Category: Mexican Restaurants

The blog is mmm-yoso!!! Kirk and Cathy will blog for you again soon.  Today ed (from Yuma) has a really long post about Yuma's original Mexican restaurant.

March 2011 update: shortly after this was published, Chretin's was purchased by new owners. While the lunch buffet is still da bomb, the menu is considerably different, and some of the old-school Yuma dishes are gone or prepared differently.

I need to go back and try Chretin's again. My last couple of visits weren't very good and the buffet seemed sparse and overpriced back in the summer of 2013. That was my last visit, but I will try to update when and if I get bck.

My favorite experiences blogging for Kirk are those moments when I can share an unlikely but incredible experience at some out-of-the-way taco stand or a tiny restaurant hidden in a blind alley. My task today is more unusual and more difficult,  presenting a restaurant that almost every online poster seems to hate – Chretin's Mexican Restaurant in Yuma:

At Yelp, somebody from New Jersey called the food "Crappy Mexican.  Like east coast crappy." At Yahoo, a poster who "came up on mexican food in denver co and sandiego cal" reports "fake mexican food that was just sick we did not eat or food nor ask them to re-make it or refund it."  Many others agreed.

For me, on the other hand, Chretin's is like an old friend — maybe no longer your favorite person — but someone you are comfortable with, someone whose good qualities (and shortcomings) you know very well.

My first Mexican meal in Yuma was 25 years ago  at Chretin's original location in a ramshackle building in the middle of an old residential district.  All I remember is that I enjoyed it.  Many times after that first visit, I would come to Chretin's with Mary Emma and her late husband Don, who loved the old school food, atmosphere, and waitstaff. Years later, I still eat at Chretin's occasionally, and I usually enjoy it.

These days, Chretin's occupies a fancy new building at a major intersection (Arizona and 16th St.), and perhaps customers expect the food to be the standard Mexican food that can be found at "nice" Mexican restaurants throughout most of the United States.  The Mexican equivalent of ABCDE restaurants. Instead, Chretin's is a Yuma standard, serving some of the same dishes that introduced Anglos in southwest Arizona to "Mexican food" two or three generations ago.  Is it authentic Mexican?  Ehh, probably not.  But it is authentic Yuman. 

The new building is both a blessing and a curse.  Centrally located, with a huge parking lot, the restaurant with its main room, side rooms, and bar has plenty of space for customers:

At the same time, 2007 was not a good year to relocate a business.  And the restaurant was overwhelmed initially.  Everyone in town wanted to try the new location, and numerous passers-by and  freeway refugees stumbled onto the place and added to the chaos. While I have never had poor service (though I do adjust my standards to Yuma norms), I'm sure some online posters were not well treated.

But the real big whammy for the new location is the seemingly endless widening and repair of 16th St, so that Chretin's seems to be located in a war zone in some third world country:

So amid all that could go wrong,  how do I have a good meal at Chretin's?  Sometimes, I start with a Mexican beer (Pacifico and Bohemia are my favorites)  or the first-rate margaritas turned out by the bar:

Some people like the sweeter flavored margaritas (such as the strawberry one in this picture), but my favorite is on the rocks without salt:

 I also savor the thin corn chips and the decent salsa: 

Though certainly not the spiciest in town, the salsa here has all the right flavor notes:  tomato, chile pepper, onion, with a touch of black pepper and a slight sour tang.  The guacamole is also the real thing.  The puréed avocado is enhanced with  touches of spice and citrus :

A truly great appetizer is the incredible Sonoran cheese crisp (called the toasted cheese tortilla here):

Even my friend Charles knows of none better, in fact, none even close.  The flour tortilla is truly crisp and crunchy. The amount of cheese is absolutely perfect, enough to cover but not overwhelm the tortilla.  And the balance between the mild creamy white cheese and the sharper yellow is perfect. Top with some salsa and it's heaven.
 

Another reason to like the restaurant are the lunch choices; you can take advantage of several excellent specials, order items à la carte, or choose the reasonably priced buffet on week days (currently $5.99).

