Last week, Tortilleria Jaliscoopened its doors in the old Zadeos Pizza location, 303 Elton Hills Drive, bringing a new taste of Mexican food to Rochester. I took my first bite amid the enthusiastic response Rochester always gives new eateries. My tip? Stop by for breakfast or lunch, when crowds are slightly thinner — but when the food is this good, it’ll probably be a bustling place anytime of day for a long time to come.
The food
The restaurant’s signature items, served up in many ways, are its fresh tortillas. The flour tortillas are made fresh by hand every morning, and fresh corn tortillas are made on a tortilla maker four times a week. Everything else on the menu is made fresh — but don’t get settled too quickly on a favorite, because the menu changes every day.
You can depend on a key ingredient being available on certain days, made a few ways. For example, Fridays are fried talapia day; Saturdays you can get posole, which is a Mexican stew of pork, chicken, onion, lettuce and corn served with corn chips; or stop by on carne asada Mondays.
For a refreshing, summery drink, try an agua fresca, which is a homemade, all-natural fruit drink. Like the food items, these options change daily, but they’ll usually have two flavors available, such as horchata (sweet rice), mango, watermelon, tamarindo and others. Mexican Jarrito soda and Jumex are also available, along with Pepsi products.
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The ambiance
The inside of the small restaurant is bright and welcoming, with warm yellow walls. After walking in, order at the counter and then seat yourself in one of two dining sections or on the outdoor patio with your order number. When the food is ready (which was pretty quickly when I was there, even with a restaurant full of patrons), the friendly staff brings it out to you.
The prices
Prices are $7.50 for a breakfast burrito, and around $10 for lunch and dinner.
You can also stop in just to buy the tortillas, which are sold to go: $2 for six fresh flour tortillas, or $1 for 12 fresh corn tortillas. Tortilla Jalisco is open daily from 8 a.m. until 8 p.m.
Kemps Hometown Favorite
The Minnesota State Fair has just gotten under way, so now’s your chance to go in and sample the two finalist flavors for Kemp’s Hometown Favorite ice cream contest. Stop by the Kemps booth at the fair each day at 1 p.m. for samples and cast your vote until Sept. 1, when the winner will be announced.
The two flavors up for vote are "Land of 10,000 Licks" and "Pubcorn and Peanuts." If you try them out, drop me a note and let me know what you think.
