El Viejo Loco in Yuma

Kirk and Cathy have both been in Yuma, but today, ed (from Yuma) wants to talk about a restaurant and restaurant owner there.

March 2011 update: Sadly, Viejo Loco has closed. I have been told that Danny is battling some health issues. I hope he recovers and finds a new location. I miss him and spinach enchiladas.

I'm not sure if the name of the restaurant means the crazy old guy or the old crazy guy, but Danny Mendoza is certainly not old -- at least by my standards.

He's operated a restaurant by this name at three different locations, first outside of town on Highway 95, then hidden on the back side of a building facing Mervyn's, and now at the cursed location on east side of 4th Ave just before the Big Curve: This spot has been home to TJ's Marisqeros, Small Fries (with two separate owners), Mi Playita, and I can't remember what else in the years since I moved to town.  So maybe he is crazy.

On the other hand, he is sane enough an do the Mexican restaurant standards very well: This is as good a machaca and egg breakfast burrito as I have had in town, no, make that the best I've had anywhere.  There was no filler here, just fluffy egg and extremely good beef machaca.  Enough onion and green peppers to provide texture and accent notes.  I also appreciated that Danny (who was cooking that morning) asked if I wanted the salsa put inside.  Of course I did; I can't roll a burrito as well as he and I definitely want some of his salsa.

After all, this restaurant has the best salsa in town: For all I know, there may be a bit of tomato pulp in here, but the major dominant flavor is fresh red chilies, very spicy, but not burn the skin of your tongue off fiery.

His version of most other standards is equally spot on. Look at this chile relleno plate: While he will happily spoon some excellent red or green sauce on these bad boys, if you wish, they are perfect as is, the expertly cooked green anaheims are wrapped in their eggy blanket, stuffed with creamy white cheese. Simple and tasty: Likewise, the chile verde (green chile) here is perfectly balanced and deeply flavorful, if a bit expensive for the portion size.  The pork (sometimes beef is available also) is cooked until it shreds and  becomes completely permeated with green chile and touches of tomatillo flavor.  As good as it gets: Recently he has been experimenting with different types of tortas: That's a rib eye torta with a thin rib eye steak on the bun. Yeah, a real steak. Great beefy flavors, according to my buddy, Chip, who pronounced it as an incredible sandwich.

Similarly here's his version of a chicken torta: In most ways, a great grilled chicken breast sandwich - though the bolillo roll could have been toasted better. As was, it was a touch crumbly. I also prefer tortas with pickled jalapeno slices, but that's a matter of personal taste. Otherwise outstanding.

Both the torta de pollo and the ribeye sandwich were specials and  not on the regular menu.  In fact, I have learned always to look at what is written on the specials board because the specials here are often truly special, and the list of specials is always changing.

Recently I got lucky and stopped in on a day when barbacoa was the special.  One could get it in a burrito, in a sandwich, as a taco plate, or as a complete barbacoa plate, which looked like this: Along with his standard rice and his frijoles (no lard), this is the best barbacoa (imho) in Yuma. As with many of his other dishes, the meat had been cooked to shreds, so that each shard of meat was full of flavor.  In some ways this pot roasted beef shoulder was much like my grandmother's pot roast with the deep flavor of long cooked beef.  But unlike anything my grandmother would have prepared, the main flavoring here was mild dark dried red chile with a touch of citrusy tang .

Along with excellent Mexican standards and different and interesting specials, one thing that constantly impresses me about this restaurant is Danny Mendoza himself.  He is the only restauranteur that I know in Yuma who is as food obsessed as I am.  On several occasions when business has been slow, Danny will pull up a chair, sit down at my table, and talk food with me.

Although he grew up in Yuma, he worked in different restaurants in California before returning to his hometown.  And his skills and interests stretch beyond Mexican food alone.  For example, one day he just had to share with me a couple of things he was experimenting with back in the kitchen.