The buffet usually has a salad section, condiments choices, a tostadas area (with ground beef and refried frijoles), mass-produced tamales and enchiladas, decent chicken fajita-style, and ample giant flour tortillas.

Just to illustrate, my friend Dave put together the following concoctions on a recent visit there:

I'm usually content to roll up a couple chicken fajitas burritos with or without extra condiments:

Other lunchtime favorites are bowls of green chile, chili con carne ($5.25), or albondigas, tender meatballs in a rich vegetable based stock ($4.99):

You can also get a lunch size taco salad –  beef  or chicken:

  

My only complaint about the taco salads is that there is not enough true salad.  Both of the meat choices, beef or chicken, are flavorful, the guacamole and sour cream are abundant, the beans and cheese add their richness, but I have to give up eating when things get too gloppy:

One of my very favorite lunch specials is a single chile rellano, fried perfectly crisp, with rice and beans:

 Most of the time, that chile rellano will be the best you've ever had, a fresh green chile amply stuffed with a flavorful blend of white and yellow melty cheeses, wrapped in a thin egg batter, and fried to brown crunchiness.  Inside it looks like this:

Another luncheon favorite of mine is the Chile Verde burrito, enchilada style:
 
I have already written about Chretin's unique version of green chile stew (mutant green chilies in Yuma), but I can't resist showing you another close-up of the insides of a Chile Verde burrito:

This dish also illustrates the unique nature of some things at Chretin's.  One specialty of this restaurant is serving burritos and chimichangas enchilada style — covered in sauce and cheese, making them clearly knife and fork food. Of course, I can't claim that this is an invention by this restaurant. Perhaps Chretin's version simply reflects the culinary traditions of the old time Sonoran families in Yuma.   But in any case,  this style of "wet" or "saddle" burrito is very common around here, but I honestly don't know why that is.

What I do know, however, is that Chretin's serves the only green sauce that tastes a lot like Thanksgiving turkey gravy with merely a hint of green chile flavor.  Is this use of flour in the sauce  a family secret that goes back to a 19th-century Abuela? Or does it reflect what an entrepreneurial Mexican-American family in the 1940s and 50s believed would sell to Anglo residents and servicemen? Not sure. I can understand how some people could hate this mild chile flavored gravy sauce, but for myself, I love its taste and uniquity.

Other folks are passionate about Chretin's chili con carne, tender bits of beef stewed in an old-school dried red chili sauce:

 A bowl of this chili was always Don's favorite lunch, and for good reason. It always reminds me of the best aspects of the canned chili that I ate growing up.  I mean that as a compliment — no chili in cans was ever this good, rich and flavorful.

The chicken machaca is a dish not common in Yuma.  The chicken (boiled?  Or maybe roasted) is stirfried with vegetables and it's full of poultry goodness:

 The carne Asada here is also different — a thin, juicy, steak, topped with the roasted fresh green chile — a flavor combination common in Sonoran cuisine.  The steak itself is tender, moist, and beefy, touched with a bit of Worcestershire marinade:
 
I like the carnitas plate even more.  This guy could be the poster boy for carnitas.  The pork ranges from crispy crunchy to moist and tender.  All of it tasting of the pig.  And the condiments it comes with — chopped cabbage and pico de gallo — are just perfect.  The meat rolls up into two good-sized burritos with plenty of leftovers:

Also outstanding is the chile rellano dinner, pictured here, enchilada style, covered with green chili gravy:

This time made with a very spicy dark poblano:

Anyway, a person can have excellent meals at Chretin's.  This is not standard Americanized Mexican food, not always what you expect, and some old time Yumans will tell you that it was better in the old location — but for me, Chretin's is a perfect embodiment of an old-style independent restaurant, a place that sticks to its traditions. I hope they are around to serve future generations this unique version of frontier Sonoran/Arizonan food.

In memory of Don Berkey. Thanks, Don. And we still miss ya!

Chretin's, 505 E. 16th St., Yuma AZ 85364, 928-782-2224   

Like you folks, I look forward to Kirk and Cathy's food-driven forays around SD, and I await Kirk's next travel post. Today, though, it's just me, ed (from Yuma) writing.

