Pepe's Taco Villa

Phoenix is supposed to be a city of unlimited Mexican food, and, in many ways it is. From gringo-safe chains like Macayo's and Garcia's to hole-in-the wall taquerias, the streets of the metropolitan area are lined with south-of-the-border food -- except much of that food is really more "border" than "south of the border." In other words, many Mexican restaurants here serve Sonoran food, the food associated with Arizona and the Mexican state of Sonora directly below it on the map. For some, Sonoran food, with its emphasis on refried beans and melted cheese, is good, gooey comfort food. For others who deride the style as "snorin," it's a predictable, limited cuisine that only minimally represents the rich culinary traditions of Mexico's interior. In recent years, migrations of people from other regions of Mexico have begun to diversify the food choices in Phoenix, but it's important not to lose sight of restaurants that offered Mexican beyond Sonoran long before it was fashionable to do so.

Pepe's is one of those old school Mexican restaurants that never allowed itself to be pigeonholed as exclusively Sonoran. The original Pepe hailed from Monterrey, Mexico's third largest metropolitan area and a major city for commerce and industry. It's not a border city, but it's not a seaside resort town either. Instead, it's probably about as close to the Mexican heartland as can be imagined. The word "heartland" connotes stability, and restaurant has existed continuously since 1981 in a storefront location along Camelback Road just two blocks west of the 19th Avenue / Camelback station. Now under the management of a second generation within Pepe's family, the restaurant has undergone some expansion, leading to a potentially confusing situation with three different doors facing the street. If approaching from the rail station, use the first available door. If approaching from the parking lot west of the restaurant, walk past the first two doors and finally to the double door entrance.

The restaurant's interior is an ad-hoc mix of beer promotional decor, pictures of matadors, and even some Frida Kahlo prints. Most of the seating is in high-backed booths, although there are a few sunnier tables near the windows. Pepe's is more about unpretentious friendliness than refined atmosphere, though. The service is good enough that even with the limited visibility imposed by the imposing booths, each table is likely to receive frequent check-ins and drink refrills. Service always begin with a basket of fresh chips and two salsas. Since they're presented in squeeze bottles, they're really more sauces than salsas, but they work with the chips or as way to enliven anything ordered down the road. The red is mild, and the green is hot. Another option is to order some of the creamy guacamole to go with the chips.

Pepe's menu begins with the same standards as hundreds of Mexican restaurants in the area: tacos, tostadas, enchiladas, chimichangas, chile rellenos, etc. While these dishes may be familiar, their execution is consistently excellent. The chile rellenos (center photo below) actually taste like a lightly breaded chile stuffed with cheese or pork. At lesser establishments, the chile is buried in excessively heavy breading and gooey sauce, making it virtually imperceptible. For those with more adventurous appetites, Pepe's also features a variety of specialties from other regions of Mexico. The Taco Monterrey, for example, features dried beef with scrambled eggs. Daily specials are equally bold. A barbecued beef head dish is available on Saturdays. Several mole dishes round out the menu. The #14 combination (right photo below) is a winner with shredded white meat chicken rolled into three enchiladas covered in mole poblano sauce. The mole at Pepe's is complex with notes of chocolate, peppers, and many other flavors not so easily identified complimenting, rather than competing, with one another. Rice and refried beans accompany most entrees. For an extra 50 cents, upgrade to the olla beans -- whole pinto beans in a sort of thick soup with slices of jalapenos.

There is a bar with Mexican beers and cocktails, and non-alcoholic Mexican beverages like horchata and sodas are available. Live entertainment is occasionally featured. Pepe's is a casual place, both family-owned and family-oriented. In other words, it's never a problem to bring children here. About the only challenge in eating at Pepe's are the somewhat unusual hours. The restaurant closes early at 3 PM on Sundays and is closed all day on Tuesdays. The other six days a week, though, Pepe's is reliably available during standard lunch and dinner times. Figuring out the schedule is a small price to pay, however, when the food is good, inexpensive, and filling every single time. With the restaurant approaching the end of its third decade, Pepe's age may make it seem old school, but its regional Mexican offerings are probably more relevant today than ever.

2108 W. Camelback Rd., Phoenix, AZ 85015 Map
(602) 242-0379
http://www.pepestacovilla.com/