There’s a blend of simplicity and sophistication at both of these dining rooms, with south-of-the-border dishes infused with the chefs’ own careful touches of flavor and presentation.
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John Park
This is nothing if not a love song for La Elenita Tienda y Cocina. Like many true loves, it was unassuming at first, but made of many layers to fall in love with. The first layer was the location, a resurrection of a former taco joint, El Charly, that I used to frequent when I first moved to Roanoke six years ago. Then it was the joint grocery store and restaurant with telenovas playing on the tv screens and a mix of John Mayer and mariachi playing on the CD player. Next came the veritable jug-mug of horchata – 16 ounces more than I could feasibly drink, but so sweet and so refreshing that I couldn’t stop, heaven help me. But we aren’t even finished. Freshly fried tortilla chips and house-made tomato salsa with chiles and cilantro, the perfect snack to hold till the crescendo: the food, any and all of it on the menu.
Located in an unassuming building on Melrose Avenue (close to Peters Creek), La Elenita generally isn’t even noticed unless you’re looking for it. Inside, you’ll find a grocery store (tienda) stocked with spices, dry goods, and a few perishables like tortillas, chorizo, and lettuce, along with a restaurant (cocina) with 10 or 11 tables. What the space lacks in interior decoration, it makes up for with plenty in flavor – which is the real reason any of us are here anyway.
As soon as you’re seated, you’re offered fresh tortilla chips along with one of the best salsas I’ve eaten in the valley. Certain salsa bars have nothing on this simple but spicy blend and, try as I might, I’m never able to refrain from polishing off the basket of chips by the time my main dish arrives. Drinks are a simple affair – water, horchata or a fresh juice of the day – no margaritas here, but a jugo or horchata the size of your head (I have to grip the mug with both hands in order to drink it) sets you back only $2 or so: a total steal.
Deciding what to order, though, is the difficult part. Portions are large, but if you’re feeling peckish, opt for another chip-based appetizer like the Elenitas Dip, a dish of refried beans topped with chorizo and molten cheese dip. Swirl on a bit of either the tomatillo and jalapeno or the chile de arbol hot sauce for a bit of kick and you’re good to go with a hearty pre-dinner snack.
If you’re in the mood for tacos, La Elenita is the place to go. I’ve sampled almost all of them (all are topped simply with diced onion and cilantro) and, for the more adventurous, opt for my favorite combination: two lengua (beef tongue) and two tripa (beef intestine). The beef tongue at Elenita is incredible – seared on the outside, tender and fall apart with the poke of a fork on the inside – and the tripa is beyond any taco I’ve ever eaten. As one friend exclaimed, “it’s like pork belly!”–crispy, crunchy, salty, smoky goodness in a tortilla. If you’re squeamish at the thought of intestine, just think “pork belly” and take a big bite. You won’t regret it.
Much like a taco, except not exactly, are the sopes, crispy fried masa cakes topped with refried beans, your choice of meat (steak, chicken, or, as I recommend, pork), lettuce, sour cream, and queso fresco. Reminding me of many a late night food truck snack I enjoyed after a show in Chapel Hill, these sopes are both classic and filling – a trend of every dish served here. Another great late-night vibe option is the Pambazo, a monster of a sandwich filled with chorizo, French fries and lettuce, dipped in guajillo sauce, and drizzled with queso fresco and sour cream. You can’t eat this with your hands – it’s a fork-and-knife sandwich – but it’s a sandwich I crave late at night after going out with friends. If Elenita were open past 10 pm on the weekends, I’d likely become a regular. Which isn’t to say you can’t order the sandwich during the day, but a fair warning about how giant it is. Points if you can finish the entire beast.
On the more refined side, you can order the chuletas a la plancha, grilled pork chops served with rice, refried beans, guacamole, lettuce, and tomato. Cut the pork into bite sized pieces and scoop it and some of the accompanying sides up with tortillas to make an interactive dinner. The pork chops are always charred just the right amount to keep the meat tender and juicy, never overcooked, and the dish is a steal at under $12. Another favorite of mine is the chiles rellenos – two giant poblano peppers stuffed with oozing hot cheese, topped with a hot tomato sauce, sour cream, and yet more cheese, and served with tortillas, guacamole and rice. It’s hard to let the chiles cool down enough to not burn the roof of your mouth because it looks and smells so outrageously good. A chunk of pepper, slather of guacamole, and spoonful of rice in a tortilla and you’re good to go.
La Elenita may not be love at first sight, but she’s love at first bite. From authentic tacos to the most outrageous meat and potato sandwich to salsa I could eat for days, it’s everything I want in a restaurant. By featuring affordable food and extremely pleasant service, along with the kind of flavors that are coming to define this city as an up-and-coming global cuisine hotspot, La Elenita Tienda y Cocina is a restaurant you must add to your list for 2015.
La Elenita Tienda y Cocina.
