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Salvadoreno prizes cuisine with �lavor
BY MELODY BIRKETT
Tribune Contributor
The Salvadoreno Restaurant in Mesa Southern has been serving up traditional Salvadoran food since 2002.
Originally owned by his parents, Karlos Ramirez has owned it for the last 11 years and will soon be opening a new location near Baseline and Hardy roads in Tempe.
Other family members own several other locations, with the same name throughout the Valley along with one in California.
The big difference between Salvadoran food and other cuisines is the �lavor, he said.
“We’re not focused on everything being spicy,” said Ramirez. “We do have some spicy things but our main focus is �lavor. Some items with a Mexican �lare include the fajita trio with steak, chicken and shrimp and tacos.
“A lot of people compare Salvadoran Karlos Ramirez said his Salvadoreno Restaurant in Mesa focuses on fl avor rather than spici-
ness. (Melody Birkett/ Tribune Contributor)
food to Caribbean Latin food, Puerto Rican food, Dominican Republic, Cuban, and even South American food once they try it. We do get mistaken for Caribbean Mexican but in the end, we’re more focused on the �lavors and seasonings.”
Seasonings include chipilin, a leaf in El Salvador.
“It’s actually grown in all of Central America,” explained Ramirez. “It has 180 percent vitamin C. We speci�ically put that in our soups. Then we have a tamale we put that in.”
Another seasoning the restaurant uses is the �lower Loroco. “It’s an edible �lower in El Salvador, kind of like artichoke,” Ramirez said. “It actually has a similar texture and �lavor. We mix it with the cheese to make our pupusas. It leaves off a little bit of a salty, grainy �lavor. It’s really delicious.”
Pupusas are popular in El Salvador, according to Ramirez, and are a big seller at his restaurant.
Basically, it’s kind of like our hot dog or
���SALVADORENO ���� 23
Mesa restaurant “elevates” tacos and hot dogs in style
BY MELODY BIRKETT
Tribune Contributor
Raymond Jimenez opened Tacos & Hot Dogs Los Mayitos in Mesa in April 2021 with an eye toward elevating diners’ taco and hotdog experiences.
The restaurant serves up more Sonoranstyle food but Jimenez said the birria (Mexican stewed meat) recipes are from the family in Tijuana. “It’s not spicy but it has a lot of �lavors,” said Jimenez. “We have quesabirriam which people love. It’s basically a tortilla dipped into a thick red sauce with our special cheese and meat. We start early in the morning around 4 am to start cooking it up. It takes about six to seven hours.”
American favorites with a twist include hot dogs, hamburgers and French fries. No seafood is served but chicken, beef and pork.
“We elevated it a little bit but people seem to like the twists we’ve done with things,” said Jimenez. “As far as our Sonoran hot dogs, we have one with chili (ChileDOGO) and we have a pregnant dog (Dogo Ebarazado) stuffed with cheese and wrapped in bacon. People love that one.”
For those with less-than-elevated tastes, the restaurant near Gilbert and Broadway roads will accommodate customers’ tastes.
“We can do anything custom-made because everything is fresh,” said Jimenez. “We don’t have anything pre-made. We don’t freeze anything. Everything is handmade and made the day of.”
His mother-in-law and wife do a lot of the ���TACOS & HOT DOGS ���� 23
Raymond Jimenez says people like his unique spins on classic comfort food like tacos and hot-
Mesa therapist says we’re sitting too much
TRIBUNE NEWS STAFF
Quit sitting around so much at work. So advises Mesa physical therapist Courtney Warren of Performance & Recovery Lab Physical Therapy, who said prolonged sitting is bad for your health and posture.
She noted that even though researchers are �inding sobering parallels between inactivity and an increased risk of health complications and chronic diseases, studies have shown that the average American spends more than half of his or her waking hours in a sitting position, mostly while at work.
“We’re at an incredible time in our country when a growing number of people are beginning to accept the fact the movement is medicine, and yet they still �ind themselves sitting throughout most of the day,” said Warren. “Without making concerted efforts to overcome all this sitting, this can, unfortunately, lead to issues like obesity, cardiovascular disease and diabetes.” Mayo Clinic cardiologist Martha Grogan, M.D., has even compared the effects of excessive sitting with that of smoking. “It’s all about moving, engaging your muscles and waking up your body, even if it’s just a little at a time,” said Warren. “Such efforts help keep your body alert, burning calories and increasing your energy levels.”
To accomplish this within a work environment, Warren offers the following advice:
Sweat your commute: Instead of driving or taking the bus/train to work, get up early and walk or bike. If you have to drive, park at the far end of the lot, then take the stairs whenever possible.
Take a stand: Take advantage of any opportunity you have to stand. If you can’t get your boss to buy you an adjustable-height desk, then stand when you’re on the phone or eating your lunch. And, trade internal instant messaging for a quick walk to a coworker’s desk.