Three years ago, I first posted about Yuma's best Mexican (oh heck, best overall) restaurant for readers here at ymm-yoso, so why another post about Pepe's? It's certainly not because the restaurant has moved to some new fancy location.  It's still in an old house on 8th St:

It's not because the food has gotten any worse — or better.  The pozole is still righteous:

The guacamole is still first-rate: 

And the consistently spicy salsa is still one of the best in town:
  
In fact, Los Manjares was recently named one of Arizona's 10 best Mexican restaurants by the travel section of the Arizona Republic, and Arizona Highways Magazine said it was one of the 25 best restaurants in the entire state. Of course, all you yosoers knew how good it was already.  The title of this post reflects this recognition — and because I was reminded of a sign I saw years ago: "World Famous on the Oregon Coast."

So I am doing this post because I keep eating at los Manjares and taking pictures of the food.  I just can't help myself.

As before, some of the best things at the restaurant are specials, which are available only on certain days or when Pepe feels like cooking them.  For example, the chicken soup is rich and full of vegetables:

And you always get at least two pieces of chicken on the bone:

Another winner is the traditional Jaliscan dish, carne en su jugo (meat in its broth): 

Served in a bowl, the tender chunks of beef, the flavorful pieces of bacon, and the pinto beans all contribute to make this yo-so good.  The flavor is enhanced by the condiments: 

Sometimes I eat it like a soup, but other times I combine goodies from the bowl and make a taco: 

While Yuma is not known for moles, even the chicken mole is better than any other that I have had in a restaurant in town:

 
Yet Los Manjares is more than just the daily specials.  Numerous great dishes are featured regularly on the menu.  The potato tacos, mashed potatoes rolled in corn tortillas and deep-fried are done very well here:

I was even more surprised that time I ordered sopes, a dish I rarely like.  At Pepe's this order of griddled corn cakes tastes as good as it looks: 

Each of the patties is topped with grilled chicken, lettuce, chopped tomato, guacamole sauce, crema, and cheese.  Add a little of the great house salsa and the taste is heavenly and the textures are complex and satisfying.

The kitchen's technique also raises some mundane dishes to new heights. For example, look at the char on this machaca:

 
Similarly, this order of chicken fajitas has been singed, charred, and even slightly burnt:

In fact, that particular plate may have been too aggressively grilled even for my tastes.

In general, I have liked almost everything I have ever been served at this restaurant.  Two of my favorites deserve special mention.  Pork in tomatillo sauce (also called Pepe's special) is a dish I have encountered no where else and is a consistent winner at Pepe's:

 The stewed pork is tender, rich, and oh so flavorful.  The tomatillos do not make the dish sour in any way, but add a deep savory balance to the pork flesh.  Flakes of red chile do a picante dance in the background.  People have been known to take a spoon and eat up any savory sauce left after all the meat is gone (okay, I am one of those people).

Another consistent winner is  Pollo Sinaloa:

The largely boneless half chicken is flattened, expertly seasoned, and grilled perfectly. It is served covered with a fresh pico de gallo dice.  Many versions of this dish are overcooked (which is better, I must admit, to bloody raw).  At Los Manjares, on the other hand, the chicken is always perfectly done and still juicy:
  
 In addition to all of the dishes shown in these posts, there are several other things that the kitchen does very well, but I don't always bring my camera with me and my pictures don't always turn out the way I'd like.  Also, I have to remember what my friend Chip keeps saying — "stop telling people about Pepe's.  It's getting too damned busy."  Okay, I'll stop right now, but somebody else has to tell Arizona Highways and the Arizona Republic to cease and desist.

Los Manjares de Pepe, 2187 West 8th St., Yuma AZ. (928) 782-2366 

Kirk has been eating his way through some foreign country. Cathy has been eating a lot just to keep this blog current. And ed (from Yuma) has been eating and finally has the time to share a new Yuma restaurant with you guys.

It's got to be tough opening a Mexican restaurant in Yuma, the kind of city where almost everybody has two or three favorite Mexican restaurants already.  So when I heard that a new restaurant was going in the old Chile Verde location on 4th Ave between the post office and Fry's, I didn't give it much of a chance for long success:
On my first visit, the large main dining area was largely empty.  On the other hand, it was clear that the owners had enough capital to redecorate the restaurant, keeping the comfortable booths and adding  high backed wooden chairs marked with horseshoes (Herraduras) around  sturdy tables.

