Pimp my Taqueria
I decided to check out EL Scorcho the other night after seeing a mention on Ian Froeb's RFT blog. It's on the western edge of Maplewood's restaurant row (7356 Manchester Road) next to the Tienda Centrol Americana convenience store. Knowing Ian's fondness for the Cherokee Street taqueria scene I thought it might be a mama y papa hole in the wall kind of place. Yeah, if Divine and John Waters had opened a Tex-Mex joint, this would be it.
From a small vestibule you enter a splinter of a restaurant. Cowboy hats and other western tschotskes (pinatas, armadillos, and whips, oh my) are hanging from the ceiling. 5 or 6 saddles-cum-barstools give way to regular stools in front of a bar sweeping out in front of you. The walls are a dappled rosy-orange suggesting that they had been painted with exploding habaneros. The bartender gives you a wave and a welcome and invites you to find a spot. All of the seating (except for the saddles) is on barstools -- about a dozen at the bar and another 30 or so at 8 or 9 tables along the wall. At the back is the "jail" -- think of it as a party room for 7 or 8 really close friends who don't mind some bumpin' and rubbin' (if you have one of those groups where everyone insists on having their own chair, then you may be able to squeeze in five folks).
The menu is printed on a thin piece of warped wood. There's plenty of smarmy marginalia ("Served w/I believe way too many tortilla chips", "Beans, Beans, good for the heart..") and cheesy names ("O' fashioned like Larry's wardrobe green beans"). It features lots of small plate opportunities that might remind you of Barcelona or Boogaloo (not surprising given that El Scorcho is another notch in the belt for the duo of Mike Johnson and Mark Lucas).
For all the kitsch (sign over kitchen door: "I didn't ask you to dance. I said your ass looks fat in those pants.") the food is first rate -- imaginative, fresh, and well executed. And for all the capsicum iconography splashed about, the food is surprisingly piquant-free -- a lesson in creating Tex-Mex flavors without covering everything in chilies. The hottest of the four salsas -- El Scorchoed -- is a creamy mustard colored concoction that has a nice kick but no real lasting burn. The BBQ (brisket, turkey, chicken, and pork) is available as a platter, or as filling for the Tex-Mex staples (Freakin' Fajitas, Taco, Tostadas, etc), or for 2 bucks as an add-on "to any salad or anything". Steak, chicken, fish, and veggies are also options for the Tex-Mex offerings and as add-ons. The brisket and pork were both great, though it is not clear if there is any real smoking going on. The pork had burnt edges while the brisket starts chewy and then quickly melts in your mouth. The turkey was less interesting, coated in a too sweet sauce. A steak tostada was amazing, with a generous helping of firm black beans covered with slices of crispy edged steak, a bit of cheese and some cabbage (a great deal for $2.25). By default the tacos are in crispy shells, but you can ask for soft. The fish taco was a bit of disappointment -- the subtly of the grilled fish was lost amid the chewy tortilla, cabbage, and cheese (oh Flacos Tacos, where art thou?).
El Scorcho Tostada
The main items, as good as they are, really are just an excuse to order the sides. Glorious sides. Maco & Cheeso (creamy with Pepper Jack cheese) may be the best mac & cheese you will ever eat. Viva La Frickles are dill pickle slices fried in corn meal, the acid of the pickle cutting through the crisp fried shell. The O Rings are thick sliced onions coated in Lone Star Beer batter and fried. The cornbread is a massive block of moist cakey goodness. Those are the 4 sides that I tried. There are another 12 to go. There are also starters (the Tortilla Soup was a thick puree tasting of lime, chicken, and corn studded with pozole and flecks of carrot and cilantro), 4 styles of chicken wings, burgers, sandwiches and one dog, plus assorted dips for the nachos. Whew.
Chicken Wings with El Scorcho's juicy sweet honey blend w/ garlic and chilies
The servers tend towards the dressed-in-black-faux-hawk set. They seem to be having far more fun then anyone should at work, while doing a kickass job. The music streams from an iPod and ranged from Johnny Cash, to the Stones, to 80's ballads while I was there (oddly no Weezers). In slow periods they do customer requests. El Scorcho opens its doors at 11:00 am 7 days a week. The kitchen stays open till 1:00 am and the bar till last call, Monday through Saturday. On Sundays they close up at midnight. The portions are generous, the prices reasonable, and the food is seriously good. Make no mistake, it is not Haute Cuisine (more like Haute Camp). But Johnson and Lucas have demonstrated time again they know how to grab a culinary vernacular (Tapas, Creole, Caribbean, Tex-Mex) and give it a couple of imaginative twists that can engage the locals without scaring anybody. At heart, this is a kickback neighborhood joint where you can stop in and have a beer and a tostada at the bar. We should all be so lucky to have an El Scorcho in our neighborhood.
(NB: This is not a review. This is only a test (well not really). If this had been an actual review I would have waited longer (they have only been open a couple of weeks) and I would have checked back a couple of more times. Also, I would probably have included their phone number (314.644.5566) and the fact that they do takeout and DELIVERY!!).