Break for �itness: When you take breaks, take a quick walk around the building or block, or do some stretching.
Have a (�itness) ball: “Trade your chair for a �itness/stability ball. Sitting on one of these all day will improve your balance and tone your core muscles while you accomplish your daily tasks,” Warren said.
In addition, Warren says sitting throughout the day can cause weaknesses in your muscles and joints which can lead to poor posture and unhealthy imbalances in your body.
Performance & Recovery Lab Physical Therapy can assess a person’s individual situation, identify weaknesses and imbalances in the body, and put her or him on track toward preventing future complications.
Info rmation: prlabpt.com. ■
SALVADORENO ���� ���� 22
hamburger of El Salvador. It’s a little tortilla. Inside, it’s stuffed with different toppings. The most traditional one is a mix of pork, cheese and beans in the middle of the pupusa.”
Other popular menu items include ceviche and soups. “Sopa De Pata is like a Menudo soup but we add beef feet and beef tripe along with some vegetables,” said Ramirez.
The restaurant serves an array of different soups, including one with free-range chicken.
“A traditional plate of El Salvador is chicken or steak sautéed in onions served with traditional Salvadoran rice and Sal-
TACOS & HOT DOGS ���� ���� 22
prep work but he and his brother-in-law do most of the cooking.
A popular Sonoran non-baked dessert is Pastel de Galletas, made with Mexican crackers.
The menu is written in Spanish with English translations.
“There’s such a local Latin American community around here but we’ve had a surplus of English-speaking customers so we’re revamping our menu,” said Jimenez, vadoran beans which are black and red beans mixed together,” explained Ramirez. “We don’t use pinto beans or refried beans. Our rice is more of Spanish rice.”
He said diners also enjoy a whole friend tilapia �ish served with rice, side salad and chimole, which is a less spicy version of pico de gallo.
“My favorite items are Lengua, beef tongue stewed with tomatoes served with rice and beans; chile relleno, my grandma’s recipe, beef and cheese; and pupusas,” Ramirez said. “I like the ceviche, as well.”
Desserts include empanadas which is a plantain.
“We grind them up, make them into little balls. In the middle, we put a creamy �illing made out of rice and topped it off with
adding the restaurant is open for lunch and dinner. “We love it and they love our food.”
Jimenez also likes to take suggestions from guests.
“They advise us what we should add so we take all of that to heart. We want to not just throw it out there but perfect our recipes. Everything else we have on the menu, so far, has been great.”
A lot of customers are asking for enchiladas, chimichangas, enchilada-style burritos and combo plates with rice and beans. For dessert, Jimenez is getting a lot of requests for churros.
He got a lot of ideas for the current menu from the food truck his daughter and wife used to own.
“A lot of customers asked for tacos,” Jimenez said. “The kids loved the hot dogs but also some adults. They don’t have to go to different places. You can get it all here at one place.”
Jimenez worked for the Sheraton for 14 years in their restaurant, doing banquets. Currently, he’s a security operations manager in the morning. When the opportunity came to open this restaurant, he decided to go for it.
“We got a good deal on this place,” said Jimenez. “It’s now or never. We had some savings so we decided to go all out for this place,” adding he hopes to eventually make it his full-time job.
“We’re growing month to month. We’re getting a lot of great feedback on Yelp and on Google reviews. People love our food.”
Information: 330 S. Gilbert Road, Mesa. tacoshotdogslosmayitos.com, 623-272-
6028 ■
sugar. Then we have buenados which are custards and fried cassavas, kind of like hush puppies, served with honey. Another dessert is a quesadilla, which is a piece of sweet bread with cheese and rice.”
In the last 10 years, Ramirez said there’s been a surge in Central America restaurants in the Phoenix and Mesa area.
Not all are Salvadoran but are serving similar foods such as Costa Rican, Venezuelan and Guatemalan.
While the food is similar, Ramirez said there’s a distinct taste to Salvadoran food with the preparation and seasoning.
“We’re from the west part of El Salvador,” Ramirez said. “My dad grew up on the coast of the area. That’s where the ceviche comes from. My mom was born inland of that west part and that’s where the pupusas and the tamales come from.”
Ramirez was born in El Salvador and was brought here when he was 5.
The secret to the restaurant’s success has been loyal customers, according to Ramirez.
In addition, he boasted, “Our food is so different. We’re not a burger shop. We’re not a hot dog shop. I think our food is what has helped us stay a�loat.”
The restaurant serves reasonably priced breakfast, lunch and dinner along with Salvadoran coffee. They offer takeout, delivery and limited dine-in service.
Information: 303 E. Southern Ave., Mesa, salvadorenorestaurant.com, 480-
835-1038. ■
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