Cafe Castro is a popular place serving quality northern NM food
Café Castro is a popular place serving quality northern NM food
BY JACKIE JADRNAK FOR THE JOURNAL
Every year, when a couple of my family members come out for their pre-Christmas visit, we make tracks for Café Castro. Pity the poor visitors — they can’t get real New Mexico chile in the Chicago suburbs. And it’s not a matter of heat; it’s a matter of flavor. Nothing matches the full flavor of chile found in New Mexico.
So, of course, chile is a prime draw in our visits to Café Castro. But the ambiance helps. On a recent Sunday evening, Christmas lights twinkled and a guitarist softly sang in Spanish. A quick glance around showed that the Hispanic customers outnumbered the Anglos — generally a good sign that quality, down-home northern New Mexican food is being cooked.
We started with guacamole and chips ($6). The chips were thin, but sturdy, made in-house and “very fresh,” the waitress assured us. Indeed, they provided a delicate taste of corn you won’t find in the stuff that comes in a bag.
The guac’s avocado was specked with bits of tomato and perhaps also onion. Anyone who missed heat in the guacamole would have been satisfied with the salsa.
More liquid than solid, it was dominated by (canned) tomato flavor with a hearty enough addition of red chile to send my male guest’s scalp into a sweat.
We made a considerable dent in that appetizer before the entrees appeared.
My female guest opted for the Plato Pequeño ($5), an ample meal that she customized to include chicken in the enchilada, green chile on top and posole on the side — along with a little mound of shredded lettuce and tomato. “Delicious,” was her judgment.
For his stuffed sopaipilla, my other guest chose a beef and beans filling with a green chile topping. The good-sized sopaipilla, he noted, was quite stuffed, leaving him in the same condition when he finished. In both cases, the food was warm, flavorful and made just the way it should be. I noted that the chile this time was on the mild side, but I imagine the degree of heat depends on the harvest and the chile on hand.
Now, we get to my choice: a large bowl of menudo ($6). Yes, it’s made from tripe — usually beef stomach. But I love it. It’s comfort food to me.
I ordered the menudo with posole and green chile; some chopped raw onions and oregano came on the side to add as I wished. It all comes together in a tasty broth. I alternated between dipping the sopaipilla that came on side in the broth and drizzling some honey into its interior.
The sopaipillas varied. The one I had on the side was substantial and not greasy, while others we had in a basket had thinner walls, a bit more crispness and a little more grease — maybe they emerged more recently from the fryer.
I can’t think of a better spot for inexpensive, well-prepared northern New Mexican cuisine in the City Different.