Ortega's Restaurant
Jul. 22nd, 2009 06:46 pmNormally Mlle. de Joie is a Western Shasta County kinda gal. She is not entirely at ease with Enterprise. A trip across the Sacramento River is not undertaken lightly; often she and Amico del Signore will make arrangements so that only one of them has to venture off where Beyond Here There Be Dragons. Not that it's hostile territory, or filled with evildoers. In fact, ![[profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
fallulah71 makes her home there, as does our friend, accomplished chef, world traveler and all-around snappy dresser Christiano. Trader Joe's is there, and the GO Store. Still, there is something alien about it for us, and it takes good reason to cross the river.
It is even rarer that Mlle. de Joie ventures further east to Palo Cedro, butclitav suggested that Mlle. de Joie try a little place called Ortega's. It was completely off our radar, but we are willing to check out small, locally owned businesses, so last night we drove east on Highway 44 and stopped in to give Ortega's a try.
One reason Ortega's had escaped Mlle. de Joie's notice was that it is on the south side of Highway 44. On the very few occasions in recent memory that we have gone to Palo Cedro, we have turned left after exiting 44, and headed for the Bright Lights Big City of the shopping center and its environs. This little cafe is in a strip mall next to the Shell Station on the east side of Deschutes Road. You might never notice it if you were whipping by on your way to, say, a formal dinner gathering of doctors and attorneys in Millville.
When you walk in, you are face to face with the counter/cash register. On the left and right are small dining rooms. The waitress herded us gently toward the left side and plopped us in a spacious booth and handed us menus. The dining room is decorated with a small Mexican flag and map of Mexico, plus various Mexican-themed posters and bric-a-brac. The menu is organized well and is clear and easy to read; dishes are priced more than fairly (i.e. a side of Jalapenos and carrots is $1.00, as was a side of watermelon), with a large selection of Mexican and American dishes, including burgers and fries for the inevitablewuss person who says she doesn't like spicy food. Birria (goat, available with tortillas, rice and beans, $10.50, or in a taco for $2.50) is on the menu - even if it doesn't appeal, its presence on the menu indicates authentic cooking in the kitchen. Another item, Vuelvealavida (shrimp, octopus & oyster cocktail, $11.99), tells you: I'm not at Taco Bell any more.
After taking our order, our waitress explained that where we came in was a salsa bar and there we could pick up a basket of chips and our choice of salsas. The chips are kept under a heat lamp so they stay fresh, hot, and crisp. The homemade salsas are on ice - you have a choice of mild, medium-hot, hot, taco, and avocado, along with a ice-bath tub of fresh radishes. The mild salsa was a chunky and flavorful pico de gallo; the others were purees of chiles, broth, and spices. Though the avocado salsa was a little bland, it improved immeasurably by the addition of some medium-hot salsa. The kitchen was busy preparing a large to-go order so it took perhaps 10 minutes for our food to arrive, but we were busy mixing and matching salsas to go with our bottles of cold Dos Equis Lagers and lime, so we didn't notice.
Mlle. de Joie is happy to announce that the fish tacos served at Ortega's are at least the equivalent of the ones served at La Cabana. Freshly deep-fried fish was folded in two corn tortillas and covered with Mexican sour cream, lettuce, and tomato. Very, very drippy. Enchiladas Suizas were light on the goopy melted cheese that many restaurants pile on, but full of moist shredded chicken and bathed in a tart green sauce of tomatillos, cilantro, and broth.
Amico del Signore is a connoisseur of chile rellanos, and the one served at Ortega's did not disappoint. Made with a fresh Anaheim chile and coated in an exceptionally tender and fluffy egg batter, he declared it the best one he had ever eaten. It was not greasy, heavy, or too spicy. The cheese enchilada alongside was covered in a homemade mild red chile sauce that was not bitter (as they can sometimes be) or too heavily flavored with extemporaneous, flavors such as too much cumin or oregano. And a bean tostada was light and delicate, a salad on top of refried beans and a crisp tortilla.
About those refried beans: along with Spanish rice, they are too often just filling up plate real estate. Not these. Care was taken in the kitchen with these side dishes and they are worth ordering on their own. Not salty, bland, or peppered with oddments like a can of Veg-All, the rice and beans here are rich and substantial.
There was a linguistic snafu when we asked the waitress about the malts offered on the dessert menu. We went around with the waitress for a good five minutes about this, and even now we aren't sure if what Ortega's makes is malts or milkshakes. The waitress - whom we are not blaming; we think this is something that just doesn't translate between English and Spanish - didn't seem to know that a malt is a milkshake with malt powder added, yet the menu clearly read "malts." However, since we were both stuffed and couldn't entertain the thought of dessert, it didn't seem worth pursuing.
We both like Ortega's enough to cross the river and drive to Palo Cedro again. The delicious and plentiful food was freshly prepared by people who take pride in their cooking and their restaurant (which was very clean, including the restroom). It's great value for money - two combination plates plus two side dishes plus two beers came to just over $30.00. And after eating at the many, many chain restaurants that Borgitize Redding, patronizing a place like Ortega's will give you back your soul.
