Molcajete el Paisa Paradise

originally published August 6, 2008

Mmm… Peasant Food: El Paisano (478 North Ave., in the Piggly Wiggly Shopping Center, just down from Jewels) certainly didn’t seem like a promising restaurant from just about every sign: the name, easily mistaken for Italian; the location, still developing; the ads promising the best margaritas in town (they rarely are). Everything pointed to yet another “combo lunch special and cheese dip” joint, perfectly fine in its own category, but hardly anything to get excited about. Let me assure you that, much the opposite, El Paisano is eminently worthy of your excitement. The space may be cavernous and largely empty, and if you happen to cross paths with a child’s birthday party, the song played over the loudspeakers may provoke considerable giggling when the CD begins to skip. In other words, the creature comforts are not the reason to make the trip, but the food is worth a little weirdness. El Paisano has a multi-paged menu, with plenty that will make the unadventurous feel comfortable and just as many hints that you are in for a real Mexican restaurant (e.g., tacos that can be filled with tripas). The basic burritos are a delight, full of well-spiced, well-cooked meat and vegetables and, while they require a knife and fork, they never seem weighed down with canned sauces or anything of the sort. The rice that comes on the side can serve as a metaphor for the entire experience: seemingly the same stuff you get everywhere else, it in fact has hidden chunks of potato, providing a happy and starchy surprise. But the item that has to be ordered, heavily featured and pictured on the menu, is the molcajete el paisa. “Molcajete” means “mortar” in Spanish, but the dish isn’t actually served in one, to my slight disappointment. I think it might also mean “giant bowl of deliciousness.” The entrée might cost $16.95, a seemingly steep price, but the bowl that arrives contains: long, thin slices of grilled steak; chicken; huge rectangles of cheese; a layer of crumbled chorizo; grilled whole peppers that span the diameter of the bowl and tiny whole onions with long, crisped tops; green sauce; lettuce; and wedges of cheese quesadilla stuck in around the sides. It comes with a plate of rice, beans, guacamole, lettuce and tomato. The menu promises cactus and avocado as well, but where would they have fit? Basically, it could feed four people without much trouble, and those four people would be immersed in a world of giddy glee as each new item was discovered and tasted. It’s one of the more remarkable creations I’ve come across in this job. El Paisano is open every day for lunch and dinner and takes credit cards.

Crazy Like a... : Many restaurants have a specialty worth visiting for, and Fox’s Pizza Den (2971 Monroe Highway/US 78, in the Village at Franklin Grove), a franchise based out of Pittsburgh, is no exception. The pizza, which you can consume as part of an all-you-can-eat buffet or by ordering your own pie, comes in signature pies including taco, meat supreme and bacon double cheeseburger. It’s fine, certainly a step up from the average pizza buffet, but nothing to write home about. In fact, there’s something about the crust that resembles DiGiorno’s. The things that make Fox’s worthy of note are 1) customer service, which is superlative (the restaurant runs all kinds of specials and coupons, including a gallon mug bearing the logo that you can have refilled for a ridiculously low price, and will make any pizza you desire for its buffet, even if you are the only two people there), and 2) its wedgies. A wedgie is a big sandwich made with wedges (clearly) of baked pizza dough substituting for bread, and it turns out to be a very good idea, the dough baked just right for the purpose, neither too soft to hold up to its innards nor so hard it’s difficult to bite off a mouthful. It even holds up in the fridge overnight. Fox’s is certainly a bit out of the way for in-towners, but Oconee Countians, and those on their way back from Atlanta or other spots off 78, should appreciate its variety of offerings and all-around good attitude. The restaurant is open every day for lunch and dinner, does plenty of take-out as well as catering, has a banquet room and accepts credit cards. It does, however, serve Hunt’s ketchup with its fries, surely a notable sin in an establishment based in the town of Heinz.

Hillary Brown