El Charro - Mexican Standards & Chef Specialties Make for Delicious Dining
Hawaii Diner Staff & Marianne Schultz
August 2004

El Charro is located in the busy commercial/industrial area of Sand Island and this setting could create low expectations for the food. This would be wrong. I first heard about El Charro from fellow foodie and contributor, Marianne Schultz. When she learned of my fondness for Mexican food she said that El Charro, the culinary home of Juan Madrigal (chef/proprietor), was the place to go. So, Marianne, her neighbor, Cecile, and I made the trek out to Sand Island last week.

Since opening a little more than three years ago, El Charro has expanded from its original single space in the Sand Island Center strip mall to occupy two storefronts. The interior is dominated by a stunning wall mural depicting the church and town plaza in Juan's hometown in the State of Jalisco. The rest of the walls are done in lots of vibrant colors with colorful striped serapes, sombreros and numerous religious icons adorning the walls and tables. It is inviting and cheerful.

We were there to eat and we settled into making our selections while munching on a basket of chips and the house salsa (we also had a bowl of guacamole). The salsa and guacamole both merit a mention. The salsa was not particularly hot but it was flavorful and the guacamole was very good. Juan adds diced onions and tomatoes to the avocados and finishes it by mixing in some cilantro, which makes for an exceptionally fresh and delicious guacamole. This is the way my aunt, who was from Mazatlan, made guacamole and it remains my favorite preparation.

We ordered Chicken Quesadilla ($8.95); Chile Relleno ($9.95); Fish Tacos ($2.25 each, minimum order of two); Beef Enchiladas ($7.95); Carnitas Pork ($8.95); Polla a la Parilla con Rajas ($9.95) blandly described as grilled chicken with poblanos - this description is serious understatement of what is truly a gourmet dish; and Carne de Puerco en Chile Rojo ($8.95), a dazzler of a dish which is also understated on the menu as "Pork meat with homemade red chile sauce..."

Before moving on to the various dishes, it is a good idea to talk about some of the standard sides that accompany plate orders or can be ordered separately: tortillas and refried beans. You have a choice of flour or corn tortillas and we recommend trying the corn tortillas. They are very good for making your own tacos from the Carnitas Pork or assisting in getting that last delicious drop of sauce. If you judge a Mexican restaurant by the quality of its refried beans (I consider it an indicator of how good the rest of the food will be), this is an excellent restaurant. Both of us felt that Juan must surely use lard to obtain the creamy texture and full flavor but he assured us this is not the case.

The Chicken Quesadilla was out first and it is everything you could want. It was also heartier in the quantity of filling and the amount of pico de gallo and sour cream that accompanies it than you find at other restaurants. It could adequately feed a person as an entree and is certainly enough for four persons as an appetizer.

The Chile Relleno was excellent. Juan told us that the sauce in this dish closely resembles the sauce his mother made and that is why this dish is known in-house as "Mama-Style." If you love a good chile relleno, you will certainly enjoy the El Charro version.

The Fish Tacos were a Daily Special so they may not always be available, just check the whiteboard to see what's offered. The salsa accompanying these was much hotter than the salsa on the table but it really set off the diced tomatoes and freshly sauteed fish chunks. If you don't like hot sauce, you can request that they use a milder salsa. We had these with corn tortillas but you can get flour tortillas if you like.

Next up were the enchiladas. Most everyone knows that enchiladas are corn tortillas filled with a variety of meat and/or cheese which are then bathed in a warm red sauce. The sauce was redolent of chiles roasted, then slowly cooked with plenty of garlic, cumin and onions. We had the beef but you can also order cheese or chicken.

For newcomers to Mexican food who are looking for something straightforward and delicious to eat, we can recommend the Carnitas Pork. Slow-roasted pork is cooked until there is a nice crust on it and then shredded into large chunks and served with rice, beans, tortillas and a salad composed of shredded cabbage topped with tomatoes. Take a tortilla and add some of the pork, top it with salad, throw a dash of salsa on it all, fold it in half and eat it up! It's really very good.

The next two dishes are, quite frankly, in a class by themselves. They are unique creations, and serve as the current embodiment of a lifetime of cooking from a variety of disciplines; they exude the comfort and warmth of "casera" or home style cooking, yet with a highly refined sensibility.

For those seeking a truly different culinary experience, the #9, Pollo a la Parilla con Rajas, is the dish to order. This chicken dish is based around a lush cream sauce with strips of poblano chiles which is rich but not cloying to the palate. The flavors are so intriguing that we found ourselves trying to guess what the contributing ingredients were to this wonderful dish. The sauce is a masterpiece which would surely bring a nod of approval from Julia Child herself. Juan says that each serving of sauce is prepared when ordered which is not what one expects at a Mexican restaurant.

While the #9 is a masterpiece of delicacy and refinement, the #11, Carne de Puerco en Chile Rojo, is the adventurer (a Renaissance man perhaps?) who swashbuckled into the kitchen and whipped up a dish to sustain and embolden his men for further forays! This dish starts as a humble pork butt but gains stature through long hours of stewing with a multitude of herbs and spices. Even its simple appearance is deceptive. This was my personal favorite and even my usual dining partner who is not a big fan of Mexican food was delighted with this dish.

Okay, we really need to wrap this up but we must mention the Sopapillas, those delightful puffs of fried bread sprinkled with powdered sugar which beg to be dipped in honey and eaten with pleasure. El Charro does not always have them but be sure to ask because they are wonderful.

Try out El Charro! If you order your favorites, you won't be disappointed but we encourage you to branch out a bit and try something new. Your taste buds will thank you.

El Charro
111 Sand Island Access Rd
Sand Island
Honolulu
845-9637
Open Mon-Sat 8am to 8pm; Sun 10am to 6pm