Highly recommended.
- Femme de Joie
Ortega's Restaurant, 9153 Deschutes Road, Palo Cedro, CA 96073, open Monday - Saturday 8:00 AM - 9:00 PM, Sundays 10:00 am - 8:00 pm. Phone 530-547-8989. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Beer and wine. Credit cards. Parking on-site. Menu at Ortega's Restaurant.
fallulah71 makes her home there, as does our friend, accomplished chef, world traveler and all-around snappy dresser Christiano. Trader Joe's is there, and the GO Store. Still, there is something alien about it for us, and it takes good reason to cross the river.It is even rarer that Mlle. de Joie ventures further east to Palo Cedro, but
clitav suggested that Mlle. de Joie try a little place called Ortega's. It was completely off our radar, but we are willing to check out small, locally owned businesses, so last night we drove east on Highway 44 and stopped in to give Ortega's a try. One reason Ortega's had escaped Mlle. de Joie's notice was that it is on the south side of Highway 44. On the very few occasions in recent memory that we have gone to Palo Cedro, we have turned left after exiting 44, and headed for the Bright Lights Big City of the shopping center and its environs. This little cafe is in a strip mall next to the Shell Station on the east side of Deschutes Road. You might never notice it if you were whipping by on your way to, say, a formal dinner gathering of doctors and attorneys in Millville.
When you walk in, you are face to face with the counter/cash register. On the left and right are small dining rooms. The waitress herded us gently toward the left side and plopped us in a spacious booth and handed us menus. The dining room is decorated with a small Mexican flag and map of Mexico, plus various Mexican-themed posters and bric-a-brac. The menu is organized well and is clear and easy to read; dishes are priced more than fairly (i.e. a side of Jalapenos and carrots is $1.00, as was a side of watermelon), with a large selection of Mexican and American dishes, including burgers and fries for the inevitable
After taking our order, our waitress explained that where we came in was a salsa bar and there we could pick up a basket of chips and our choice of salsas. The chips are kept under a heat lamp so they stay fresh, hot, and crisp. The homemade salsas are on ice - you have a choice of mild, medium-hot, hot, taco, and avocado, along with a ice-bath tub of fresh radishes. The mild salsa was a chunky and flavorful pico de gallo; the others were purees of chiles, broth, and spices. Though the avocado salsa was a little bland, it improved immeasurably by the addition of some medium-hot salsa. The kitchen was busy preparing a large to-go order so it took perhaps 10 minutes for our food to arrive, but we were busy mixing and matching salsas to go with our bottles of cold Dos Equis Lagers and lime, so we didn't notice.
Mlle. de Joie is happy to announce that the fish tacos served at Ortega's are at least the equivalent of the ones served at La Cabana. Freshly deep-fried fish was folded in two corn tortillas and covered with Mexican sour cream, lettuce, and tomato. Very, very drippy. Enchiladas Suizas were light on the goopy melted cheese that many restaurants pile on, but full of moist shredded chicken and bathed in a tart green sauce of tomatillos, cilantro, and broth.
Amico del Signore is a connoisseur of chile rellanos, and the one served at Ortega's did not disappoint. Made with a fresh Anaheim chile and coated in an exceptionally tender and fluffy egg batter, he declared it the best one he had ever eaten. It was not greasy, heavy, or too spicy. The cheese enchilada alongside was covered in a homemade mild red chile sauce that was not bitter (as they can sometimes be) or too heavily flavored with extemporaneous, flavors such as too much cumin or oregano. And a bean tostada was light and delicate, a salad on top of refried beans and a crisp tortilla.
About those refried beans: along with Spanish rice, they are too often just filling up plate real estate. Not these. Care was taken in the kitchen with these side dishes and they are worth ordering on their own. Not salty, bland, or peppered with oddments like a can of Veg-All, the rice and beans here are rich and substantial.
There was a linguistic snafu when we asked the waitress about the malts offered on the dessert menu. We went around with the waitress for a good five minutes about this, and even now we aren't sure if what Ortega's makes is malts or milkshakes. The waitress - whom we are not blaming; we think this is something that just doesn't translate between English and Spanish - didn't seem to know that a malt is a milkshake with malt powder added, yet the menu clearly read "malts." However, since we were both stuffed and couldn't entertain the thought of dessert, it didn't seem worth pursuing.
We both like Ortega's enough to cross the river and drive to Palo Cedro again. The delicious and plentiful food was freshly prepared by people who take pride in their cooking and their restaurant (which was very clean, including the restroom). It's great value for money - two combination plates plus two side dishes plus two beers came to just over $30.00. And after eating at the many, many chain restaurants that Borgitize Redding, patronizing a place like Ortega's will give you back your soul.
Highly recommended.
- Femme de Joie
Ortega's Restaurant, 9153 Deschutes Road, Palo Cedro, CA 96073, open Monday - Saturday 8:00 AM - 9:00 PM, Sundays 10:00 am - 8:00 pm. Phone 530-547-8989. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Beer and wine. Credit cards. Parking on-site. Menu at Ortega's Restaurant.
