Thursday, March 13, 2008
Angelo is a staff of one
Larry Bly
Larry Bly runs an ad agency and does freelance writing in the Roanoke area.
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Fans of Angelo's Mexican Restaurant on Pollard Street in Vinton, have asked me for years to check out this little authentic Mexican eatery. A friend and I finally had lunch there recently.
What an interesting experience.
Angel Linares, the owner/operator/chef/chief of pots, pans and dishwasher, holds forth in the tiny kitchen all by himself. But don't think that keeps him from talking up the customers, kidding with everyone who comes through the door, or keeping up with orders.
But be warned: because he prepares everything to order -- on top of a gas range -- you'll have about a 30 minute wait. This is not fast food. Angel does it one way: his way. And he's fun to watch. Watching, by the way, is always up close and personal because the restaurant only seats about 14, depending on whether he's storing something on one or two of the chairs, as he was the day I was there.
An old TV and two even older cassette machines were taking up the chairs -- strange, considering that he uses Sirius satellite radio on the corner TV for his music. Oldies, by the way.
If there's anything smaller than the place itself, it's the menu. There are photos of the Mexican offerings on the wall to your left, a dozen or so entrees: Mexican omelette, $7.50; Eggs any style, $3.50; Steak enchiladas, $10; steak tacos, $10; Heuvos ranchero, $10, Chiles rellenos, $7.50, Chalaquiles, $7.00; and something called chicken floutas a la Jerry Akers, $7.50.
Who's Jerry anyway?
"Oh, he's a regular and he just hates the chicken floutas, so I named it after him," Angel exclaimed with glee.
Oh, and you can get regular lunch items too: grilled cheese, BLT's, chef salad, burgers, etc.
To say that everything is made to order would be an understatement. Heck, everything's also chopped to order, sliced to order, cut to order, and mixed to order, and cooked to order. Frankly, I think the "made to order" thing may be just a little over the top. For instance, would anyone be offended if the burger meat was ground in advance? But Angelo takes a steak, slices it with his ever-present cleaver, then chops that very finely. I've never seen a burger prepared from a steak before.
Another item that mystifies me as regards pre-prep (or the lack thereof) is the chili beans. Apparently Angel hates chili beans (so why have them on the menu anyway?) and he will make them only by ordering in advance. It says so right up on the wall.
How far in advance?
"Oh, one or two days," he says in a laugh.
So does this mean that he only prepares a single bowl in advance? Why not just prepare a pot of it and you'd always have them, like the lady at the bar wanted for her meal that day. Go figure? It's Angel's way or no way. I suspect that given his limited grill space, it would just take up unnecessary space. So no chili beans.
The red sauce is made in a blender, using fresh ingredients, tossed in with abandon. He does this as needed, which is every once in a while during lunch. Same thing with the guacamole. He makes it to order, honestly, and it's pretty good. I thought it was a little heavy on the cilantro. So are many of the entrees, but it's Mexican, so who's to argue? Sometimes making a sauce in advance only makes it taste better. Making the red sauce to order in a blender doesn't really give the flavors time to meld, but it's still mighty good.
I had the steak tacos, cut from a New York strip, chopped into tips, and cooked in a big pan with his delicious sauce. They're served with guacamole and red sauce (careful, it's got one heck of kick), fried potatoes, and soft tacos just off the grill. Very delicious!!
My dining partner had the steak with potatoes. (She shared my sides.) While I was completely satisfied with my dish, she complained that the steak was tough, had too much gristle, and didn't have a grilled taste; probably because it's not actually grilled, but rather fried in a pan. She left much of it on the plate. Having said that, my picky dining partner DID seem to enjoy much of MY meal. She'd a be mean food critic.
Angelo's is sort of like the Cheers of TV fame, where everybody knows your name. Unless you're the strangers in town -- from that nearby town called Roanoke, like we were. That didn't stop a nearby diner at the counter from grilling me about my personal life and assorted other topics. I enjoy chatting it up with people, so I took it all in stride.
Angelo knows about everyone who comes in and they obviously adore him. When one patron entered and said, "Hi Angelo, I'll have the usual," it was met with a gruff, "Sorry, we're closed today," as he giggled under his breath. No one paid attention to any of it.
While he does run to a back refrigerator occasionally, and he does go to the sink to wash dishes as customers leave, he doesn't expend a lot of unnecessary energy. The kitchen is tiny and everything's within reach. It's fascinating to see how much food he can cook at once on such a small grill.
Having conversation with him is a little difficult at first, but once you chat for a while, you sort of understand much of what Angel has to say. If heard him correctly, he claims to have brought the first taco-making machine to America, using it in a Mexican restaurant in D.C., just behind the Greyhound bus station. If it was in that section of town, no wonder I missed it. I was afraid to ever leave the station way back when, though this was in 1952, apparently -- a bit before my Army bus riding days. If Angel says it's true, I have no reason not to believe him!
One other thing: You just have to admire a Mexican restaurant that has chili peppers drying in the front window sun.
Angelo's Mexican
303 Pollard St.
Vinton, Va.
If he a phone, he's keeping it a secret. So I guess you'll have to order your chili beans in person -- the day before, of course.
