El Norteno

Once ensconced inside the colorful dining room at El Norteño, sit back and enjoy the show.

The sights, sounds and smells conjure the aura of a Cinco de Mayo festival.

There is piped mariachi music, blissfully low-key. The decor is Mexican kitsch. The place is strung with papel picados, dainty, pastel tissues cut in decorative patterns.
Male waiters dressed in black whisk to and fro, some at a dead sprint to deliver plates of fajitas spitting and hissing with heat, leaving a contrail smelling of grilled onions and peppers.

Elizabeth Rangel, a native of Monterrey, Mexico, presides over the Winter Haven cantina she opened nearly 11 years ago after giving up a restaurant in Tallahassee.

She works mostly behind the scenes, but her dedication to the craft shows up in the cuisine, which is quite good, and the deft manner of staff who employ the sort of experience found in restaurants with prices that raise eyebrows, and keep them elevated long after dessert.

El Norteño serves up some startlingly good dishes for very little dinero, beginning with a $4.99 quesadilla spilling with melted cheese, grilled peppers, onions, tomatoes and plump, well-seasoned shrimp.

The restaurant on Northwest Sixth Street in front of Spring Lake Square in Winter Haven spares customers the scorching pain of hot chilies. Much of the food is so mild that you may reach more than once for the small bottle of hot sauce, which isn't very hot.

But the spare heat allows flavors to shine, as in a dish of chiles poblanos ($6.99), often called chiles rellenos. Here, two fresh, green poblano peppers are roasted and stuffed with mild cheese, onion and tomato. The tame heat of the unripe poblanos lingers in a soothing way.

The extensive menu offers the usual mishmash of combination platters, accompanied with the ever-present refried beans and rice. But El Norteño is thoughtful enough to offer smaller plates, such as those mentioned above, that are bargain priced.

A dish of chicken enchiladas laced with molé ($7.99), while visually austere, offers up several servings chock-full of shredded, braised chicken, the smooth, delicate, dark brown sauce boosted by a tease of dark chocolate and spice.

For lighter appetites the tostadas are special affairs, with or without meat, and priced under $6 for two. A version called tostaguac includes a smear of guacamole which, by the way, can be ordered as a side with tortilla chips for $3.49.

Slightly chunky and blended, I suspect, with sour cream, the avocado dip is elevated by a kick of garlic. The first basket of chips is on the house, along with a carafe of fresh tomato salsa. Mild, of course.

El Norteño's version of chicken soup is a meal, arroz con pollo repurposed, heightened with fresh cilantro and peppers that actually have heat. There's enough chicken in the bowl to feed two, say as a starter, if you care to share.

It's a steal at just $4.79, but beware the kitchen's heavy hand with salt, not just in the soup but in a beef tamale that is otherwise delicious, the not-too-dense corn masa wrapping savory, braised lean meat.

Noon meals at El Norteño are more relaxed, the staff less frantic than late afternoon and evenings, when the dining room and an adjoining enclosed patio fill with customers noshing on better-than-average tortilla chips and hoisting mugs of refreshingly weak margaritas that come small, medium and large.

Among several dessert options is a creamy caramel flan that is just this side of rich, a slightly sweet and satisfying kiss to end a meal.

During a Jan. 27 inspection, the restaurant was cited for such critical violations as storage of uncovered food, produce stored beneath raw meat and time-sensitive products, such as milk, not properly date marked, all of which were immediately corrected.

Like so many restaurants of this type, the menu is swimming with options, and you may feel rushed to order during peak hours. But overall, El Norteño, a reference to a style of Mexican music or dance, is a festive spot for a quick bite or a lavish meal prepared with an air of authenticity.

The place received only two and ½ stars when last reviewed in 2005, but El Norteño has improved with age, earning three and ½ stars this time around.

Ledger Reporter Eric Pera can be reached at eric.pera@theledger.com or 863-802-7528.