Chef/co-owner Hector Ruiz was tablehopping on opening night last month at Indio. When we told him how much we were enjoying the taquitos al pastor and the moist seared cod in a huitlacoche sauce, he smiled. "This is the food I grew up eating," he said. "It's my mom's food."
Lucky for the greater Uptown dining public, Ruiz wasn't raised on Hamburger Helper like so many of us. Ruiz, a native of Cuernavaca, Mexico, cooked in other Twin Cities kitchens before he and his wife, Erin Ungerman, bought El Meson. Last year the couple launched their exceedingly charming Cafe Ena, and last week they moved into Uptown, putting a lively Mexican touch on the former Pizza Nea.
Ruiz's dinner menu is divided into three sections. Starters ($4.50 to $14) begin with chips and salsa and a creamy guacamole before moving on to more elaborate dishes: little tortillas topped with shredded pork and cilantro, crispy flautas filled with potatoes and topped with a green tomatillo sauce and a trio of cool ceviches. Salads ($7 to $11) include adobo-marinated chicken over spinach and watercress or a toss of seared tuna, pineapple, jicama and grapefruit. An oven-roasted whole red snapper with charred green onions, pork marinated in lime and serrano chiles, duck-stuffed flautas and oven-roasted ribs smothered in a green mole sauce are just a few of the 12 entrees ($17 to $25).
The bar keeps the party going by maintaining an inventory of more than 50 tequilas. There are big, colorful cocktails, as well as a few brightly flavored nonalcoholic drinks built using fruit purées. The airy room is still nice-looking, casual and great for people watching.
New on Nicollet
"You'd never know that this used to be a KFC," said my friend as we pulled into the parking lot at La Chaya Bistro. Such are the transformative skills of co-owner (and landscape designer) Dave Kopfmann, who has buffed a prototypical fast-food eyesore into something entirely different. Goodbye, Colonel Sanders. Hello, neighborhood asset.
Inside, chef/co-owner (and Kopfmann's brother-in-law) Juan Juarez Garcia takes his cooking cues from his native Mexico as well as his Italian training, emphasizing organically raised ingredients. For the former, he bakes halibut in banana leaves, or rubs a rib-eye with garlic and cilantro and tops it with a green caper salsa. For the latter, he features house-made pastas -- squid-ink fettuccine tossed with shrimp and cherry tomatoes, ricotta- and spinach-stuffed cannelloni, penne blended with garlic and wild mushrooms -- as well as a dozen plate-size pizzas. A short list of small-plate starters includes grilled vegetables, beef carpaccio, a potato-baby octopus salad and a few salads. Appetizers average $9, pizzas fall in the $12 range, pastas are around $14 and entrees are between $14.50 and $27.
Weekend brunch starts with house-baked pastries before moving on to pancakes and omelets as well as huevos rancheros built on house-made corn tortillas, empanadas and eggs Benedict made with avocados and salsa verde ($7.25 to $9.50). The bar pours 13 wines by the glass ($6.50 to $8) and more than half of the bottle list is priced at $32 or less.
The place looks as if it should really come into its own when warmer weather arrives. A patio is in the works.
