Still Cooking After All These Years

While the Cinco de Mayo celebrations took place in Watsonville this Sunday, my friend, Michael, and I chose to celebrate with lunch at the Jalisco Restaurant on Main Street.

It’s not hard to miss the restaurant: it’s in a historic California Mission-style building, built in 1931, with a red tile roof. The restaurant has three dining rooms lit with large, Spanish-style chandeliers. The wood-beams supporting the ceilings are painted in colorful stencils. Outside, there is an enclosed garden patio.

The owner of the restaurant, Stella Romo, arrived at the beautiful location after many ups and downs. Inspired by her mother’s restaurant business, she started a small “hole-in-the-wall” eatery on the 200 block of Main Street and was there for five years until the city, exercising eminent domain, moved her out. She then transferred the restaurant to the 300 block, and did well there until the 1989 earthquake destroyed her business. Fortunately, she was then able to secure the Main Street location, where the restaurant has been since 1990.

When the new restaurant opened, Romo said, “The community responded well.” 

Michael ordered a vegetarian plate, and I ordered the Pipian Mole Verde—a house special. While we waited, the server brought crisp, warm tortilla chips and a red salsa. The service was good: Water glasses and chips were refilled promptly, and the waiting period for the meals was reasonable.

Our meals were beautifully presented on colorful ceramic plates, along with a basket of house-made corn tortillas. Michael’s vegetarian plate included cheese enchiladas, a chile relleno (chile stuffed with cheese), frijoles and a salad. While he thought the chile relleno and the friljoles were both “nothing special,” he did like the “no-frills” cheese enchilada—especially the red sauce, which was rich and “deeply flavored” with paprika and other spices.

On the menu, the Pipian Mole Verde is said to include “medallions of tender, marinated chicken breast.” My dish contained strips of chicken, albeit very tender and tasty. It was presented on a triangular dish, accompanied by frijoles, rice and a chopped salad with guacamole and sour cream. The chicken was smothered in a green mole sauce of roasted tomatillos, dried fruit, roasted pumpkin seeds and almonds and fresh herbs, sprinkled with sesame seeds. The mole was green, richly flavored and evenly textured. It was slightly sweet, and I thought I detected a subtle taste of cloves (or allspice) and anise. The rice and beans were good, but the mole dish was definitely the highlight.

The menu has plenty of variety, priced very reasonably. Romo tells me that she’s especially proud of the seafood dishes. Most of the fish comes from the Stagnaro Bros. Market on the Santa Cruz wharf. The vegetables are fresh from local farms in the Pajaro Valley. If you go for Happy Hour on a Friday evening, check out the wide variety of tequilas.

I experienced a brief, jealous moment when a heaping bowl of seafood, probably the Siete Mares (Seven Seas soup), was delivered to a nearby table. I could smell the mussels, fish, chiles and steaming broth from where I sat. Behind me (I risked appearing nosey, and turned around), another server was preparing guacamole at a table, slicing avocados, tomatoes and onions, and adding extra vinegar, according to a guest’s request. Still, I was quite satisfied with my meal and will return another day, to try one of their tempting mesquite dishes, or perhaps that bowl of Siete Mares.

618 Main St. Hours: Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-9:30 p.m.; Friday, 11 a.m.-10 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 9 a.m.-10 p.m.; Sunday brunch, 9 a.m-3 p.m. 831-728-9080. jaliscorestaurant.com/