So I got this little cup of soup: It was amazingly good.  The the rich and flavorful chicken stock had been slightly thickened, fresh crunchy shredded lettuce and diced green onion had been stirred in, and a dollop of sour cream had been added.  A perfect little soup, the sort of dish that would've fit in a multicourse tasting menu.

Why this dish?  Well, Danny said that he was just playing around, trying to use leftover lettuce in some flavorful dish.

That same day, he served me a small plate of what he called etouffee, even though it was served over noodles instead of rice: But the flavors were great, or at least good enough to fool this non-Cajun diner.  The blond roux contained a large shrimp, numerous fresh and tasty crawfish, celery, onions, and little bits of green pepper.  The fancy restaurants in town would have been delighted to serve something this unusual and flavorful.

Over the years he has served me all sorts of different and interesting dishes - like a side of spinach and onions, or the best mantaralla I've ever tasted, or maybe just a new chipotle salsa he's experimenting with.

For example, on a recent visit, Danny brought Tina and I little bowls of his oatmeal for dessert:  The texture featured bits of chewy oatmeal suspended in a wonderfully creamy liquid.  It was slightly sweet and had a pronounced cinnamon flavor.  While certainly not the healthiest oatmeal I have ever eaten (I could taste the cream), it was surprisingly rich and flavorful. As served, kindof a desert soup.

Another of Danny's interests is re-creating some of the simple peasant food traditional on both sides of the border  in the Sonoran desert.  For example, he sometimes does enchiladas del piso, thick corn tortillas (corn cakes?)  covered in sauce and topped with cheese and your choice of spinach, chicken, or beef: I can imagine a meal like this -- probably without any meat -- being served for dinner in poor families.  Rice, beans, corn masa, and chile sauce.  Truly basic stuff.

A similar meal is Tomasita's Enchiladas,  traditional enchiladas made with verdolagas (purslane):
Danny says that this meal was a common feature of his childhood, and to learn how to make it he tracked down a 90-year-old relative (Tomasita) whose specialty this is.  Talk about true peasant cuisine.  Again we have rice, beans, and tortillas.  In this case the tortillas are wrapped around a simple filling made with a local weed, and the enchiladas are then topped with a unique sauce made with frijoles not chilies:
Interestingly, the purslane is also very healthy, full of vitamin A, vitamin C, magnesium, potassium, and a lot of omega 3 fatty acids, one of those few things containing the word "fatty" that's actually good for you.

In addition to all this other good stuff, my favorite meals at the restaurant are the spinach enchiladas.  They can come with a deeply rich and flavorful red sauce: Cut into, the enchiladas look like this: But I think they are even better with Danny's tangy green sauce: Inside: In either case, the enchiladas are packed full of flavorful spinach and onions, making this another healthy Mexican meal.  And a tasty one as well.

I know of no other Mexican restaurant in town that has enchiladas with either verdolagas or spinach filling.  The uniquity of these items brings me back to El Viejo Loco again and again.

Yet I am constantly puzzled by one fact.  I have never seen the spinach enchiladas (or the chicken and spinach burritos for that matter) on the menu or even written on the specials white board.  Never.  Yet most of the time spinach dishes are available. 

Sometimes I feel like the spinach is some secret hidden ingredient that Danny wants to share only with a few cognoscenti. More secret than In 'n Out's "Secret Menu." Sort of like a sushi chef with a little bit of fugu hidden in the cooler to be served only to one or two select customers.  I don't know. But, lets face it, spinach is not a possibly poisonous rarity like puffer fish. Why is it a secret? Personally, I think he could sell several spinach enchilada plates every day if he just let people know that they could order them.

Sometimes I think he doesn't want to be too busy.  That would explain why he has never been open evenings. And why he's never had a liquor license. And why he has always chosen marginal locations.  But it certainly would not explain why he also works during packing season as manager and short order cook at the T & A Café (no, it doesn't mean that -- it's the little Café in the huge Tanimura & Antle packing plant). I guess I just don't understand him.

So maybe Danny is just a little crazy.  But OMG, this Loco can really cook.

