Traditional Mexican eats served up at La Frontera

By Lau Guzmán Record-Journal staff

NORTH HAVEN La Fron- tera Mexican Bar and Grill, a small franchise of Mexican taquerías, opened its third location, 630 Washington Ave., in April. The restaurant is owned by a Mexican family and mostly serves traditional Mexican tacos, plus some additions.

Co-owner Mariela Navarro said La Frontera started in 2018 when her family bought a taquería already named La Frontera in White Plains, New York. The family stuck with the name, took a risk and opened a second location in East Haven in 2020.

Although “la frontera” means “the border” in Spanish, Navarro said that love of

Mexican food is international. “What is ’la frontera?’” she asked rhetorically. “There's no borders. Everybody likes tacos. It doesn't matter where you live or where you're from.”

There is no lettuce, sour cream or tomatoes on the tacos at La Frontera, Navarro

See La Frontera, A6

North Haven’s annual Earth Day celebration was held Saturday, April 29 at the high school. Sponsored by the North Haven Conservation Commission, the event included “a scavenger hunt, face-painting, food trucks, reptiles, birds of prey, and lots of information for making your life greener.” The conservation commision said, “Beyond raising environmental awareness, the civic groups, clubs and organizations that attend showcase opportunities to get involved and improve the quality of life in North Haven.”

North Haven Conservation Commission, Facebook

Card game

A Military Whist card game will take place Friday, May 19, at North Haven Congregational Church, 28 Church St. Doors open at 6 p.m., game begins at 7 p.m. Tickets are $12. Players must register in advance. Call Carol at 203-668-0608 or the church office at 203-2395691.

Flower sale

A Northford Congregational Church Mother’s Day weekend flower sale will help support the church and its mission. The flower sale will be held Friday, May 12 and Saturday, May 13, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and Sunday, May 14 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. In the event of inclement weather, the sale will take place inside. The church is located at 4 Old Post Road, North Branford, at the corner of routes 22 and 17.

Torch Run

This June, members of the North Haven Police Department will once again participate in the Special Olympics Torch Run. To support Special Olympics and the NHPD Torch Run team visit give.soct.org/team/492030.

Vendors sought

The North Haven Garden Club seeks vendors for its annual May Market fundraiser, which will be held Saturday, May 13, from 9 a.m. to noon, at the Parks and Recreation Center on Linsley Street. Indoor spaces are limited. Weather permitting, outdoor spaces will be available. Vendor spots are $20. Email nhgccindy@yahoo.com or call/text 203314-5807.

Spring Fair

Faith United Methodist Church, 81 Clintonville Road, will host its annual Spring Fair Saturday, May 13 from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. The festivities will include a silent auction, tag sale, Mother’s Day plant sale, baked goods and crafts for sale, and more. Vendor space is available for $30. Contact Vicki LiPuma at 203-265-1070 or vicklip@ aol.com.

Pathway project

The North Haven Garden Club announced its membership in the Pollinator Pathway Project, an effort which brings awareness to the need of planting trees, shrubs and flowers to support pollinators such as birds, insects and wildlife. Residents are invited to participate in the project by identifying their own pollinator garden. You can register your property with the Pollinator Pathway Project online, at pollinator-pathway.org.

Theater

Castle Craig Players, Meriden is celebrating its 30th season. All shows on sale now: “The Marvelous Wonderettes: Dream On,” May 5 to 20; “Into The Woods,” July 28 to Aug. 12. For ticket information, visit castlecraigplayers.org.

Mentoring

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Connecticut is an affiliate of Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, the 119-year-old national youth mentoring organization. Learn more about Big Brothers Big Sisters by visiting ctbigs.org.

La Leche League

La Leche League of Hamden/North Haven meets the second Wednesday of the month at Grace & St. Peter’s Church, 2927 Dixwell Ave., Hamden. RSVP to Anne.M@ LLLCT.org. Attendees from all towns in the greater New Haven area are welcome.

Shred-It Day

Egidio Lennon Wealth Management, 20 Realty Drive, Cheshire, will host its Annual Free Shred-It Day on Saturday, May 13, 9 a.m. to noon. People may bring up to three boxes or bags of documents for disposal. All papers are shredded on site. Donations for the Cheshire Community Food Pantry and Animal Haven in North Haven will be accepted and appreciated. For more information, contact Joanne Daley at 203-533-4968 or joanne@egidiolennon.com.

