ASHEVILLE -A localrestaurant has relocated and reopened with a new name, larger dining room, and lengthier menu of authentic Mexican and American classics.
On July 1, Cafetería y Taqueria la Jarochita opened at 2377 Hendersonville Road in Arden.
It is an enhanced concept from the same team behind Scrambled, which closed earlier this year at 144 Hoopers Creek Road in Fletcher.
Scrambled served American and Mexican breakfast, lunch, and dinner classics, but there were few choices, owner Guillermo Cortes said. Cafetería y Taqueria la Jarochita offers more selections of traditional dishes and an overall improved dining experience.
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“The location that we’re at now is twice as big as the other one,” Cortes said. “Sometimes at the other place, people left because there was no more room for them.”
The new eatery is spacious withindoor seating, as well as a few picnic tables outside.
Cafetería y Taqueria la Jarochita is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The hours are 7 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday and Wednesday-Saturday and 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday.
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Regular customers have visited the new venue and expressed their excitement about the restaurant’s reopening, Cortes said. The consensus is that the new space is calming and relaxing.
“We have new customers that say they feel so comfortable when they get here,” he said.
The new and returning dishes have been received favorably and with the enthusiasm, too.
The expandedmenu has something for everyone. It features a diverse range of authentic Mexican favorites like huevos rancheros and chilaquiles Verdes and rojos as well as American-style pancakes, French toast, and omelets, plus breakfast burritos.
“They can get something different every day,” he said.
Traditional Mexican entrées include mole, chile relleno, carne asada and empanadas. Plus, a variety of sopes, burritos, tacos and tortas.
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“They are family recipes from Mexico,” Cortes said. “A little bit of that and a little of my wife.Shetook some classes in Mexico when she was there, so she knows how to prep a lot of stuff.”
Cortes is from Michoacán and hiswife, Patricia Zacarias, isfrom Veracruz.
Beer battered cauliflower tacos, sopes, torta, empanadas, and enchiladas are several of the vegetarian options.
“We bring our homemade Mexican flavor so you can tell when you try them,” he said.
The new space has allowed room to refine recipes, such as slow-roasted al pastor, which guests have saidismore flavorful than before, Cortes said. And the pineapples on the al pastor taco take it to the next level.
“The customers say they taste much better now,” Cortes said. “We are a little different than we used to be.”
Fresh ingredients and scratch cooking is utilized as much as possible, he said.
Corn tortillas are handmade in-house and used for dishes like sopes and empanadas.
“Empanadas we are making by order so whenever somebody asks for chicken or ground beef or queso fresco, we make the tortilla and put the stuff in there and put it in the fryer. A lot of people love those, too,” he said.
Memelas, described as “grilled thin masa cakes” are perhaps the bestsellers, he said. They are available with a choice of proteins such as chicken, steak, pastor, chorizo, and cochinita, and are topped with queso fresco, pico de Gallo, and avocado.
Cochinita, a pulled pork in achiote paste, is one of the meat varieties that get guests excited, he said.
“The mole we are making from scratch. We are dealing with fresh peppers," Cortes said.“A lot of people love the mole. I have some people say, ‘Oh, I have to come back and try your mole. I heard you’ve got a really good mole.’ I give them a little bit to taste, and they get so happy.”
American classics includehamburgers and fries and corned beef hash meals for the afternoon and evening crowds.
Beverage selections include coffee, Mexican juices, and Aguas frescas — or fresh flavored waters — offered in horchata, cantaloupe, tamarind, and Jamaica (hibiscus).
For details, visit facebook.com/cafeterialajarochita or call 828-280-4981.
Tiana Kennell is the food and dining reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Email her at tkennell@citizentimes.com or follow her on Twitter/Instagram @PrincessOfPage. Please help support this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.
