The Roanoker May/June 2024 - 138

Dining
LEFT TO RIGHT:
Scratch-made agua frescas are ready for summer enjoyment, with flavors like strawberry, pineapple,
watermelon or cantaloupe.
Popular paleta flavors include yogurt with strawberry and kiwi or tropical numbers like pineapple, coconut or
soursop.
Gansito stuffed in a concha, a traditional Mexican sweet bread, eats like a Neapolitan-cake-meets-icecream-sandwich.
kick
and a sturdy vessel for layering noodles,
corn and cheese on top to create a composed
bite.
The assortment of chips anchor several other
dishes, including Tosticeviche, starring shrimp,
pico de gallo, fresh cucumber and avocado, all
sluiced with Clamato (opt for the Tostitos
Salsa Verde chips). It's served in the chip bag
and makes an ideal appetizer or a light lunch
(leaving more room for ice cream). The Torta
del Chavo del 8, a ham sandwich layered with
jalapenos, avocado, lettuce and tomato that
skews mayo-heavy (not that we're complaining),
is another solid lunchtime bet.
Though the shop has been open just under
a year, it's garnered loads of buzz. Rodriguez
relishes hearing comments like, " OMG, this
is from Mexico! " as well as anecdotes from
loyal customers. " There's this lady that came
from Las Vegas, she said, 'I've been here two
years, and I've been waiting for something like
this to open.' " Customers from the Mexican
community have also flocked to the shop for
Frutas Mixtas, a popular Mexican street food
snack featuring a cup of mixed fruit topped
with chamoy, a spicy-savory pickled fruit sauce,
and Tajín, a lime chili seasoning. I've joined
the Bionicos fan club, which is like the fruit
salad dessert of my dreams: fresh cut strawberries,
bananas, grapes and mango topped
with granola, shredded coconut and honey
and drizzled with a sweet cream that required
multiple rounds of recipe testing to strike the
ideal balance of tangy and sweet.
Rodriguez and Gonzalez hope to open a
second location for their snack shop later this
year to accommodate more seating; the current
location has eight tables and quickly fills up
on weekends. In the meantime, she's refining
new menu items such as tostadas de ceviche
and hopes to tweak the ramen cup to make it
more conducive for to-go orders. Come summer,
she hopes more customers will discover
liquid refreshment in their rotating line-up of
agua frescas, scratch-made infused waters in
flavors such as strawberry, pineapple, watermelon
or cantaloupe. They're ideal for sipping
during warmer months, but they're also just the
ticket to wash down a savory snack, say Elote
Chorreados, corn on the cob rolled in crushed
Flaming Hot Cheetos, or to keep your sugar
rush going. I
LAYLA KHOURY-HANOLD is a James Beard Award nominated writer who has written for Condé Nast Traveler, Food52, Food Network and The Chicago Tribune, among others. Follow her on
Instagram @words_with_layla or on X @words_withlayla.
138 MAY/JUNE 2024
TheRoanoker.com
Frutas Mixtas, a popular Mexican street food snack, features a cup of mixed fruit topped with chamoy, a spicysavory
pickled fruit sauce, and Tajín, a lime chili seasoning.
BELOW: Bright colors entice curious passersby and offer a friendly welcome promising fun for diners; the
eight tables fill up fast!

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The Roanoker May/June 2024

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