

	Home Dining Out Cooking Shopping

At the Table

Back to: Dining Out

Mexican and American cuisine in one at Gallito's

Josiah Beers and his father Jerry of Hanover eat lunch at Gallito s. (Evening Sun - James Robinson)

Here's a tip on how to judge a good Mexican restaurant - how is the mole sauce and do they have real sugar in their soda?

At Gallito's Mexican Restaurant in Hanover, I was pleasantly surprised to find Mexican Coke and Pepsi on the menu. What this means is that instead of the saccharine substitute, there is cane sugar in the beverage, upping the caffeine amount exponentially and making the soda even sweeter.

The mole sauce, which was on the enchilada de mole, is thick with a bitter aftertaste. It's not for the faint of heart.

The mole poblano sauce is made from dried chili peppers, ground nuts or seeds, spices, Mexican chocolate, salt, and sometimes charred avocado leaves, onions and garlic with bread crumbs or crackers to thicken the sauce.

My dining partner did not enjoy the sauce, but she never tried mole before. She tried the Torta Cubana - an interesting mix of ham, egg, steak, sausage, cheese, pork, lettuce, avocado and onion - that was surprisingly enjoyable.

We both enjoyed the grilled cactus appetizer, which neither of us had ever tried. It tasted like a very salty green bean and deserves a try.

Elvira Perez bought the restaurant almost a year ago with her three brothers. Since moving to Florida in 1998 from Hidalgo, Mexico, she has worked in several American restaurants before opening Gallito's. She moved to the area eight years ago.

"Some people bring their children, and they like to have American food on the menu for them," she said. Hence, the hamburgers and sandwiches.

Perez and her brothers have split up the work of owning a restaurant. She does most of the cooking and her brothers help run the business end.

The restaurant also serves both Mexican and American breakfasts starting at 6 a.m. daily.

Perez recommends the fajitas, with truly authentic ingredients like grilled cactus. If it's as good as the grilled cactus appetizer, it's next on my list.

Ticket to Lunch is a weekly column featuring local restaurants' meals available during the lunch hour. Reach Kate Wilcox at kwilcox@eveningsun.com.