New Mexican Food Restaurant Opens Today

A new San Angelo eatery is slated to open this morning at 11, serving up dishes the owners suggest will give competing Mexican food cafés citywide a run for their money.

The menu features authentic Mexican food, Tex-Mex fusions and all-American favorites, some of which San Angeloans remember from the family’s previous  restaurant venture, Chilango’s. New and revamped menu items have been added to those imported by former Chilango’s owner Hector Pomar, who says there will be some similarities, but maintains it will have a twist.

“We have some salsas that we’re going to incorporate, some different spices than some restaurants,” Pomar said. “Mexican restaurants over here, they have the regular chili con queso. Mine is going to be…two-cheese chili con queso blanco, which is white cheese. We’re using some chipotle chilies also…to give some good flavor to the salsa we’re going to incorporate into the plates.”

With Hector’s experience and contacts backing her, 20-year-old Adriana Pomar will be the entrepreneurial head behind the business, which she says has been a dream of hers since childhood.

“I’m following in my dad’s footsteps,” Adriana said proudly. “When I was younger, I was involved a lot in the (Chilango’s) restaurant. I just loved meeting all the new people, new customers, all the different faces. It’s nice to get to know your customers and…to see that they love what you’re doing…It’s just good to see that we as a whole are making our customers happy and I like that. I like the feeling.”

Adriana and her father have been working on the restaurant across from ASU at 2424 Vanderventer for two months now, and with staff in place, are planning a soft opening Wednesday to get the restaurant going. That is, if they can find the keys.

Gesturing to a green banner that was replaced over the weekend with a permanent sign, Hector laughs, “This is something that catch the eye of people,” he says. “‘If you find the keys? You can’t find the keys?’”

The banner is one of many comical insights into the disposition of the Pomars, who say that aside from offering great food they also hope to inspire a relaxed atmosphere where people can escape the stress of the office and just enjoy their lunches.

“Chirp Chirp” for chicken, “Moo Moo” for beef, and one-liners such as “This is a menu. Don’t eat it” and “Tipping is not a city in China” are meant to inspire laughter in customers, who despite being told the opposite on the menu are always right, Pomar said.

“If they come mad or whatever and they’re going to take it out on the waitress, at least if they read this, it’s going to put a smile on their face,” he laughed.

A Mexico native, Hector Pomar explains that the words “Chilango” and “Chilanga” are the male and female forms of Spanish words meaning “Mexico City native”. Pomar himself stems from Mexico City, and several of the authentic recipes he’s brought along with him come from his birthplace, while others were handed down from his mother.

“My favorite is my mom’s recipe,” he says. “It’s a chili relleno. It’s a poblano chili relleno. It’s with the egg white battered and we cook it the old style. Ninety percent of the restaurants over here, they use annaheim peppers.”

The big difference between authentic rellenos and those served in most restaurants, Pomar said, is that the peppers are traditionally battered with eggs and spices, dipped in flour and then fried, which is a bit more labor intensive. La Chilinga will serve their poblano chili rellenos using the traditional method, and customers may choose from beef, chicken, shrimp or ground beef fillings.

“Everything is so good,” Adriana added indecisively. “The Gringa Plate is really good. I’m in love with that. It’s delicious.”

The Gringa Plate is an appetizer of beef or chicken fajita meat served with sautéed onions and jalepenos and smothered with cheese. The dish was one of the few selected from the former Chilango’s menu, and while many will agree it does sound appetizing, it was the subject of some controversy in the past.

“When I had Chilango’s, it went on the ‘Speak Your Mind’ over there at the newspaper,” Hector Pomar explained. “This guy, he came to eat and…said ‘I love their food. Everything is great. The only thing I don’t like is the ‘Gringo Plate’. He said the Gringo Plate is derogatory.”

For about a month customers and writers alike went back and forth on the term “gringo” in the plate’s name, Pomar said, but he kept his comments to himself until it came time to order new t-shirts.  

“It went on and off, on and off for a month,” he said. “I never answer back nothing, but what I did was I made some t-shirt that says, ‘Home of the Gringo Plate’”.

“We don’t mean to hurt anybody’s feelings by this,” Adriana interjected. “It’s just some fun humor.” The Pomars don’t believe anyone will take issue with their menu this time, they said, as the intention behind it is not to offend. Cacti on the menu are the small and armed sort, and luckily, none of those are located next to the Gringa Plate.

La Chilinga will be open Monday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. On Fridays and Saturdays the staff will extend those hours to 10 p.m., and the restaurant will remain closed on Sundays so that everyone may attend church.

“I’m extremely excited. It went by so fast—I’m beyond ready. On a scale of one to 10 it’s a 15,” Adrian Pomar said. “I’ve always wanted to go into business. I wanted to go college for business management. I got pregnant when I was 16 and I had a daughter. It was hard because there was always that doubt in my mind, ‘Oh, I’m not going to be able to go to college. I’m not going to be able to do this and do that,’ but now, finally being able to get open and get my dream accomplished with having a kid as a teenager, it’s a great accomplishment.

“Knowing that I’m a teen mom and I’m able to be a business owner and do something for my future and my daughter’s future, it makes me feel real proud of myself,” she said. “I feel very accomplished to be able to do that.”

La Chilanga has set up a Facebook page for marketing and will soon start implementing lunch specials and student specials, Pomar said. For more information on the restaurant, click here.