
DATE: Thursday, June 12, 1997               TAG: 9706100150

SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS         PAGE: 02   EDITION: FINAL 

COLUMN: ON THE TOWN 

TYPE: RESTAURANT REVIEW 

SOURCE: Sam Martinette 

                                            LENGTH:   85 lines

CAFE, BAKERY OFFER MEXICAN FOODS

Frank and Naomi Escobedo, owners of El Rey Mexican Bakery and Cafe, have faith. They have faith in their taqueria, the restaurant side of their new business, and faith that there are enough Hispanics in Hampton Roads to buy the sauces, spices and goods they stock from Latin America.

That faith is expressed in the name of their Little Creek Road venture, El Rey - The King in Spanish - and relates to their Christian background. Even the Mariachi tunes are Christian songs recorded in Spanish.

The Escobedos opened the bakery at El Rey last August, offering traditional Mexican cookies, pastries and cakes - less sweet than North American cookies and pastries - and then the minimarket, offering mole sauce from Mexico, canned mango from Peru, guava paste from the Dominican Republic, and pigeon peas from Puerto Rico.

You can find a cast-iron tortilla press, or buy a hundred corn tortillas packaged for home use. Dried spices include hibiscus flower, ground shrimp and anise stars, while the cooler contains soft drinks from Columbia, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico and other Latin nations.

Their faith in the Hispanic community and in Naomi Escobedo's cooking has panned out.

``We have customers from as far away as Yorktown, but I am surprised at how many Mexican people come in,'' Frank Escobedo said. ``Right now, 70 percent of our customers are Mexican. I don't know where they're coming from, but we see new faces every day.''

The Escobedos moved to Hampton Roads in 1982 - he's a chief in the Navy, due to retire next year - settling in Norfolk. They live in Virginia Beach, but when the time came to start a business, they remembered the Little Creek Road corridor, not far from the Norfolk neighborhood where they lived.

``This area has had a large Hispanic population since the 1930s, when the Naval Base grew so large, but never has there been a Mexican market or bakery,'' he added. Their clientele includes California and Texas-born transplants who grew up with Mexican cuisine.

Born in Matamoros and raised across the border in Brownsville, Texas, the Escobedos have brought innovations to the local scene, including the only Mexican breakfast in Hampton Roads (9 a.m. to noon).

``We have Machacado, which is dried beef mixed with two scrambled eggs, and is very common to the Southern states,'' Naomi said. Served with potatoes and beans on the side, the dish is $4.47.

In addition to breakfast plates, such as the Chorizo sausage and egg plate (with beans and potatoes-$4.27), and Huevos a la Albanil, two scrambled eggs topped with a green pepper sauce and served with potatoes, beans and Monterey Jack cheese ($3.97), you'll find breakfast tacos - chorizo, bacon, sausage, ham, potato or beans - take your choice - and egg for $1.27, or a beef or chicken fajita for $1.87.

For lunch and dinner, a taco al pastor (a Mexican barbecue mix of pork and beef) is $1.87, as is a taco de carne guisada (beef tips), or beef or chicken fajitas. Gorditos ($1.87 each) are overstuffed pita pockets; the Nopales con puerco are with pork, and the Res, with beef.

House specials include Fajitas Nortenas, charbroiled chicken or beef with grilled onion and green pepper served with rice, charro beans, cheese, pico de gallo sauce, sour cream, guacamole and tortillas ($6.95 for one/$13.50 for two); Mole Poblano, boneless chicken simmered in a mole (a rich, dark, reddish brown sauce), served with rice, beans, salad and tortillas ($7.25); Chile Relleno, a Poblano pepper stuffed with chicken or beef - rather than the usual beans - topped with cheese and served with rice, beans and tortillas ($6.50); and Tacos Al Carbon, a pair of charbroiled steak tacos with guacamole, sour cream, pico de gallo and charro beans ($5.75).

They say the most popular combination comes with a crispy beef taco, cheese enchilada, chile con queso and a guacamole salad ($4.75). Also popular is a vegetarian enchilada plate: two enchiladas stuffed with spinach and mushrooms in flour tortillas, smothered in tomatillo sauce and monterey jack cheese, with rice and beans ($5.25).

Look for El Rey pastries in local markets soon. ILLUSTRATION: Photo by SAM MARTINETTE

Frank and Naomi Escobedo own El Rey Mexica Bakery & Cafe, across

from Southern Shopping Center.

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AT A GLANCE

What: El Rey Mexican Bakery & Cafe

Where: 618 E. Little Creek Rd., 587-4359.

Food: Mexican cuisine, baked goods; no ABC.

Prices: entrees $4.25-$7.95.

Hours: 9 to 9, Monday-Friday; 10-9, Saturday; 11 to 9, Sunday.