What the Heck is Going On?

We're completely covered with business and planning for a major author event. There's your explanation for my absence from the blogs. We certainly hope to resume with a regular schedule later in the season.

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Pretty good news to report: Zesto's is open on Charlestown Road.

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Great news to report: Ann and I are probably the last of our circle to dine in at La Rosita's. After work last evening, with much anticipation and not a little trepidation that they might have closed the kitchen, we made our visit. It is everything it was advertised to be.

I tried the enchiladas verdes con pollo, after fighting with the spouse over who would order that. It was unique and unexpected. 5 enchiladas smothered in tomatillo sauce accompanied by refried beans (passable) and Mexican rice (passable), for $7.99. Most surprising was the swiftness of the service. In under an hour, we had been fed and treated to a wide-ranging discussion of dishes on the menu and off, business talk, personal histories, and future plans.

We had the apparently rare opportunity to meet impresario Israel Lundin's impressive spouse, too.

Ann had a grand quesadilla loca with mushrooms and chicken. I'll let her report on that.

The salsas (four of them) were superb, but Israel reports that a plurality of diners are advocating for the menu to stay down at the low end of the Scovill Unit scale. That can be the kiss of death for a restaurant that caters to what its customers say they want. My opinion: a little more heat won't run anybody off.

Instructive is Israel's experience with introducing lengua to the menu. He continues to offer samples, often presented as, in Israel's patois, roastpork. Customers rave, all the while protesting they could never eat tongue. But once sampled, the tongue becomes a favorite for most.

Great stories, too. CFP is planning a fairly important event there on March 8 if everything falls into place, so I expect to range much deeper into the menu then.

FYI, the dinner menu is still in flux, so the chalkboard and lunch menus serve as the only carte du jour for now.

I'm eager to work my way through the menu. Like others before me, I'm curious as to just what a pambazo is, and will try that next, but not before trying the tamales de la casa.

And unlike others, I won't just be crossing my fingers for their success. I'll actually go there, pay the eminently fair prices, and revel in the booming neighborhood success stories.

La Rosita's is at 1515 E. Market St., just west of the tracks on eastbound Market Street. Traffic was lean after 9 p.m. last night, but from all reports that's usually not the case.