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Food will bowl you over
| Thursday, Oct 30 2003 9:20 PM
Last Updated: Friday, Feb 10 2006 10:27 AM
There are so many fine Mexican restaurants in Bakersfield that it can be hard for a new place to stand out.
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Los Molcajetes on Brundage Lane has found a way, offering a type of Mexican cuisine no one else does.
I heard about the place when reader Guy Greenlee wrote a letter to the editor in praise of the restaurant. Greenlee said he's a big fan of reasonable prices and friendly service, and was thrilled to find it at the humble downtown restaurant in "a very colorfully painted old Happy Steak building."
You have to be a long-time Bakersfieldian to remember Happy Steaks, which I think faded from view in the early '80s.
"The food is great -- with both standard Bakersfield Mexican dishes and some locally unique recipes well worth the adventure. I think the salsa and chips are the best in town. Perhaps Los Molcajetes' biggest asset is the young couple who run the business. They still have that old world service mentality that has been long forgotten by some restaurateurs. They truly treat each customer as if they are the only customer."
His assessment was pretty much on the mark, but I was skeptical going in, as that building, which was once home to a great Chinese restaurant called Szechuan, has been a revolving door in recent years. But the food was incredible, especially the house specialty, the six molcajetes dishes.
These are what makes the restaurant unique in this area. The molcajetes are like a stew presented in those black, stone bowls with four legs, which are usually used locally to prepare guacamole in local restaurants. At this restaurant you can get a combination of meats or seafood prepared in one of these with cotija cheese, cactus, roasted whole jalapeno peppers, green onions and this killer medium hot sauce that makes it all good. I have heard of restaurants in Texas that prepare entrees this way, but haven't run across any in Bakersfield.
For example, the dish I ordered had carne asada made from sirloin, chicken and chorizo ($10.99). I was leery of that particular mix, but somehow the chicken didn't taste like something mixed with beef.
My companion's dinner was also superb, the camarones a la diabla ($9.99). The shrimp were exceptionally fresh tasting and the spice level was very hot. The kitchen has an even spicier shrimp dish available, aqua chiles. My companion's version is more sweet with hot, like good Thai food.
And like our reader said, the chips are notable. They are exceptionally thick, and the fresh salsa was chunky and tasted like good vegetables. The rice had carrots and peas mixed in.
The restaurant was not particularly crowded on our visits, but we did get some of that attentive, charming service that Greenlee mentioned. I'm not sure if the restaurant could handle a big crush without more help, however.
I do need to mention the long list of lunch specials, all $5.99 or less, and the fact that margaritas are only $1.99 on Friday and Saturday nights. Usually restaurants discount those on the slower weekday nights, but not here.