Yesterday, we reported on a couple of family-owned restaurants in the historic hamlet of Englewood, a tiny business district inside the boundaries of Independence: the Detour Coffee Shop and the Englewood Cafe.
Another relatively recent restaurant addition to the shopping district is La Plaza Market y Restaurant at 11000 Winner Road. Macario Contreras and his wife, Olga, run the little 12-table cafe in the storefront immediately adjacent to their neighborhood convenience store. A native of Durango, Mexico, "Mac" Contreras was a cook at the former Majestic Steakhouse for five years before launching his own business in 2010.
The cantaloupe-colored dining room opens each morning at 9 am. and serves an array of hearty Mexican-style breakfasts, including huevos rancheros, huevos con chorizo, huevos en torta and huevos revueltos (Mexican scrambled eggs) served with frijoles, queso crema and either flour or freshly made corn tortillas.
There are traditional Mexican dishes here - tamales, tacos, enchiladas - as well as South American-style pupusas, the thick Salvadoran corn tortillas that are baked with a variety of stuffings, including queso, queso with bean, queso with loroco, and chicharrones. The pupusas are served with the tangy slaw, curtido, a combination of chopped carrots, onion, cabbage and red-pepper flakes. A refrigerated case in the middle of the dining room is packed tightly with bottles of American soda pop and colorful Jarritos pop flavors.The prices are cheap here, and the portions are grande. Meals are served with a basket of warm, crunchy chips and a mild salsa. The restaurant closes each evening at 9 p.m. For a religious experience, you can dine directly under paintings of Jesus Christ and his disciples or Our Lady of Guadalupe. Menudo is currently served only on weekends.
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