El Viejo Loco, 4th Ave, Yuma AZ, 928-726-0577

Comments

[sawyer]

that's pretty interesting that he has such a wide variety in his cooking skills. that ribeye torta looks amazing too. another place for me to try in yuma someday...

[Lynnea]

Everything looks amazing, that torta really is the size of someone's head.

[nhbilly]

Sounds like a gem you found in the rough. It's awesome to find a place that truly experiment on its patrons, even I wouldn't mind signing for such gastronomical encounter from out of this world. It's rare to find such a place but lucky you.

[MrM]

I almost wanted to cry when I saw Tomasita's Enchiladas! Not that I have had enchiladas con verdolagas before, but that her sauce is just like what I used to get down here in my neck of the woods in the SD South Bay back in the day.

The dimension of frijoles in the chili gravy adds such a richness to enchilada sauce, there's nothing else like it! I would definitely like these with verdolagas.

If ever I get to Yuma, I would love to have lunch here with Danny. He cooks in the old fashioned southwestern ways I grew up on!

[ed (from yuma)]

Yeh, sawyer, he can really cook. He has a goal of opening a fancy restaurant someday. And yeh, Lynnea the tortas are pretty amazing - not the biggest in town, but sometimes the most interesting. I wish the ribeye torta was always available.

What amazes me is how experimental Danny is. As you said, billy, meals there are sometimes gastronomical encounters.

MrM, I especially appreciate your comment. I think that Danny is truly interested in the good things from his childhood. He cooks what he wants, not what he thinks will be most popular. If you come over here to try the food, I would suggest calling first to be sure Danny will be around and that sauce available. I'd never had a sauce like that before eating it at Viejo Loco.

[Janfrederick]

What a GREAT post! How cool is it to have found a restauranteur that specializes in food that is very common in the area, and is all about perfecting the recipes and getting adventurous to boot. MAN those rellenos look good!

PS, Thought of your recent post when we travelled through Paso Robles last weekend on our way to Santa Cruz. It was 107, we had doggies and a four-year-old...so we ate PB&J instead of stopping. Drats!

[foodhoe]

wow, every dish looks so well made! it's rare to find a restaurant with such a range of delicious food, lucky too that he keeps opening after closing a spot.

[Didi]

What a great post, Ed. A great read and the good food...oh, my. All the spinach in the enchiladas just made me want to drive out there and ordered them. It sounds like Danny really put some care into his cooking. Thanks, Ed.

[paige]

I check this site almost everyday, mostly waiting for a new Yuma post, although I've only commented once to ask about the asian market in the foothills, which I visit frequently now(thanks for directions!). We've been here for almost 2 years (military) but it can be hard to find really good "home-made" food here. I'll be checking out El Viejo Loco soon. Anyways, keep up the good work for us in Yuma.

[ed (from Yuma)]

thanks Jan. One problem putting this post together was that I ate my way through his basic window back in the days before I had a camera or Kirk had a blog. So I mostly eat the special stuff now.

Yeah, fh, he does do a nice range of dishes, but I never know for sure what off menu stuff will be available.

Thanks, Didi, I love the spinach enchiladas. They often have them even when Danny is at the T&A Cafe.

Thanks paige. Sometimes I worry that I do too much Yuma stuff, so it's nice to know there is an audience. I should note that Viejo Loco is closed on Sundays.

[twitter.com/gunhugger]

We're going there tomorrow, I'm so excited, expecially after reading you post!
It's great to be able to log on and read your posts on so many Yuma restaurants. Thanks for sharing.

[Mark]

Thank you for posting this. I drove from San Diego to Phoenix earlier this week and made a point to stop here because of your review. It was well worth the detour.

I had the Chile Verde and it was fantastic. A great blend of flavors and unique style. I look forward to heading back to San Diego with a stop here to try another dish...although I could go for the chile verde again!!!

[ed (from Yuma)]

Hope you enjoyed Audrey - and glad you liked Mark. I'm a green chile lover, and Danny's is super good.