanized, not the pure Mexican I cook at home. But the fajitas are authentic.'' And the mole (pronounced mo-lay) sauces are new on the local scene, he said.
Indeed, about six years ago, the tortilla began in Hampton Roads, when El Rodeo opened in Providence Square Shopping Center in Kempsville.
Restaurants next sprang up along Virginia Beach Boulevard and have sinced dotted Chesapeake, Portsmouth and Suffolk. Among them are Mamasita's, La Tolteca, El Azteca, Mi Casita and 3 Amigos, names that conjure authentic fare from south of the border.
Step into one of these dozen or so restaurantes and among the usual enchiladas, tacos, burritos and tamales, you'll encounter dishes you probably never tasted at the Mexican-style chain restaurants so popular across America.
Camarones al mojo de ajo, on the menu at La Tolteca, is shrimp sauteed in garlic, butter and onions, served with avocado slices, tomatoes, rice and tortillas.
For lunch, there's huevas and chorizo, eggs with spicy Mexican sausage.
Order Carna a la Mexicana, at Mamasita's in Virginia Beach, and you'll likely order another Negra Modelo to go with it. The beef is marinated and cooked with a spicy-hot tomatillo sauce.
Especial la casa at 3 Amigos in Chesapeake and at Mi Casita in Virginia Beach is sliced beef and chicken with cactus, onions, tomatoes and refried beans.
Mi Casita also prepares two mole entrees, both featuring chicken: Ranchero with red sauce and poblano with the dark, chocolate concoction.
Mole, perhaps more than any other food, represents the soul of Mexico. Traditionally, it is made from ``chocolate, nuts, burnt tortillas and peppers,'' Rodriguez said. But it varies from region to region. WHY THE BOOM?
More Mexicans are living in Hampton Roads, said Rodriguez, a reserve captain in the Mexican navy who operates a naval supply brokerage business locally. That's one reason for the restaurant boom, he said.
``I would put the number of pure Mexicans - not Cal-Mex or Tex-Mex - at about 300 families in the area,'' he said.
As honorary consul, he often helps Mexicans encountering problems in the United States.
Rodriguez travels extensively around the U.S. and to Mexico. The rise in Mexican-owned restaurants isn't unique to Hampton Roads, he said.
But he does credit local growth to the presence of the Navy, whose members often have traveled extensively and sampled different cuisines.
For immigrants, owning a restaurant can be a way to ``attain the American dream,'' said Wendy Webster, a spokesman for the National Restaurant Association in Washington, D.C.
``There is no question that a disproportionate share of new Americans go into food service,'' she said. ``And there's no doubt that Mexican food is one of America's favorites. Virtually all Americans have sampled it, or eat it regularly.''
Association figures show that only Italian food surpasses Mexican in popularity among ethnic cuisines in the United States.
Dining Mexican increased 10 percent from 1993 to 1994, studies show, while the increase was 3 percent for the industry as a whole. THE REAL THING
Although Americans sometimes confuse Tex-Mex and Southwestern dishes with true Mexican, the Restaurant Association says the recent surge in Mexican restaurants has ``piqued consumers' interest in authentic Mexican cuisines and allowed them to explore authentic Mexican fare.''
Augusto Ratti-Angulo, editor and publisher of El Eco de Virginia, a local Spanish-language monthly newspaper, has followed the growth of Mexican-owned restaurants in Hampton Roads. The restaurants often buy ads in his paper, which is distributed free in the restaurants.
``The food is Americanized to some degree,'' said Ratti-Angulo, who started El Eco more than three years ago. ``But it is more than just tacos. The food won't blow out your budget. The dishes are generous and very warm.''
Ratti-Angulo, a Peruvian who is a naturalized American citizen, described the restaurant owners as good businessmen who emphasize service and have studied American eating habits.
Most of the local establishments are owned by families from the Mexican state of Jalisco, which contains the city of Guadalajara, he said.
``The owners work hard and pitch in,'' he said. ``There is some cross-ownership, with a partner in one restaurant serving as a partner in another.''
Bea McKenzie, a Mexican-American from Texas, also has observed the local Mexican connection. She owns the La Playa tortilla factory on Diamond Springs Road in Virginia Beach.
And she recently opened a Mexican deli that serves lunch at her factory on weekdays. McKenzie hired a cook from Mexico, and offers enchiladas, tacos, burritos, nachos and other traditional fare.
She said many Mexican dishes are still unavailable here. Corn, beans and peppers - ingredients that date to the Aztecs and Mayans - are staples in Mexico, she said.
``Wheat tortillas are more American,'' she said. ``Mexicans use cornmeal. Mexicans don't eat so much meat - goat mostly, some pork. Not so much beef.''
McKenzie also said Mexicans like seafood, which is not emphasized on local Mexican bills of fare.
``Ceviche is very popular there,'' she said. ``It is a white fillet of fish, marinated raw in lime juice with lots of onion, cilantro and tomatoes.''
If you want to try ceviche (a sort of a Mexican sushi), or tacos de lengua (tongue taco), or menudo (a soup made from tripe or cow's stomach), there are opportunities.
At Mamasita's on Sundays, for example, the menu becomes more authentic.
Or visit Mi Casita, and point to the Mexican dishes advertised in El Eco.
And, remember: If your waiter smiles and says, ``Gracias'' when you leave, please reply with ``De nado.'' ILLUSTRATION: BETH BERGMAN/Staff color photos
RIGHT: Manager Sam Arellano delivers steaming-hot fajitas and other
Mexican dishes at El Rodeo restaurant on Military Highway.
Mamasita's in Virginia Beach is one of several eateries that serve
fare from south of the border.
El Rodeo waiter Raul Perez is originally from Mexico City.
Graphics
GLOSSARIO\ [For complete graphic, please see microfilm]
MEXICAN MENU
The following Hampton Roads restaurants are Mexican-staffed:
El Azteca: 1676 Laskin Road, Virginia Beach, at Hilltop
(437-1890).
El Loro: 801 Volvo Parkway, Chesapeake (436-3415).
El Mariachi: 660 J. Clyde Morris Blvd., Newport News (596-4933).
El Rodeo: 5209 Providence Road, Virginia Beach (474-2698) and
5834 Virginia Beach Blvd. in Norfolk, near Janaf (466-9077).
La Fogata: 3900 Bonney Road in Virginia Beach (463-6039) and
Route 158, Milepost 4, Kitty Hawk, N.C. (919-255-0934).
La Tolteca: 6031 High St. W., Portsmouth (484-8043); 810 N. Main
St., Suffolk (539-0820); and 5351 Richmond Road, Williamsburg
(253-2939).
Mamasita's: 5001 Virginia Beach Blvd., Virginia Beach (473-3095
or 473-3230).
Mi Casita: 3600 Bonney Road, Virginia Beach (463-3819).
Mi Paseo: 3326 W. Mercury Blvd., Hampton (825-2482).
Rancho Grande, coming soon to 1320 S. Military Highway,
Chesapeake (near the Virginia Beach line).
3 Amigos: 200 N. Battlefield Blvd., Chesapeake (548-4105).
by CNB