Mexican food a family affair at Mexico Cafe Delano

Review: Mexico Cafe Delano

Rating: Two forks out of four

Where: 555 W. Douglas

Hours: 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays; noon to 4 p.m. Sundays. Starting May 11, the restaurant will stay open until midnight Fridays and Saturdays, serving appetizers only after 9 p.m.

Type of food: Mexican

Alcohol: Beer

Reservations: Not accepted

William Villar won't get his beer license until just after the Wichita River Festival.

But maybe that's OK, he says.

Villar, the son of Mexico Cafe founder Mary Villar, opened his Mexico Cafe Delano in the heart of the historic district in February.

And he knows that, beer or no beer, his prime festival location could translate into big crowds of Riverfest diners clamoring for his tacos, enchiladas and chile verde.

He's just hoping to keep up.

ON THE MENU: A variety of Mexican-American recipes inspired by the Villar family's restaurants, including tacos, enchiladas, chile rellenos, Montereys and burritos.

DON'T-MISS DISHES: Presentation is not this restaurant's strong suit, but most of our food was tasty enough.

One of the least attractive dishes we ordered - the popular deluxe special Monterey ($6.50, $6 at lunch) -was among the best. It featured a deep-fried tortilla topped haphazardly with melted cheese, lettuce, jalapenos, tender chunks of pork, sour cream and giant, fresh avocado hunks.

Speaking of, the kitchen knows its way around an avocado. As an appetizer, we ordered a guacamole salad ($4.75), which was exceptionally fresh and green.

We also enjoyed the messy but tasty deluxe burrito ($5.75), a tortilla filled with pork and whole beans and then smothered in cheese sauce.

The combo dinners we sampled also had their highlights. We were disappoi nted to encounter a flour tortilla (rather than corn) in our cheese enchilada, and our flour-shelled taco was a bit too greasy, but we liked the tender, non-fatty chunks of pork in our slow-cooked chile verde.

One disappointment - the restaurant doesn't serve chicken, just pork and beef.

AMBIENCE: Villar was drawn to the West Douglas space because it reminded him of a restaurant in his favorite movie - 1992's "Cafe Romeo."

The space is small (seats about 40) but nice, especially its exposed brick walls. Villar has filled it with mismatched tables and chairs and has put up a small collection of artwork on the walls. He plans to open an outdoor patio in the back of the restaurant soon.

The kitchen does, however, have some serious ventilation problems, so if you dine in, prepare to smell fried tortillas for the rest of the day.

PRICE RANGE: Lunch specials average about $5. Combo dinners range from $6.50 to $9.75. An a la carte menu also is available, featuring items such as $2.50 tacos and $4 chile rellenos.

SERVICE: Our waitress was friendly and efficient, which was impressive because a colleague had called in sick and she was taking care of the dining room on her own.

This story was originally published May 4, 2007 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Mexican food a family affair at Mexico Cafe Delano."