New Evansville restaurant provides authentic Mexican flavors

Since La Campirana vacated their spot at the Washington Square Food Court last year to move to larger digs, we have been blessed with another traditional Mexican restaurant in the same location, with a different flare but no less authenticity.  

Azteca is run by partners Elsa Estrada and Sochitl Adriana Gutierrez. The Duo met about 6 years ago and soon began talking about their dream restaurant.  

“We had an idea of opening up a dessert place or a place where you can get fresh fruit and paletas (fruit popsicles,)" said Estrada. “The idea turned into serving hot food. Adriana is from Ciudad Juarez which is in northern Mexico right across the Texas border. I'm from Jalisco which is a very different part of Mexico on the Pacific side, and Adriana's husband is from Puebla, which is in central Mexico. So we have very different flavors in our food, and we thought maybe we can combine them.”

Azteca serves both savory dishes and sweets, with flavors from all over Mexico.  

For example, the restaurant serves a fusion version of tacos Juarez. The seasoning in the pork al pastor is a specialty of Estrada's Jalisco town—the recipe is her grandmother's. The presentation, however, is purely Ciudad Juarez, the tacos accompanied by a baked potato, grilled green onions and a whole fresh jalapeno pepper cooked in a bacon wrapper.  

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On the menu you'll find some more known choices such as a taco salad, fajitas, shredded beef burrito, chimichanga and quesadillas with your choice of meat filling. Tamales are hand-made daily and sold until they're gone. Other dishes that were recently strangers in our area -- such as sopes, the soft-on-the-inside, crunchy-on-the-outside corn boats filled with veggies and meat -- are also represented.  

If you feel like eating light, tostada might be just the thing. The flat corn shells are topped with ceviche -- fish marinated in lime juice with vegetables and avocado, or “tinga” chicken -- shredded white meat with tomato and chipotle sauce.  

You'll find some completely new items as well—specifically tortas from central Mexico with unexpected ingredients.  

“Our tortas are very different,” said Estrada. “All the recipes are from the Puebla area. We have a special house sauce we make for them, that contains some peppers and almonds; it is not hot at all but it gives it a really really good flavor. The way it's cooked is very different from what you see here.”

The house tortas come on a fluffy white roll with your choice off filling — steak, pork al pastor, chicken, breaded fried steak or chorizo, and topped with veggies, jalapeno peppers, cheese, avocado, the house almond sauce and mayonnaise.  

Those craving a little adventure might try a torta Cubana, filled with chorizo, chicken, hot dog, ham, Oaxaca cheese (similar to mozzarella) and egg or the Hawaiian with ham, hot dog, Oaxaca cheese and pineapple.

Those wanting a lot of adventure should go for the pambazos. The whole huge bun is dipped in a thick, red guajillo chile sauce which soaks just the surface of the bread. It is sliced and filled with chorizo sausage cooked with crumbled potato, slices of mild queso fresco (fresh cheese), sour cream, and lettuce. We topped it with some of Azteca's homemade hot (hot!) sauce for a kick.  

All your favorite Mexican fruit dishes and desserts are available as well from multicolored gelatin mosaico topped with homemade eggnog to tres leches cake. Many desserts include what is called “sweet cream,” a homemade yogurt-like sauce with a tangy zip. You'll find it in the bionico, a mixture of fresh fruit with sweet cream and granola; or try it with fresh strawberries in a strawberries and cream; or go one step farther and choose the ultimate strawberries and cream with chocolate sauce and Nutella ice cream.  

As cooler weather sets in, look for Azteca to offer champurrado, the thick and frothy Mexican version of hot chocolate flavored with cinnamon, and ponche, a tea-like hot drink made with sugar cane, tejocotes (similar to crab apples) and guava.

Azteca's recipes are family heirlooms, however below, we included recipes for a cool-weather Mexican favorite called atole — a thick, warm cornmeal-based drink especially beloved on Dia de los Muertos, the Mexican version of Halloween.  

More info

Hours: 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday, noon to 5 p.m. Sunday. 

Phone: 812-550-1820

Atole

Serves 5

1/2 cup Maseca dry corn masa for tortillas

5 cups milk

1 teaspoon ground Mexican cinnamon  

5 tablespoons dark brown sugar or piloncillo,  

1 tablespoon Mexican vanilla   

1 ounce bittersweet chocolate, chopped, optional

1. Place the masa, milk, cinnamon and brown sugar in a heavy pot. Whisk to mix very well. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook, whisking, for 5 minutes or until very smooth and thick.  

2. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the vanilla and chocolate if using. Pour into mugs and serve hot.