The Roanoker - March/April 2015 - 61

Facing page: From tacos to tortas, homemade tortillas to
groceries, La Elenita brings the fresh and vibrant flavors of
Mexico to Roanoke.

finished. Freshly fried tortilla chips and house-made
tomato salsa with chiles and cilantro, the perfect snack
to hold till the crescendo: the food, any and all of it
on the menu.
Located in an unassuming building on Melrose Avenue (close to Peters Creek), La Elenita generally isn't
even noticed unless you're looking for it. Inside, you'll
find a grocery store (tienda) stocked with spices, dry
goods, and a few perishables like tortillas, chorizo, and
lettuce, along with a restaurant (cocina) with 10 or 11
tables. What the space lacks in interior decoration, it
makes up for with plenty in flavor - which is the real
reason any of us are here anyway.
As soon as you're seated, you're offered fresh tortilla chips along with one of the best salsas I've eaten
in the valley. Certain salsa bars have nothing on this
simple but spicy blend and, try as I might, I'm never
able to refrain from polishing off the basket of chips
by the time my main dish arrives. Drinks are a simple
affair - water, horchata or a fresh juice of the day - no
margaritas here, but a jugo or horchata the size of your
head (I have to grip the mug with both hands in order
to drink it) sets you back only $2 or so: a total steal.
Deciding what to order, though, is the difficult part.
Portions are large, but if you're feeling peckish, opt for
another chip-based appetizer like the Elenitas Dip, a
dish of refried beans topped with chorizo and molten
cheese dip. Swirl on a bit of either the tomatillo and
jalapeno or the chile de arbol hot sauce for a bit of kick
and you're good to go with a hearty pre-dinner snack.
If you're in the mood for tacos, La Elenita is the
place to go. I've sampled almost all of them (all are
topped simply with diced onion and cilantro) and, for
the more adventurous, opt for my favorite combination:
two lengua (beef tongue) and two tripa (beef intestine).
The beef tongue at Elenita is incredible - seared on the
outside, tender and fall apart with the poke of a fork on
the inside - and the tripa is beyond any taco I've ever
eaten. As one friend exclaimed, "it's like pork belly!"-
crispy, crunchy, salty, smoky goodness in a tortilla. If
you're squeamish at the thought of intestine, just think
"pork belly" and take a big bite. You won't regret it.
Much like a taco, except not exactly, are the sopes,
crispy fried masa cakes topped with refried beans, your
choice of meat (steak, chicken, or, as I recommend,
pork), lettuce, sour cream, and queso fresco. Reminding me of many a late night food truck snack I enjoyed
after a show in Chapel Hill, these sopes are both classic
and filling - a trend of every dish served here. Another
great late-night vibe option is the Pambazo, a monster
of a sandwich filled with chorizo, French fries and letTHE

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tuce, dipped in guajillo sauce, and drizzled with queso
fresco and sour cream. You can't eat this with your
hands - it's a fork-and-knife sandwich - but it's a sandwich I crave late at night after going out with friends.
If Elenita were open past 10 pm on the weekends, I'd
likely become a regular. Which isn't to say you can't
order the sandwich during the day, but a fair warning about how giant it is. Points if you can finish the
entire beast.
On the more refined side, you can order the chuletas a la plancha, grilled pork chops served with rice,
refried beans, guacamole, lettuce, and tomato. Cut the
pork into bite sized pieces and scoop it and some of
the accompanying sides up with tortillas to make an
interactive dinner. The pork chops are always charred
just the right amount to keep the meat tender and juicy,
never overcooked, and the dish is a steal at under $12.
Another favorite of mine is the chiles rellenos - two
giant poblano peppers stuffed with oozing hot cheese,
topped with a hot tomato sauce, sour cream, and yet
more cheese, and served with tortillas, guacamole and
rice. It's hard to let the chiles cool down enough to
not burn the roof of your mouth because it looks and
smells so outrageously good. A chunk of pepper, slather
of guacamole, and spoonful of rice in a tortilla and
you're good to go.
La Elenita may not be love at first sight, but she's love
at first bite. From authentic tacos to the most outrageous meat and potato sandwich to salsa I could eat for
days, it's everything I want in a restaurant. By featuring
affordable food and extremely pleasant service, along
with the kind of flavors that are coming to define this
city as an up-and-coming global cuisine hotspot, La
Elenita Tienda y Cocina is a restaurant you must add
to your list for 2015.
La Elenita Tienda y Cocina.
4029 Melrose Avenue Northwest, Roanoke.
540-904-2487.

NOPALES: IMAGINATION IS ALIVE IN THE
FOOD AND WINE CHOICES
Upon entering Nopales in Grandin Village for the
first time, I was immediately greeted by the smell of
corn charring on the grill and a chalkboard detailing new wines on offer by the glass, including a cava
I'd never seen on any wine list in Roanoke before.
First thought, "I'm in for an excellent treat," followed
quickly by, "now what do I order to get some of that
charred corn?" Nopales is just that kind of place - it
invites you to cozy in and sample both some bubbly
and something new off the menu.
Opened in 2013 by Rocky Byrd, former co-owner
of Rockfish Food & Wine (yes, the Rockfish located
just across the street), Nopales brings Latin & Caribbean flavors to the Grandin area. I remember eagerly
MARCH/APRIL 2015

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The Roanoker - March/April 2015

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