Beso Del Sol: It's The Real Thing

Sep 4, 1992

John Hinterberger

XX Beso del Sol, 4468 Stone Way Ave. N. Mexican. Lunch ($4 to $7) 11;30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday through Friday; noon to 4 p.m. Saturday. Dinner ($6 to $11) 4 to 11 p.m. Monday through Thursday; until 11:30 p.m. Friday, Saturday; until 10 p.m. Sunday. Lounge, entertainment, full bar. Major credit cards. Nonsmoking area. Reservations: 547-8087. --------------------------------------------------------------- If you evaluate ethnic restaurants by the proportionate numbers of its own ethnics who dine there, you'd have to rate Beso del Sol highly. Halfway between the Wallingford and Fremont districts - where Northeast 45th Street meets Stone Way North - the "kiss of the sun" has acquired the reputation of a mixed Latino hangout.

The food may be only part of the draw, however. On weekend evenings, Beso del Sol turns into a kind of beso del luna, as the lounge adjoining the dining room becomes packed with south-of-the-border dancers.

The place has been around for several years (I last reviewed it six years ago), and if there were any kind of stride that needed to be hit, the Beso has found and mastered most of the right steps.

You are started promptly with a basket of the now obligatory warm chips and an excellent fresh salsa -- chopped tomatoes, onion, cilantro, chilies, etc. that is more refreshing than hot. Indeed, on a warm summer night, it's easy to over-indulge.

Of the other starters, I'd avoid the quesadillas. They have little in the way of character, basically melted cheese in a large flour tortilla, with some chopped lettuce for textural relief, a few half-ripe tomato slices, fairly greasy and quite bland. Starters really aren't all that necessary anyway - the dinner portion sizes are gargantuan, and 10 minutes into the meal you are probably half-stuffed with chips and salsa, anyway.

A friend visiting from Albuquerque probably thought the last thing (in this part of the world, at least) he'd enjoy was to eat Mexican 2,000 miles too far north, but he was quite happy with the Beso del Sol Enchilada ($3.95 at lunch; $7.75 for two of them at dinner). A melted mix of jack cheese and olives in a corn tortilla was nicely enhanced by a light tomato-chili verde sauce, which complemented rather than masked the enchiladas, which is usually the case around here.

(In some instances, it takes three minutes of plumbing the depths of excess sauce to even find the enchiladas, let alone taste them.)

The Beso del Sol Enchilada is served with about a half-cup of sour cream - thoughtfully, on the side - and considerably more rice than you really need. Nice rice, however: light, fluffy chicken-broth steamed rice dotted through with carrot, celery and chopped scallions.

The Pollo Asado ($6.95 at lunch; $7.95 evenings) is a whole, grilled chicken breast, cooked just right over mesquite charcoal, then topped with herbs, melted jack cheese and pinon nuts. It's marinated first in orange juice and garlic, but neither the marinades nor the mesquite made much flavor impact on the dish. It was all right, but a bit lifeless.

A special version of the Santa Fe Fajitas ($9.25) featured four large grilled prawns mounted atop strips of sirloin tip. The meat is marinated in lemon juice and garlic, then grilled, then finished in a saute with mild sliced onion, green pepper, and seasonings. It's served on a sizzling cast-iron platter with pico de gallo and fresh flour tortillas.

The house Chili Relleno is an eye-popper. A large poblano chili is stuffed with the usual blend of cheese and meats, and then so copiously loaded with a rather pleasant batter before deep-frying that it almost looks like a breaded veal chop. I ran across a few bitter bites from the mostly mellow pepper. Rice and beans (the latter rather nondescript) are piled high on the side.

El Nogales ($7.75) combine the chili relleno with an excellent, chicken-filled soft taco.

Chile Verde Chimichangas ($6.95) is another recommended entree. The crisp burr is topped with the sprightly but not obtrusive green sauce. Inside: chunks of tender pork simmered with chilies and stuffed into a meal-sized flour tortilla before frying.

The restaurant offers a lunchtime Margarita special that is modestly priced ($1.50) and moderately portioned. That is, it is an ample drink, but not one of those alcoholic fishbowl slurpies that will knock you into a premature siesta. Quite good drinks, in general.

Dessert? It's unlikely you'll have room, but you might consider a first-rate flan, an ultra-creamy Mexican custard with a French finish - a strong hint of Grand Marnier.

The dance scene on weekend nights is worth the trip all by itself.