Rollies Mexican Patio is all about the taquitos. But not the freezer-burned supermarket variety you might think.
The new restaurant on South 12th Avenue makes their rolled tacos from scratch, and fills them with anything from shredded chicken to cauliflower, topping the crispy orbs with a colorful array of fresh cabbage and pickled red onions. The spot even has a "no-carb" rollie with a shell made from fried cheese. 🙀
Rollies Mexican Patio has a retro cool about it, and a menu that showcases different types of taquitos.
Chef Mateo Otero likes to mix it up. That's what he's doing for his first restaurant, an effortlessly hip spot in a neighborhood known for its Sonoran hot dogs and elote stands. Mateo tore off the front wall of what used to be the old El Jalapeño building at 4573 S. 12th Avenue and gave it an outdoor vibe that looks kinda like a retro car shop. You may have seen the colorful piñata mural at the front, painted by local artist Jonny Bubonik.
Rollies' menu looks like something you'd see downtown, with vegetarian tortas like the Barrio Hipster with zucchini, peppers, mushrooms and more. (You can make it "cochi style" by adding bacon for a dollar, if you wanna go that route.) I recently included the fried chicken "Picoso" torta in my list of Five Best Dishes of 2017. If you do eat meat, don't miss this one; it's crunchy heaven.
The flat enchiladas with handmade masa look like something you'd pay $15 for at some fancy "restaurante y cantina," but that's just how they eat 'em in Sonora where his family's from, Mateo said. Unlike the taquitos these Sonoran enchiladas aren't folded over. They're just two thick circles of masa topped with shrimp or chicken tinga, and covered with chile sauce. ($6.50 to $8.50)
But of course, you're probably going because you saw a picture of an ice cream sandwich made from Mexican pastries. Mateo does two: one with a pink concha shell and the very first-ever cochito gingerbread pig ice cream sandwich. (Pastries are from Tortillas Don Juan on South Fourth Avenue.)
Most of the time these don't hold together, but Mateo uses extra soft Thrifty's ice cream, which is supple enough to move around rather than break into a messy disaster. So basically it's trendy on the outside; but the inside is meant for the little kid at heart ...
