What’s Cooking?

Buendia...continued from page 16 as well as ones passed down from her grandmother.

“It’s so cute,” says Isabel Hernandez, a 32-year-old student who recently visited Buendia with her mom, Diana. “Everything was perfect.”

Hernandez enjoyed one of Buendia’s bestsellers, huevos rancheros ($9.99; add ham for 99 cents). Her drink of choice was Café del Olla ($3.75), a fragrant and addictive Exo Roast coff ee with cinnamon, clove and brown sugar. Two Maria milk cookies come with the coff ee.

On one visit, the huevos rancheros came with two eggs over easy perched on perfectly crispy corn tortillas. A generous portion of diced tomatoes and peppers complemented the dish, making it fi lling but not overindulgent. The side of perfectly diced roasted potatoes was perfect for mopping up the sauce, and a side of beans topped with queso fresco completed the masterpiece.

Be sure to try one of the fajita bowls. Each comes with beef ($12.99), chicken ($12.99) or shrimp ($14.99) and arrives bursting with red and green peppers, onions, white rice and fl avor.

It’s so good, you’ll scoop up every bit of rice. A side of refried beans rounds out the dish.

The mole chicken enchiladas ($12.99) also are a great choice. Three shredded chicken enchiladas arrived smothered in a traditional chocolate mole sauce.

A kids’ menu includes a Nutella pancake sandwich ($4.99), kids quesadilla and beans ($4.99), and a traditional breakfast kids plate ($5.99) with one egg, kids salchicha (sausage), house potatoes and a fruit cup.

The inside capacity is 39, and there will be room for 60 when the outdoor patio is fi nished, Garcia says.

Inside, each table has a colorful runner that’s topped with salt and pepper shakers and a little glass jar stuff ed with rainbow-colored pompoms. The side of the jar says “Alegria!” — which means “joy” in Spanish.

Garcia is serious about joy. Even a sign that states “Smiling is good for the soul” sits next to the cash register.

“These days, people, social media and TV only talk about the pandemic,” he says. “But there are good things also.”

He wants Buendia to be about “creating a community that can gather for generations here and spread the joy,” Garcia says.

Garcia moved to Tucson in 2011 and started working for his family’s business, Mariscos Chihuahua. He moved on to Casa Valencia for a few years before he started his own ventures.

“I like working with people,” says Garcia, who was born in Los Angeles and started working at a restaurant in Nogales as a teen.

Like his earlier forays into the restaurant business, Buendia is a family aff air. The family has been in the restaurant business for 50 years. Besides his wife, Garcia’s mom, Patricia Valle, is the ever-smiling server, and his dad, Julio Garcia Sr., is in the kitchen doing prep and dishwashing. Two other employees round out the workforce.

Although judging from the increasing number of diners coming through Buendia’s doors, Garcia might need to expand his workforce.

Buendia’s “a place where people know they’re going to have a good time,” Garcia says. “It’s good food, good moments and good memories.”

The shrimp fajita bowl ($14.99) is a riot of fl avors and a substantial meal.

Buendia Breakfast and Lunch Café

2530 N. First Avenue, 849-8487 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesdays to Saturdays; 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sundays. Closed Mondays

What’s Cooking? with Jan Candy charcuterie board

BY JAN D’ATRI

How did charcuterie boards become so popular and an Instagram sensation?

If I had to guess, I’d say they found their groove simply because the pictures of them are highly, well, Instagrammable! These gorgeous oversized platters piled with delectable meats, cheeses, nuts, dried fruits, pickles, olives, pepperoncini and specialty mustards have become a hit for movie watching, game night and, of course, for big sporting events like the Super Bowl or World Series.

Plus, folks just can’t get enough of posting pics and videos of this trending moveable feast. But I have another idea for this treat tray.

It’s a candy charcuterie board, and I’ve incorporated so many fun ideas that my tray has everything from vintage and retro candy favorites and Southwestern sweets to fan favorites and state fair fare.

The idea for the candy charcuterie board follows the same criteria as the meat and cheese boards. First, I think a charcuterie board is a conversation piece. We love to gather and share morsels of gourmet goodness that spark comments as we graze. My candy charcuterie board is no diff erent. It’s meant to remind people of their favorite candy growing up, specialty treats from their own regions of the country, some fun novelty candies and, of course, it’s loaded up with everyone’s favorite chocolate bars, hard candies, licorice and even popcorn to balance out the sweet!

So, here’s how I put my candy charcuterie board together! Step 1: Choose a tray or board. Mine was 18 inches by 12 inches. Step 2: Look for fun, colorful containers and scoops. Party City is a great place to start. Step 3: For retro and vintage candy, I included: Necco Wafers, candy necklaces, Sugar Daddys, candy cigarettes, Pixy Stix and Beemans, Clove and Blackjack gum. Step 4: For regional treats, I included Mexican Del La Rosa Marzipan candy and a taco made of gummy candies. Step 5: For novelties, I added SpongeBob SquarePants gummy hamburgers, cotton candy and tins of mint “Impowermints,” “Enlightenmints” and “14th Amendmints”! Step 6: Add a lot of fan favorites: bubble gum, M&M’s, hard candies, old-fashioned candy stick, licorice and Boston baked beans. Step 7: Look for treats that give back. ACE Hardware sells chocolate bars that help raise money for children’s hospitals around the country. Step 8: Incorporating mini boxes of freshly popped popcorn helps balance out the sweet with salty. Step 9: Find sweets and treats with a theme. For instance, for the Super Bowl, include chocolate footballs and mini toothpick pennants.

Where to fi nd these items

I found all my fun retro, vintage and novelty candies and mints at Old Town Candy and Toys, 4000 N. Scottsdale Road, oldtowncandyandtoys.com.

Scoops, candy containers, mini popcorn boxes, chocolate footballs and pennants, individually wrapped bite-sized candy and Pixy Stix are available at Party City.

Food City has the Del La Rosa Marzipan candy.

Watch Jan D’Atri’s how-to videos at https://bit.ly/JanDAtri.