It might not be long before South Florida has little reason to envy the U.S. Southwest when it comes to the fabulous cuisine of Mexico. To that, we can say only as they do in the land of the Aztecs, padrísimo. The list of distinctive Mexican restaurants in Miami-Dade remains a select club, but high up there is Guadalajara Mexican Restaurant in Pinecrest. The charming 60-seater near The Falls shopping mall has all the ingredients of a memorable eatery -- original, delicious home-cooked fare and a locale with lots of character.
Guadalajara is a family-run restaurant, owned by Cesar and Guadalupe Berrones, founders of Casita Tejas on Krome Avenue in Homestead, and by Cesar's sister and brother-in-law, Hilda and Arthur Beaudet Sr.
The name conjures images of the colonial city's European-style plazas filled with outdoor diners serenaded by mariachis. This Guadalajara, however, looks more like an old-fashioned southern house with a sloping-roofed front porch and the kind of swinging door that creaks.
The decor is a fiesta of color -- bright yellow walls, blue ceiling, glossy green and orange-trimmed tables, seats painted with sunflowers, multicolored streamers that hang across the room.
Just as festive is the fiesta of flavors, starting with the appetizers, the best part of the menu. You can easily order an entire meal from this section alone -- and be more than satisfied with the variety.
Even the complimentary house tortilla chips with tomato salsa are exceptionally fresh. (Those who like their salsa very spicy will have to spike it, but the more health-conscious will appreciate the mildness). But don't overindulge because you've never had nachos like Guadalajara's super nachos ($6.95), tortilla chips topped with refried beans, lettuce, tomato, melted cheese, jalapeño, sour cream and your choice of meat.
Order the super nachos in a mix of all three -- ground beef, shredded beef and chicken -- and you'll go from one meat to the other thinking each one is better than the next. The white chicken chunks are especially flavorful and flake at the touch of a fork. These nachos are a complete meal, as the menu boasts, and it is tempting to horde the dish, but pass it around and continue the feast.
Sample the queso fundido ($4.95), a bowl of cheese fondue made with a mild salsa ranchera sauce blended with Monterrey Jack cheese. Dip the crispy house chips or dunk a warm tortilla. Riquísimo.
If your dining party includes a daring culinary soul who craves spices the way race car drivers crave speed, don't miss the Mexican bullets ($5.50). These jalapeño peppers loaded with your choice of chicken, beef or cheese are explosive, all right. Covered in salsa ranchera and Monterrey Jack, these are billed as a Casita original.
You'll need a beer, and there's no better excuse than cleansing the palate to try Guadalajara's lesser known imports from Mexico (all $2.95) -- Tecate, Dos Equis XX, Negra Modelo, Carta Blanca, Pacífico, Bohemia, Sol.
Guadalajara bills its fajitas ($9.95 for beef or chicken, $10.50 for shrimp) as ``our claim to fame,'' so who can resist?
The secret seems to be in the garlicky marinade, which makes the lean, char-grilled steak strips taste more like a palomilla steak than the typical fajita meat. These fajitas are delicious, but the dish doesn't arrive at the table in a sizzling cast iron plate. And fajitas are a dish that seduces with the aroma of its sizzle long before it makes its way to the palate.
The restaurant has added two new dishes worth noting.
The burrito norteño ($7.50) is a large flour tortilla stuffed with steak fajita, grilled onions, rice and cilantro. Tightly rolled, it's additionally flavored with salsa suisa, melted jack cheese and served with sour cream.
The fish tacos ($7.25) -- three folded corn tortillas stuffed with grilled dolphin, lettuce tomato and cheese -- aren't as savory although the fish is high on pepper and there's a sprinkling of jalapeños not noted on the menu.
When it comes to dessert, there are flans and then there are flans.
Guadalajara makes theirs ultra rich, a vanilla custard, cheesecake pie that manages to outdo some of the best Cuban flans in town. Padrísimo. Riquísimo. Simply delicious.
