Dining out

Mary Furr

The highest compliment you can pay Don Jose’s Mexican Restaurant on

Adams and Magnolia in Huntington Beach, is that it hasn’t changed much in

spirit since it was opened in 1969 by the Morjoseph family. Present

manager, son Michael Morjoseph, says he and his sister Marie were

practically raised there and head chef Gregory Leadesmana began as a

kitchen helper.

But there have been some changes. The place was enlarged in 1986 -- a

dining room has been added on one side -- and the cantina now has a huge

TV and light bamboo, but the bright hustle and bustle of the

short-skirted, fluffy-bloused servers is there as well as familiar

selections from the menu.

Our favorite appetizer is “poppers” ($4.50) -- big jalapeno peppers

stuffed with creamy Jack cheese, rolled in a crisp coating and deep

fried. Six to an order and hot from the kitchen, one bite frees the

melting cheese, which drips into your mouth. Wonderful!

Don Jose’s is a good place at lunch for quick service. One of its

dramatic and popular dishes is the carnitas tostado ($7.25). It’s a

flaring crisp tostado shell layered with refried beans, tender chunks of

pork, lettuce, jack and cheddar cheese with pico de gallo and guacamole.

It’s so good you end off by breaking off the edges of the shell to

nibble.

I like the variety of the Mexican pizza ($7.25, half order $5.50). A

crisp flour tortilla that covers the plate is topped with shredded

chicken or beef, green chiles and guacamole -- the chunky kind --

seasoned with lime and finely chopped onions, and drizzled with two kinds

of cheese.

Soup or salad begins the dinners -- both soups, the tortilla and the

albondigas, are so good it’s hard to decide. The tortilla has a hearty

chicken stock with fresh vegetables topped with melting, stringy cheddar

and Jack with chips stuck around the sides of the cup (a la carte $2.25).

The traditional albondigas has four golf-ball-sized meat and rice

balls in a vegetable broth of carrot, tomatoes, green peppers and celery.

A big a la carte bowl of either makes a satisfying lunch.

A specialty at dinner is the carne asada ($10.95). The charbroiled,

firm steak that covers a third of the hot platter is about a quarter-inch

thick with a mild brush of garlic, and is served with guacamole, rice and

beans.

Another dinner specialty is shrimp scampi ($9.95), medium-sized shrimp

sauteed with mushrooms, bell peppers and covered with lots of onions in a

white wine and garlic butter sauce served with mixed vegetables and

fruit. The sauce is good with the aroma of wine but the shrimp are not as

tender or plump as desired.

Desserts range from a simple flan custard ($2.25) with an intense

burnt sugar syrup, or that contradiction in terms, deep dried ice cream

($3) -- a scoop of vanilla rolled in crushed flakes and deep fried to a

crisp golden brown. But the real whopper is Muddnana ($3.75), a tall

slice of chocolate ice cream with a delicious crust of nuts and chocolate

bits topped by whipped cream scrolled in chocolate syrup.

Don Jose’s has grown as a good restaurant should, keeping the best and

improving the rest. It doesn’t disappoint.

FYI

Don Jose

Where: 9093 E. Adams

Hours: 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Sunday.

Misc.:Sunday brunch is 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. ($7.50)