Le Menu
It's fiesta time!
El Habanero offers a party for your mouth
Date Published: May 2007
[Brenda Meadows/Granite Bay View]
Tortilla soup, beef and chicken fajitas, chicken fiesta salad, flan and a couple of margaritas make this meal at El Habanero a celebration.
A Cinco de Mayo celebration is year-round for Granite Bay residents who indulge themselves in real Mexican fiesta-style meals at El Habanero.
My dining companion and I were ready to taste authentic Mexican recipes, but we didn't want the heaviness we admitted we experience after a hearty south-of-the border meal.
The restaurant looks small from the outside but it is spacious with many tables and décor that resembles the interior of a hacienda.
I took a guest with me from my office. We started with tortilla soup, which she had never eaten.
The shredded, boiled chicken in broth was tender and topped with Monterey jack cheese, avocados, crispy tortilla chips and a spattering of sour cream. It also featured cooked onions and my favorite seasoning, cilantro.
"It's seasoned lightly," said my co-worker. "It's very good. A bit spicy, but it's not overpowering. I would order it again."
We opted for a combo of the tender strips of beef and chicken, served with refried beans and rice.
"The spices on the meat bring out its flavor instead of camouflaging it," my guest said.
I ordered the chicken fiesta salad, in keeping with the Cinco de Mayo celebration. The shredded pieces of pullet were nestled in a bed of green lettuces, tomatoes, guacamole, bell peppers, Monterey jack cheese and topped with sour cream. It would have been a meal by itself.
After consuming our fill of the tasty Mexican dishes, I waited for the heaviness in my stomach that generally accompanies such a meal, but it never came. Even the refried beans tasted light. The tortilla chips, made in-house, were not heavy or soaked with oil.
Owner Laura Behnke explained why. She said she will not allow lard to be used for cooking the fare.
"In Mexico we don't cook with all of that stuff," she said. "That's what they do in the states. Mexican meals have vegetables, fruit and healthy ingredients. And I only use Monterey Jack cheese. In Mexico, they don't use the yellow cheese. "
I was overjoyed to see that the dessert menu included flan, a traditional caramel soaked egg and sweet molded dense pudding.
El Habanero, 8781 Auburn-Folsom Road, Granite Bay, is offering its Margaritas at a discounted price and is including an extra free taco with any combination plate in honor of Cinco de Mayo. Breakfast is served throughout the day and there is also kid's menu to choose from.
For information about hours of operation, menu items or to go orders call El Habanero at 791-2940.
My dining companion and I were ready to taste authentic Mexican recipes, but we didn't want the heaviness we admitted we experience after a hearty south-of-the border meal.
The restaurant looks small from the outside but it is spacious with many tables and décor that resembles the interior of a hacienda.
I took a guest with me from my office. We started with tortilla soup, which she had never eaten.
The shredded, boiled chicken in broth was tender and topped with Monterey jack cheese, avocados, crispy tortilla chips and a spattering of sour cream. It also featured cooked onions and my favorite seasoning, cilantro.
"It's seasoned lightly," said my co-worker. "It's very good. A bit spicy, but it's not overpowering. I would order it again."
Advertisement
Our server Fernando Rivas recommended the fajitas, a regular favorite at El Habanero.We opted for a combo of the tender strips of beef and chicken, served with refried beans and rice.
"The spices on the meat bring out its flavor instead of camouflaging it," my guest said.
I ordered the chicken fiesta salad, in keeping with the Cinco de Mayo celebration. The shredded pieces of pullet were nestled in a bed of green lettuces, tomatoes, guacamole, bell peppers, Monterey jack cheese and topped with sour cream. It would have been a meal by itself.
After consuming our fill of the tasty Mexican dishes, I waited for the heaviness in my stomach that generally accompanies such a meal, but it never came. Even the refried beans tasted light. The tortilla chips, made in-house, were not heavy or soaked with oil.
Owner Laura Behnke explained why. She said she will not allow lard to be used for cooking the fare.
"In Mexico we don't cook with all of that stuff," she said. "That's what they do in the states. Mexican meals have vegetables, fruit and healthy ingredients. And I only use Monterey Jack cheese. In Mexico, they don't use the yellow cheese. "
I was overjoyed to see that the dessert menu included flan, a traditional caramel soaked egg and sweet molded dense pudding.
El Habanero, 8781 Auburn-Folsom Road, Granite Bay, is offering its Margaritas at a discounted price and is including an extra free taco with any combination plate in honor of Cinco de Mayo. Breakfast is served throughout the day and there is also kid's menu to choose from.
For information about hours of operation, menu items or to go orders call El Habanero at 791-2940.
Brenda Meadows can be reached at brendam@goldcountrymedia.com.
