Steve
11-05-2005, 03:04 PM
Cafe Ole Mexican Grill offers different experience than typical quick-casual restaurant.
By Ken White
Cafe Ole Mexican Grill doesn't look like a typical quick-casual restaurant.
Instead of bright, multicolored plastic chairs, the restaurant at 3665 S. Fort Apache Road features a hacienda look with chairs and lighting fixtures made in Mexico.
Cafe Ole's tile floors and paint were inspired by trips the owners, Alan and Kay Stewart, made south of the border.
Longtime lovers of Mexican food, the Stewarts even went looking for it while living in Saudi Arabia, where Alan ran the royal family's huge grocery business.
After moving to Las Vegas three years ago, Kay Stewart was inspired to open Cafe Ole.
"I said to my husband, 'We have to start a Mexican restaurant here, there are none that I like,' " Stewart said.
So, along with the Stewarts' son Brent Jensen, who created the decor, and longtime friend Ed O'Herron, the Cafe Ole concept was born.
Diners can watch their meals being prepared to order behind the long counter, starting with the restaurant's homemade flour tortillas.
"It's not Tex-Mex, it's not Baja," says O'Herron, Cafe Ole's vice president of operations.
There are 35 items on the menu, but O'Herron figures there are up to 250 variations.
"We don't have hot (spicy) food, but authentic Mexican food. We want to maintain a nice flavor without setting your mouth on fire."
Take-out and catering are available.
Seating 85, the restaurant is open 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays; 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays; and noon-8 p.m. Sundays.
A second Cafe Ole location is slated to open next month at 4275 N. Rancho Drive.
Soups and salads: Poco tortilla soup ($3.49); chile verde Vasquez ($4.29); icy chilled gazpacho ($3.49); vegetarian salad ($4.49); shredded chicken, beef or pork salads ($5.49 each); and salad with grilled sirloin steak strips ($6.29). Salads are made in a homemade flour tortilla with meat, beans and cheese, romaine lettuce and tortilla strips.
Entrees: Burritos come in a choice of shredded chicken, beef or pork ($5.49 each), grilled chicken and sirloin steak strips ($6.29 each).
Tacos, made with homemade corn tortillas, also are offered with a choice of shredded chicken, beef or pork ($5.49 each), grilled chicken and sirloin steak strips ($6.29 each). There are two tacos in each order and come with cheese, pinto or black beans and rice.
Tamales come in pork, chicken or green chili and cheese ($6.99 each). The two tamales per order also come with a choice of pinto or black beans and rice.
Enchiladas, two per order, are offered with a choice of shredded chicken, beef or pork and cheese ($5.69 per order).
New to the menu is the Springtime Quesadilla featuring a flour tortilla, grilled chicken breast strips, diced tomatoes, homemade corn and black bean relish, cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese blend, grilled and served a la carte ($3.49) or with rice and beans ($4.59).
Extras: Chips and guacamole ($2.69); chips and salsa ($1.69); single taco ($1.99); cheese quesadilla ($2.29; with shredded beef, chicken or pork, $3.29).
Desserts: Mama Kay's homemade Margarita pie and homemade Mexican flan ($2.99 each).
http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2005/Aug-17-Wed-2005/living/2913511.html
By Ken White
Cafe Ole Mexican Grill doesn't look like a typical quick-casual restaurant.
Instead of bright, multicolored plastic chairs, the restaurant at 3665 S. Fort Apache Road features a hacienda look with chairs and lighting fixtures made in Mexico.
Cafe Ole's tile floors and paint were inspired by trips the owners, Alan and Kay Stewart, made south of the border.
Longtime lovers of Mexican food, the Stewarts even went looking for it while living in Saudi Arabia, where Alan ran the royal family's huge grocery business.
After moving to Las Vegas three years ago, Kay Stewart was inspired to open Cafe Ole.
"I said to my husband, 'We have to start a Mexican restaurant here, there are none that I like,' " Stewart said.
So, along with the Stewarts' son Brent Jensen, who created the decor, and longtime friend Ed O'Herron, the Cafe Ole concept was born.
Diners can watch their meals being prepared to order behind the long counter, starting with the restaurant's homemade flour tortillas.
"It's not Tex-Mex, it's not Baja," says O'Herron, Cafe Ole's vice president of operations.
There are 35 items on the menu, but O'Herron figures there are up to 250 variations.
"We don't have hot (spicy) food, but authentic Mexican food. We want to maintain a nice flavor without setting your mouth on fire."
Take-out and catering are available.
Seating 85, the restaurant is open 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays; 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays; and noon-8 p.m. Sundays.
A second Cafe Ole location is slated to open next month at 4275 N. Rancho Drive.
Soups and salads: Poco tortilla soup ($3.49); chile verde Vasquez ($4.29); icy chilled gazpacho ($3.49); vegetarian salad ($4.49); shredded chicken, beef or pork salads ($5.49 each); and salad with grilled sirloin steak strips ($6.29). Salads are made in a homemade flour tortilla with meat, beans and cheese, romaine lettuce and tortilla strips.
Entrees: Burritos come in a choice of shredded chicken, beef or pork ($5.49 each), grilled chicken and sirloin steak strips ($6.29 each).
Tacos, made with homemade corn tortillas, also are offered with a choice of shredded chicken, beef or pork ($5.49 each), grilled chicken and sirloin steak strips ($6.29 each). There are two tacos in each order and come with cheese, pinto or black beans and rice.
Tamales come in pork, chicken or green chili and cheese ($6.99 each). The two tamales per order also come with a choice of pinto or black beans and rice.
Enchiladas, two per order, are offered with a choice of shredded chicken, beef or pork and cheese ($5.69 per order).
New to the menu is the Springtime Quesadilla featuring a flour tortilla, grilled chicken breast strips, diced tomatoes, homemade corn and black bean relish, cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese blend, grilled and served a la carte ($3.49) or with rice and beans ($4.59).
Extras: Chips and guacamole ($2.69); chips and salsa ($1.69); single taco ($1.99); cheese quesadilla ($2.29; with shredded beef, chicken or pork, $3.29).
Desserts: Mama Kay's homemade Margarita pie and homemade Mexican flan ($2.99 each).
http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2005/Aug-17-Wed-2005/living/2913511.html