Hot Time in a Sleepy Mission Town

A city that is home to the Jewel of the California Missions and is rich in Latino culture should also be a treasure trove of Mexican food. Or so thought Roy Escarcega when he visited San Juan Capistrano one weekend about nine years ago.

But Escarcega left the sleepy mission town feeling like a soggy tortilla chip. Nowhere, he says, could he find the chicken dishes, beef tongue or simple frijoles de la olla as good as he remembered eating while growing up in East Los Angeles.

So he quit his job as a personnel consultant and returned to San Juan with partner Sergio Rodriguez to open the Baja Eatery.

With the help of Rodriguez’s wife, Conchita, they developed an informal menu that is California in region but mom’s kitchen in spirit. Selections include but transcend the familiar tacos-beans-rice-enchilada fare to feature such treats as lobster (when in season) and chalupas --corn tortillas shaped like bite-sized boats and filled with beef or shrimp.

Escarcega brags that the heat from his spicier dishes, which are rich in flavors, hits “like afterburners” rather than assaulting the taste buds like some supercharged chili pepper. That, he contends, is just one of the differences between run-of-the-mill Mexican food and his. Diners can cool down with a good selection of Mexican and domestic beers.

The restaurant is in a shopping center situated about three blocks south of the San Juan mission, and it’s design reflects the rounded arches and adobe facades of buildings in the area. Decorated in Southwest beiges and browns, the wide-open dining room is lined with banquettes and the plaster walls are decorated with fresco-like paintings of swallows. A bar fits neatly in one corner.

The atmosphere is lively without being noisy--background Mexican music doesn’t intrude upon conversations. A guitarist serenades customers on weekend evenings and children are a welcome part of the clientele.

Employees are more than friendly, they’re downright homey.

Breakfast and lunch orders are in the $5 to $7 range (breakfast is served until 2:30 p.m.) and prices for the dinner combinations start at $6.50 and go to $15.95. You can also get orders to go.

The Baja Eatery, 31878 Del Obispo, Suite 109, San Juan Capistrano. (714) 661-2604. Open Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 9 p.m; Saturday and Sunday, 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. (Additional location in the Mission Viejo Mall.)