27 August 2008
Cafe Ole’s Secret Garden
Posted by hottie under: Mexican .
Cafe Ole 3 peaks out of 5
119 S. San Francisco St.
774-8272
Open for lunch & dinner Mon. - Sat.
Cafe Ole doesn’t look like much from the outside. South of the tracks on San Francisco Street, its front door is a bit nondescript and runs into the same facade as its neighbors. Upon entry, however, Cafe Ole’s world is completely different. This is a beautiful place with lovely handcrafted Mexican furniture, cozy dining nooks and a glorious patio. It is a great place for a date due to the dimmed lighting inside or the relaxing atmosphere of the flowery outside patio (weather permitting, of course). Cafe Ole has recently acquired new owners but kept most of the same staff. They also have expanded the patio to double the fun.
Cafe Ole bills itself as “Fresh Mexican Cooking from the Heart”. This is a fitting description. There are many Mexican restaurant choices in this southwestern town and Cafe Ole has carved out a niche for themselves in healthy Mexican cooking. The food is definitely fresh - you can taste the difference and quality. Cafe Ole does feature daily specials and the specials are really always the way to go.
On a recent visit, the special was calabacitas (a mixture of yellow squash, zucchini, chiles and onion) prepared in three different ways for you to choose. This was a perfect illustration of their healthy cooking. Options are abundant for vegetarians and those who require gluten free foods. Don’t be worried though if that’s not your persuasion; there are meat options too of chicken or beef dishes.
Here is my dilemma: everything I’ve had at Cafe Ole is fine. And that’s just it - it’s fine. I know many people in Flagstaff who state this is their favorite Mexican restaurant, and I can see why with the unique atmosphere and the ability to dine out without feeling guilty about a big splurge in calories. But the food is just a little too bland for the Fatso and me. Even with salsa. Maybe we are too much of spice addicts. Maybe we both have been Arizonans for too long that we are addicted to the Sonoran-Arizonan style with cheesy enchiladas and the like. (And they do have enchiladas here and they are…fine.) We so want to declare this is the best place, but we just can’t. (Check our podcast in March when we conduct our Mexican March Madness contest!) And I’m not a fan of the chips either. Chips and salsa are standard at Mexican restaurants as an “amuse bouche” if you will, but chips still count here in AZ and these just aren’t quite it (try Ai Caramba’s - the best).
Among other issues, we heard through the grapevine that Cafe Ole had applied for a full liquor license. In the past they have possessed only a beer and wine license and serve well crafted agave wine margaritas. It’s not the best place to go for a margarita, but for what they have to work with, they have done it well. Upon Hottie & the Fatso’s recent visit, Cafe Ole was still serving the same. We will have to investigate further as to if that full liquor license story is true or not as there is no application notice in the front window at present.
The service is fine. Better than some in town, not as good as a handful of others. Atmosphere is off the charts. Food is fine. Prices are entirely reasonable. Drinks are decent. Therefore, averaging everything out, we have to go with 3 peaks for Cafe Ole.