RISING STAR SOL Y LUNA SHINES ON VALLEY'S MEXICAN RESTAURANT SCENE.Byline: Larry Lipson Restaurant Critic FROM DAY ONE, Sol y Luna, Tarzana's brand-new Mexican restaurant, has been doing land-office business land-of·fice business n. A thriving, extensive, or rapidly moving volume of trade. Noun 1. land-office business - very large and profitable volume of commercial activity . So don't be surprised if a wait of 15 to 30 minutes is needed to secure a table. Sol y Luna (Sun and Moon) resembles the previous occupant (La Parrilla La Parrilla is a municipality located in the province of Valladolid, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2004 census (INE), the municipality has a population of 622 inhabitants. ) only in that both happened to be of Mexican culinary persuasion. The new eating and drinking facility has been completely refurbished inside and out, with no expense spared to give the present restaurant a typical cantina can·ti·na n. Southwestern U.S. A bar that serves liquor. [Spanish, canteen, from Italian, wine cellar.] look. Comfortable booths and chairs sporting carved wooden suns or birds provide the seating in the beige-and-brown-toned dining room. A colorful wall-length mural by artist Miguel Castillo Miguel Castillo is a Honduran football (soccer) player, who most currently plays for Motagua. He was transferred from Olimpia alongside his brother Fernando Castillo. depicts famous Mexicans Emiliano Zapata, Pancho Villa, Frida Kahlo Frida Kahlo[1](July 6, 1907 – July 13, 1954) was a Mexican painter, who has achieved great international popularity. She painted using vibrant colors in a style that was influenced by indigenous cultures of Mexico as well as European influences that include , Pedro Infante José Pedro Infante Cruz (November 18, 1917 - April 15, 1957), better known as Pedro Infante, is perhaps the most famous actor and singer of the Golden Age of Mexican cinema and idol of the Mexican people, together with Jorge Negrete and Javier Solís. , Luis ``El Gallo Giro'' Aguilar, Maria Felix, Mario Moreno ``Cantinflas,'' Agustin Lara, German Valdez, Adalberto Martinez and Dolores Dolores (or Delores) was a common given name (until the 1960s in the USA); it is cognate with the English word "dolorous" (meaning sorrowful) and equivalent in meaning. del Rio. They appear to be looking at the dining room patrons with approving eyes. And those patrons seem to be having a great time downing reasonably priced margaritas ($4.50) from the full bar while enjoying both familiar and less familiar Mexican fare. Sol y Luna, owned by the Morales family, who have two successful Mexican cafes in Reseda (Las Fuentes and Melody's), produces a full slate of traditional or ``gringo'' burritos ($5.95 to $9.50), soft- and hard-shell tacos ($7.95 to $10.95), flautas, enchiladas and tamales as part of its ``platos populares'' list ($7.50 to $10.95). Familiar dinner plates ($12.95 and $14.95) include chile relleno, chile verde, carnitas, carne asada plus such steak offerings as encebollado (steak and onions), costilla lagunilla (10-ounce porterhouse) and tampiquena (sliced steak and enchilada). There are also half a dozen seafood dishes ($10.95 to $15.95), four utilizing shrimp, one halibut halibut: see flatfish. halibut Any of various flatfishes, especially the Atlantic and Pacific halibuts (genus Hippoglossus, family Pleuronectidae), both of which have eyes and colour on the right side. and one trout. Scallops can be had as an alternative to shrimp on one dish. But it's the house signature item called ``molcajetes'' ($24.95) - big enough to share, and presented bubbling hot in the traditional, black stone molcajete pot - and a few distinctive appetizers that really separate Sol y Luna from the slew of margarita emporiums around town. Tongs tongs long-handled, about 3 feet, shaped like pincers with knobs on the ends of the grasping blades. Applied by standing behind the subject in a confined space and closing the jaws to grasp the animal's head just below the ears. are provided with the molcajetes to pull out strips of steak, chicken and nopales (cactus) along with shrimp and panela cheese. Two separate oval plates holding nicely executed rice and the usual frijoles (refried beans), along with sides of handmade corn tortillas kept warm in a circular wooden container, arrive with the steaming dish. Prior to it, I heartily recommend mulitas ($5.50), which is a savory, steak-cheese-and-bacon-stuffed corn tortilla topped with guacamole and sour cream and/or taquitos de papa ($4.50) of crispy, premises-made mini-tacos filled with potato flavored with a hint of chorizo cho·ri·zo n. pl. cho·ri·zos A very spicy pork sausage seasoned especially with garlic. [Spanish.] Noun 1. (sausage). And if you pass on the molcajetes entree, there's a cool, small starter version ($4.50) filled with salsa, nopales and panela cheese. Just in case you still have room for dessert, both flan and Mexican-style cheesecake ($3.50 each) dishes are available. It's good to know that under the sun during the day or under the moon at night, one can eat well, drink well and thoroughly enjoy Sol y Luna without overspending. Larry Lipson, (818) 713-3668 larry.lipson(at)dailynews.com SOL Y LUNA Food: Three stars - Service: Three stars Where: 19601 Ventura Blvd., Tarzana. Hours: Open for lunch, dinner and snacks from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday, from 3 to 10 p.m. Saturday, from noon to 9 p.m. Sunday. Closed Monday. Recommended items: Taquitos, mulitas, guacamole, salsa de molcajete con nopales, soups, chile relleno, tamales, molcajetes for two. How much: Starters from $2.75 to $9, entrees and main items from $6 to $16, desserts from $3.25 to $4.50. Pronto pron·to adv. Informal Without delay; quickly. [Spanish, from Latin pr  mptus; see prompt. lunch with soft beverage $7.99. Full bar. AE, MC, V, Discover. Wine list: No list. Beverage of choice here is the margarita. House wine only. Negro Modelo bottled beer. Corkage cork·age n. A charge exacted at a restaurant for every bottle of liquor served that was not bought on the premises. corkage Noun a charge made at a restaurant for serving wine bought elsewhere : $8. Reservations: Not taken. First come, first served. CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1 -- 2) Chef Roger Avina and owner/manager Norma Morales, above, show off dishes including the molcajete, left - with beef, chicken, shrimp and cactus - at Sol y Luna in Tarzana. David Sprague/Staff Photographer |
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