Scholarships

The North Haven Soccer Club is giving $500 scholarships to two current or former members of the NHSC. Applicants must be graduating high school seniors who will be attending their first year of college in the fall, must expect to graduate with a “B” average or higher, and must submit an essay of at least 200 words, “What soccer has meant to me.” Email chris.gaetano@gmail.com for complete details.

again – easily one of CT’s top diners! Classic

Flower Girls

To celebrate the warm weather, recently, members of the North Haven Senior Center came together to design beautiful, tissue paper flowers. This project, presented by Deb from Hamden Rehabilitation and Healthcare, gave senior center members a chance to show off their creativity and create lovely floral pieces. We always look forward to Deb’s visits. If you would like to become a member of the North Haven Senior Center, call 203-239-5432.

Contributed photo

Facing financial challenges following a cancer diagnosis

By Jeff Jolly

Each year in the United States, an estimated 1.9 million people are diagnosed with some form of cancer. While every diagnosis is different, the disease evokes dread in almost all of us. On top of the toll cancer can take on our health, it can also create significant financial challenges. The Angel Foundation, a Minnesota-based nonprofit that supports can-

Donate

cer patients and their families, estimates that nearly three-quarters (73 percent) of individuals diagnosed with the disease will experience some sort of financial hardship as a result.

It’s a startling statistic, but even those who haven’t personally been impacted by cancer can understand how the unpredictable costs of cancer care, aggravated by potential loss of income, can be financially challenging, if not devastating.

In Brief

Garden

Bring your used clothing donations to Hope Christian Church, 211 Montowese Ave. Hope Christian Church is partnering with St. Pauly Textile Inc. to provide a wood-frame drop-off shed for community use. Accepted items: clothing, shoes, belts, purses, blankets, sheets, curtains, pillowcases and stuffed animals.

Individuals and organizations interested in a garden plot at Faith United Methodist Church’s “Garden of Eatin’” can easily sign up. Plots are $30. The garden committee can be reached after 3 p.m. at 203-623-1803. Faith United Methodist Church is located at 81 Clintonville Road.

said. Instead, they serve traditional Mexican tacos made with nixtamal tortillas. She explained that nixtamal tortillas taste better because they don’t have the preservatives of standard corn tortillas bought from a grocery store, even if they have a shorter shelf life.

Nixtamal tortillas are made using an ancient Mesoamerican technique that involves soaking, washing and hulling the grain to make the masa, or dough.

As a result, they have a stronger, earthier taste that Navarro described as the “taste of Mexico.”

Customer Rafael de León appreciated the food. He tried La Frontera for the first time recently. As a Dominican from Boston with a Mexican palette, de León said he was in the area fairly often because his company is opening a Connecticut branch.

“I must have been Mexican in another life because whenever I'm traveling, I'm always looking for a Mexican place to try it out,” he said. “I had never seen this spot, so I stopped. It has great food.”

Like many local restaurants, La Frontera has two dining areas. The right side is a dim, bar-like "cantina" decorated with pointy metal stars made out of Mexican hojalata. The left is brightly lit and is decorated in the style of a family-friendly dining room, including papel picado streamers that say "la frontera.” Navarro said that all the decorations are brought directly from Mexico, including the ceramic geckos on the walls and a giant hojalata heart that greets customers at the entrance.

“We want people to experience a little bit of Mexico,” she said.

To enhance the experience, the restaurant offers karaoke on Wednesdays, salsa night on Fridays, a live singer on Saturdays, and mariachi on Sundays.

La Frontera was also preparing for a large turnout on Cinco de Mayo (Friday, May 5) with specials on their margaritas. The holiday was originally celebrated in Puebla, Mexico, as a Mexican victory in a battle fought against French invaders in 1862.

Navarro left Puebla when she was 16 and has lived in the U.S. for 25 years now. She said that there was a small celebration in her town growing up, but Cinco de Mayo is not as commercialized as it is in the U.S. “It’s a historic thing, but it's not as important in Mexico as it is here,” she said. “The way I see it, it’s an excuse to get drunk”

Open just a few weeks, La Frontera in North Haven has already joined the Quinnipiac Chamber of Commerce.

Executive director of the chamber, Ray Andrewsen, emphasized the restaurant’s prime location – close to Quinnipiac University, the Amazon distribution center, the Defco industrial park and exit 13 on I-91.

“This does add perfectly to restaurant diversity in North Haven,” Andrewsen said. “The restaurant is surrounded by a lot of people who come out for lunch, or maybe they'd like to go have a cerveza. ”