Cantina Cooking in Pine Grove

By Antoinette May Herndon

Who says people don’t go out to dinner much? Nobody who frequents Las Minas in Pine Grove. And if you haven’t been there, go and be prepared to change your mind. By 6 p.m. on a recent Friday night, the place was jammed.

Located in a small shopping center back from the road, Las Minas is difficult to spot. Go slow, watch carefully, and you still might miss it have to u-turn and double back.

Once inside you’ll step right in to cantina ambiance. The building has been divided in half, one side a convenience store, the other Las Minas. There’s a low wall with an archway dividing them, reminiscent of so many old Mexican. It looks so real, you expect to vines or cactus growing out of it.

Part of the bistro’s appeal is it’s authentic feeling. We found it specially pleasant to hear the waitresses chattering amongst themselves in Spanish. They laugh a lot. Las Minas is a busy, bustling place. They must be happy there.

Charles and I found the cantina quite by accident the other night. Turned out we were a little early. It was not quite six when we found our way to a booth and settled in. There were perhaps five other customers already there.

“What would you like?” Evendera Favigs, our waitress for the evening, asked. She was almost too good a server, too prompt—if you can imagine. How did we know what we wanted? We had just sat down, hadn’t yet picked up the unfamiliar

menus.

When in doubt, beer comes trippingly to the tongue. Charles chose Corona ($3.75) and I pleased to find an old favorite of mine, Dos Equis Dark, also $3.75, on the list. But, had I had more time to contemplate, I might have tried one of the wine margaritas on the list. The flavors sounded beguiling: mango, strawberry, lime, pina colada, each for $4.50

We had scarcely picked up our menus before Evendera was back with our beer. What did we want to eat? Decisions! Decisions! A little disconcerting with an unfamiliar menu. I wanted time to consider. But by now Las Minas was beginning to fill, Evendera wanted our orders in and cooking.

Charles chose the Shrimp Fajitos, a very wise decision. Nice shrimp, fluffy rice, traditional refried beans and delicious guacamole salad. ($12.50)

He was hungry and also ordered a side salad. ($3.99) It was gorgeous. Literally gorgeous, big too. Think fresh lettuce, tomato, avocado, and cheese tossed with ranch dressing. Very good and a feast to the eye.

After eight years of being married to Charles, I wander why I haven’t learned to just give up and order whatever he’s having. In any restaurant—high end or low—he invariably seems to know intuitively exactly what to order. Not surprisingly, both of his choices that evening were outstanding. Yes, I know that from experience because he took pity of me and shared.

I felt like Cinderella—change that to Cinderellita—with my combination

plate. ($11.50) What can I say? Usually combination plates are a fun scramble offering a little of everything. I’m a Mexicophile (if there is such a thing). I love the country, love the food, and often have difficulty choosing between tacos, enchilada, chile relleno, tostadas. They’re all so good. So why not have them all?

That usually works fine, but this time at Las Minas, it didn’t. The tacos were dried out. Actually all the offerings tasted like they had been nuked too long in the microwave. Perhaps in an effort to compensate, they were floating in some kind of brown gravy. Have you ever had brown gravy on a taco?

Well, I haven’t before and don’t want to again. Next time, it’ll be Shrimp Fajitos for sure. Yes, there will be a next time. Despite the combination from hell, I like the ambience of Las Minas, the fresh tortillas on the table, and especially the parts of Charles’s dinner that I was able to lure away from him.

By 6:30 when we left, the restaurant was packed and two other waitresses were working along side Evendera. Once again, who says people don’t go out for dinner anymore? Las Minas is definitely doing something right.

VITALS: Las Minas is located at 20220 Hwy. 88, Pine Grove. Phone: 298-6400. Open daily from 7;30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Credit cards accepted.

Pictures:

Las Minas beckons from a Pine Grove Shopping Plaza

Evendera Favigs has her act together at Las Minas

Las Minas in Pine Grove is a busy place.