In Mesa, it takes a village to create an endearing Modern Mexican eatery with perfect queso and magnificent mole.
by Nikki Buchanan | Photography by Rob Ballard
Last fall, a group of friends and colleagues in the restaurant industry joined forces to acquire Casa Ramos Redux – which, as the name implies, was the second go-round of a longtime, family-run Mexican restaurant located on Mesa’s downtown drag. Taking the reins, barkeep Michael Schreier and his life and business partner Alysia Gratton rechristened the restaurant The Guadalupe on Main but kept many of the Ramos family’s Jalisco-style recipes, adding modern flourishes devised by their culinarian co-conspirators, Salim Council, Hannah Carpenter and Colin Burkhardt. At this point, I’d say so far, so great.
Naturally, given Schreier’s background, there’s a cocktail program, which includes the gorgeous, dangerously quaffable Buckhorn Baths, a nod to a historical Mesa motel famous for its mineral hot springs. It pairs perfectly with the street corn queso starter, a molten mixture of roasted corn, roasted jalapeños, queso fresco and crema, eaten with house-made chips.
I’ll gladly return for the Jalisco hot chicken sando, featuring a crispy chicken breast dipped in salsa macha – essentially a spin on Jalisco’s famous torta ahogada and enjoyable to the last crumb. Almost as good: a blackberry relish-topped smash burger. Both illustrate how freewheeling the Guadalupe kitchen can be.
Nicely composed entrée plates similarly demonstrate a certain chef-y polish. Most contain corn-studded rice (tinted green by spinach, cilantro and jalapeños) and creamy, cotija-dusted refried beans. A plate of birria tacos (fabulously juicy, ancho chile-stewed beef, tucked into crisp, faintly greasy taco shells with asadero cheese) are out of this world with or without a dunk in cilantro-strewn consomé. Then again, so is charred, smoky carne asada – prime skirt steak flame-grilled over lava rock and the best rendition I’ve had in a very long time.
Frankly, I’ve loved it all, including the chicken enchiladas, bathed in a sesame seed-studded mole that seems sweeter, lighter and slightly redder than Oaxaca’s black mole. Carnitas (pork shoulder slow-roasted with herbs and oranges, then finished with caramelized onions, tomatoes and jalapeños) are just as exemplary for being crunchy-edged, juicy and bursting with porky flavor.
If there were ever a case of “leave it to the professionals,” this is it.
The Guadalupe on Main
Cuisine: Mexican
Contact: 1526 E. Main St., Mesa, 480-272-7220, guadalupeonmain.com
Hours: W-Th 11 a.m.-10 p.m., F-Sa 11 a.m.-11 p.m., Su 11 a.m.-9 p.m.
Highlights: Street corn queso ($11); carne asada plate ($24); carnitas plate ($22); birria taco plate ($17); mole enchiladas ($19)