I was immediately impressed by the thin corn chips and outstanding salsa:
 The salsa is both spicy and full of chunky goodness:
That day the special was green chile.  Of course, I had to try it, and soon received a steaming bowl of wonderful old school, Yuma style green chile:
This was an excellent version served more like soup than a stew.  The broth was wonderfully beefy and flavored with both tomato and green chile.  The coarsely ground beef fit the rest of the dish perfectly. I was amazed by the lack of grease as well.

To my surprise, the next time I ordered green chile, the dish looked completely different:
This is what I consider standard green chile.  Chunks of tender pork swimming  in a mild and complex sauce with balanced flavors of green chilies, tomatillos, and fresh minced cilantro. The differences in this version let me know the range of flavors and dishes the kitchen could prepare.

At this point, our Friday Munch Lunch Bunch (MLB) agreed to get together and try some different items. Everyone loved the salsa (and what's not to love), but the cheese crisp lacked a certain complexity of flavors, though the tortilla itself was nicely crisp:

One of my friends had the fish taco special, which she proclaimed was very nicely done, with crisp batter and fresh flavored fish: 
Chip opted for the asada torta and was very happy with the flavorful beef, the crispy grilled bolillo roll, and the numerous toppings including numerous slices of avocado on the sandwich and the pickled jalapeno slices on the side:
Someone else ordered the caldo de res (beef soup), which tasted better than it looked, the clear stock being full of beef flavor:
But I think I ordered the best of all the meals, the albondigas: 

 
Here the rich beefy stock was thickened with tomatos, giving the whole bowl the flavors of an excellent beef stew.  The meatballs themselves were both full of flavor and soft and tender.  As good an albondigas as I've had in Yuma.

After the lunch, we compared notes, and every one was pleased with his or her dish, and considering the varied palates of the group, that rarely happens.

At this point, Tina and I started trying various other dishes.  Once, Tina had the hass burrito, a nice combination of carne asada, fresh green chile strips, and cheese:
 The beef was both tender and flavorful and Tina was impressed by how the cheese and the green chile slices contributed to the overall flavor.

Once I ordered a Lenten special, calabacitos:
The melty white cheese covered a stew of squash, fresh sweet corn, and fresh tomatoes:
Another common lenten dish in Yuma households is Chile rellenos.  The first time that I ordered the chile rellano lunch special at Herraduras, it was truly outstanding: 

 
The mild green chile was well fried in its egg batter, but the highlight of the dish was the tomatoey sauce that covered the chile.  That sauce combined perfectly with the vegetable flavors of the chile itself:
In the six months since Las Herraduras opened, I have only been disappointed in two dishes.  The chicken fajitas:

And the pollo asado burrito:
In both cases, part of my problem is the rather dry chicken breast meat.  The burrito would have been 100% better if it had contained a generous portion of guacamole — of course, that preference probably reflects the two years I spent living in San Diego where the art of asada/asado burritos has been perfected. The chicken fajitas no doubt would've been better served on a hot platter in the restaurant, but the chicken breast just didn't have much flavor and the vegetables were not uniformly cooked.  Nonetheless, I can imagine that these chicken dishes might well be favorites of white meat chicken fans. 

Since I hate to end a post on a down note, I want to finish by talking about and showing you pictures of what I think is the best menudo in town, served with chopped cilantro and onion and a nice bolillo roll:
Lover of tendon that I am, I was delighted to find a slice of pata de res hiding in the bottom of the bowl:
 
The perfectly grilled, crispy crunchy bolillo roll matched perfectly with the tendon, the succulent and tender tripe, the chewy kernals of nixtamal, and the rich chili flavored broth:
It doesn't get much better than that.  And Mexican restaurants don't get much better than Las Herraduras. Let's hope these are lucky horseshoes. 

Las Herraduras, 2256 S. 4th Ave, Yuma AZ, 85364, 928-783-0559. Open daily 11am-9pm.