4029 Melrose Avenue Northwest, Roanoke.540-904-2487.
Nopales: imagination is alive in the food and wine choices
Upon entering Nopales in Grandin Village for the first time, I was immediately greeted by the smell of corn charring on the grill and a chalkboard detailing new wines on offer by the glass, including a cava I’d never seen on any wine list in Roanoke before. First thought, “I’m in for an excellent treat,” followed quickly by, “now what do I order to get some of that charred corn?” Nopales is just that kind of place – it invites you to cozy in and sample both some bubbly and something new off the menu.
Opened in 2013 by Rocky Byrd, former co-owner of Rockfish Food & Wine (yes, the Rockfish located just across the street), Nopales brings Latin & Caribbean flavors to the Grandin area. I remember eagerly watching, along with the rest of the neighborhood, for Byrd to pull the brown paper off the windows and set a grand opening (the restaurant opening was delayed for several months due to various renovation speed bumps), but I’m glad he took the time to craft the space (and the kitchen) to his vision.
The restaurant is warm and inviting, with an open kitchen in front leading to a small bar and an intimate dining space that could sit a couple dozen people. It’s not a drastically different set-up than Surf & Turf, the previous restaurant, but it’s far cleaner and easier to navigate than its predecessor (though the tables are harder to sit at if you’re under 5’4,” as the custom-made bench seating is a bit taller than a normal chair – I found I needed to point my toes in order to touch the floor). On warmer nights, however, it’s hard not to vie for a patio seat with its perfect view of Grandin Road and its bustle of summer evenings.
Meals, for me, begin with a glass of something light, like a cava or rosé, paired with a sampling of one or two of Nopales’ flaky empanadas. Here, the distinction between vegetarian and non- is more of a formality than a delineation of flavor, with the empanadas being point-in-case. Whether you choose the butternut squash and black bean empanadas or the picadillo ones (featuring ground beef, green olives, golden raisins, and pepitas), you’re guaranteed to enjoy one of the better appetizers in the region. From the buttery, whisper-light pastry to the savory fillings and the bright zing of the tomatillo-based salsa, you can’t go wrong.
Other starters, like the smoked salmon tacos or the carnitas al pastor, are equally engaging. These are no street tacos, with fillings like smoked salmon with a cilantro-lime yogurt, or shredded pork with a chunky pineapple salsa, but it’s impossible to criticize the chefs for that. Authenticity isn’t always the most important ingredient in cooking – often imagination leads the way to a winning dish.
This play on traditional Latin American or Caribbean dishes with a more Americanized palate is what makes Nopales so successful. One of my favorite dishes is one that merely hints at another cuisine – seared duck breast with a port cherry-tamarind reduction, roasted root vegetables, and greens – with tamarind being the Caribbean nod, and it’s a dish I’d order again and again. The meal manages to balance the sweet and sour of tamarind with the rich, almost woodsy flavor of duck which makes for a satisfying late fall or winter dinner.
Similarly, the guajillo-chile rubbed lamb chops provide another Latin-influenced dish that’s sure to be a crowd pleaser. Guajillo chiles, by default, are mild, but smoky, making them a perfect introduction to a chile spiced dish. These chops, cooked to a pink medium, serve as the perfect canvas for the guajillo rub and could easily open a diner’s horizons to more adventures Latin fare.
Some dishes I found to be a little less successful, like the chiles rellenos. While billed fairly traditionally – roasted poblano peppers stuffed with a mix of manchego and queso blanco – the two times I ordered them, I found the cheese to be more solid than molten, the pepitas used a bit too enthusiastically. Instead of a warm, gooey dish, this one was almost crunchy at times, and the under-seasoned side of black beans did little to resurrect a potentially engaging vegetarian main dish. Plenty of other vegetarian options like the large and vibrant grilled romaine salad or the roasted acorn squash with quinoa, however, pack a punch for vegetarian diners, so all is not lost in that department.
You would be remiss to not order from the extensive wine list that Byrd has curated from mostly Latin American wines (with a few Continentals and U.S. bottles thrown in occasionally). It’s one of the few restaurants in town that my oenophile friends enjoy visiting, if only for options like the Crios Rosé of Malbec from Argentina or the Gran Familia Rioja from Spain, the latter of which will only set you back a mere $22 for a bottle. That’s the beauty of this wine list – it’s budget friendly with plenty of bang for your buck. Byrd managed the wine at Rockfish for more than five years and brings his expertise to Nopales. If you’re lucky, catch him at the bar and chat with him about his favorites, he’ll quickly steer you to your new one.
This cue to settle in and find a new favorite is what makes Nopales so successful as a neighborhood restaurant. It’s easy to make friends with the staff, order your usual, and, maybe, experiment a little with a glass of a wine you haven’t tried before. What could potentially come off as predictable actually reads as comfortable and welcoming, with fantastic food to boot – much like the cultures Nopales interprets in its dishes.
Nopales Restaurant.
1329 Grandin Road S.W., Roanoke. 540-342-1000. http://nopalesrestaurant.com
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