|
The eye-catching mural above the front patio of the Puerto Azul Restaurant on Lincoln Avenue is artist Angel Rangel's rendition of the coast near Mazatlán, Mexico. Depicted on the building is a bright blue bay, sandy beaches, towering mountains, tropical plants and a passenger ship anchored just offshore. Rangel's friends Eduardo and Sandra Orozco opened Puerto Azul about two months ago, and they carried the mural's vivid seaside theme inside through decorative touches that include Rangel's ceiling mural of sea turtles, octopuses, sharks and fish.
Mexican seafood stands out on the Puerto Azul menu, much of it from Orozco family recipes. Entrees include piña de mariscos—a pineapple stuffed with seafood, from a favorite recipe Eduardo's parents brought to the U.S. from their family restaurant in Guadalajara, Mexico—and camarones rancheros and camarones a la diabla, spicy shrimp entrees that originated in Mazatlán, Sandra's hometown.
Three kinds of seafood soups are also on the menu, each one served with corn or flour tortillas. Diners can also choose from an assortment of cold or hot shrimp, octopus and abalone dishes.
Non-seafood Mexican entrees are also plentiful, including quesadillas, enchiladas, burritos, chimichangas and chiles rellenos. Parrillada de carnes, a generous selection that serves three to five people, combines chicken, spicy pork, beef and sausage.
Eduardo learned to cook while growing up in Guadalajara and watching his family. His own specialty at Puerto Azul is the molcajete grill supreme, a meal featuring grilled beef, chicken and shrimp with a special green sauce and green nopales, the flavorful leaves of certain Mexican cacti.
"No other restaurant in San Jose has it," Eduardo says.
The molcajete grill supreme is served in a molcajete, or mortar, which is a deep, bowl-shaped dish traditionally made from volcanic rock. The mortar is used in Mexico to grind chiles, herbs and spices and to prepare food such as guacamole.
Eduardo plans to turn the front vine-covered patio into a barbecue dining area this summer. He wants to show the restaurant's patrons how Mexican foods can be prepared on a grill.
"We like to talk to the people—lawyers, doctors, construction guys," Eduardo says. "I have customers who come from Gilroy, Morgan Hill, Milpitas, Los Banos. Their parents live in Willow Glen and they all come to eat [here] on weekends."
Two cooks usually create the meals at Puerto Azul, sometimes with the help of Sandra when the restaurant gets crowded. She also acts as the hostess and often as one of the waitresses.
Eduardo and Sandra opened the restaurant after enjoying success with their smaller taqueria-style eatery, also called Puerto Azul, which they own and operate on S. 10th Street. That first restaurant venture began a few years ago after Eduardo noticed a restaurant space for sale while he was working as a roofer. Since his parents and siblings all own restaurants, Eduardo decided it was time he and Sandra followed suit.
For two years he spent much of his workday roofing before going to work at the original Puerto Azul, where Sandra worked much of the time. Although Eduardo no longer does roofing, the work shifts of the energetic couple, now married for six years, continue to be long. They work daily at both restaurants, in addition to raising their four-year-old twin sons with the help of Sandra's mother.
Puerto Azul Restaurant is at 1072 Lincoln Ave. and is open Monday through Friday 10 a.m.10 p.m., Saturday and Sunday 7:30 a.m.10 p.m. Beer and wine are available. For more information, call 408.297.1300.
|
Photograph by Erin Day