Home > The M.O. > Archives > 2007 > September > 25 > Entry
Zocalo Cafe delivers fresh-Mex
The original owners of Galaxy Cafe (Kelly Chappell and Chris Courtney), along with their business partner Jay Bunda, expanded their growing culinary empire this summer by opening Zocalo Cafe. The new restaurant, located just a few doors down from the Galaxy on West Lynn, brings a fresh, healthy approach to Mexican food while maintaining robust flavor.
The restaurant, which is decorated in a sparse, modern and peaceful style by designer Clarisa Hulsey, resembles a refined boat house in Baja. With more than 20 tables inside and another 10 or so on the outdoor patio, the cafe, which resides in the location formerly occupied by West Lynn Cafe and Cosmic Cafe, has enough room to easily seat its dinner and lunch crowds, which are continuing to grow in the restaurant’s fourth month of business.
Beyond simple expansion, the ownership, along with chef Michael Wake, formerly of Whole Foods, wanted to make sure they were a healthy addition to the already crowded landscape of Mexican restaurants in town.
“The menu of interior Mexican food was two-fold — filling a need in the neighborhood and complimenting our existing business at the Galaxy,” Bunda told me recently. “The idea was fresh, lighter food than the typical Tex-Mex offerings all over town. Homemade tortillas, vegan rice and beans, reasonable portions, etc.”
Despite the fact that the restaurant forgoes traditional jack and other fatty cheeses, opting for queso fresco instead, as well as frying tacos and tortilla chips in non-trans fat oils, all of the flavor you have come to expect in Mexican food remains.
All meals begin with lightly fried tortilla chips, served now with two warm salsas, a verde and roja. Both salsas have distinctive and powerful flavor with just the right amount of kick. If you really want to make the chips happy, order the ceviche ($6.75), which is definitely my favorite in town. Often a tricky dish to pull off, the folks at Zocalo have mastered this fresh fish concoction that features marinated white fish, the ripest of avocado, crunchy onions and bell peppers with a taste of jalapeno to provide some zing. Not to be outdone by its seafood menu mate, the campechana ($6.95) is just as fresh, but with a sweet burst of flavor and spicy aftertaste. The saucy combination of shrimp, scallops, mixed peppers and onions is best served on a cracker as opposed to the ubiquitous chips.
The tacos de carnitas ($6.75) feature succulent, flavorful pork that is well seasoned. The tacos del barrio ($6.50), which can be served with ground beef or turkey, maintain flavor without dripping grease all over your plate, and are topped with fresh, crisp produce. The crispy stacked enchilaldas ($7.95) can be served with either beef and ranchero sauce or green chile chicken and tomaillo sauce. The presentation is elegant, if not slightly confusing, almost like a taco cake, but once you crack the shells with your fork, you can dig in from any angle.
If you prefer to eschew beef in favor of fish, try the snapper with chipotle slaw ($9.95). The sizable filet is slightly seared and served over a crispy tortilla and topped with grilled tomatoes, cabbage and carrot slaw and chipotle cream sauce that gives the fish a spicy finish. Each dish is served with moist, well-seasoned rice and either black or refried (although pureed may better describe these) beans that are mixed with garlic, topped with queso fresco and always seem fresh and hot. All of your favorite Mexican beers are served in bottles or cans — along with Dos Equis on tap, as co-owner Chappell confessed he just had to have tap beer to drink with the delicious campechana — in addition to aguas frescas and frozen sangria.
If the homemade tortillas, rice, beer, beans, fish, and meat haven’t filled you up, you can forget the whole “guilt-free dining experience” and attack the dessert menu, which features a firm yet moist tres leches ($3.95) that is heavenly, or try their churros, ice cream with caramel sauce or chocolate cheesecake.
Although Zocalo, like its sister restaurants, features counter-service, it continues in the tradition of excellent customer service, for which Galaxy has become known, with a friendly and efficient staff that gives the restaurant a feel of a regular sit-down joint.
Building on the success of the wildly popular Galaxy Cafe, the owners of Zocalo appear to have found the perfect restaurant and menu for their new Clarksville eatery, as evidence by the crowds of patrons who have come from around the city to enjoy their fresh take on interior Mexican food. If the lunch and dinner crowds are any indication, the new weekend brunch service, which began last weekend, will end up becoming an equally big hit among locals and those who have already made Zocalo a destination location.
Zocalo Cafe [site]
1110 West Lynn [map]
472.TACO
Hours: 11 a.m.-10 p.m., Mon.-Fri. | 10 a.m.-10 p.m., Sat.-Sun.
Menu PDFs: Lunch/Dinner | Weekend Brunch (10 a.m. - 2 p.m.)
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Comments
By TuttiFoodie
September 26, 2007 11:30 AM | Link to this
Pros: Zocalo Cafe is fantastic, fantastic, fantastic. We have been there about 10 times in 2 months and I can honestly say that everything I’ve had is great. Off the top of my head, the black bean, posole, & tortilla soups (arguably the three most famous Mexican sopas) are flavorful and filling without being over-salted or full of pork fat. The chilaquiles, stacked enchiladas, ceviche, and seared snapper are also awesome. Hell, even the salsas and homemade tortillas/chips are delicious. The interior is modern without being cold (figuratively and literally) and without the nortec/techhouse being too loud. Congrats Mike. Clarksville represent!!!
Cons: Thanks for making it impossible to get a table. ;)