As seen in Nevada County Business News:

A Recipe For Success

By Paula C. Collins

Take an experienced chef, add a business person with marketing expertise into the mix, and you should have a recipe for success. At least that's how things look at Las Katarinas, the area's latest entry into the competitive Mexican restaurant market. Newcomers Delia Gutierrez and Dave Francis opened their restaurant on Broad Street in Nevada City October 1 of last year, and are now building a following. Chef Gutierrez was born and raised in Mexico City where she learned to prepare that she calls "pure Mexican food." For her, Las Katarinas is the fulfillment of a dream. The pleasant restaurant has undergone some renovations under the new owners, who seem to pay attention to even the smallest of details. Their menu features a good selection of house senilities, as well as a number of shrimp dishes. The couple has also offered a series of traditional home-made Mexican dinners.

Getting down to specific, high praise goes to the chile verde ($10.95), especially to the tomatillo and jalapeno sauce which was satisfyingly spicy. Another specialty, tinga ($10.95), was also extremely good. It consisted of shredded beef with sliced onions in a tasty chipolte sauce. Also enjoyed was the camarones flores ($13.95) - shrimp wrapped in bacon and fried, served with an interesting dipping sauce.

Las Katarinas offers several fajitas, and if they are all as good as the chicken ($12.95), you can't go wrong. The dish came sizzling from the kitchen and contained a generous portion of marinated meat, bell peppers and onion. On the side were guacamole and pico de gallo, a sort of cross between salsa and salad. All of the above dishes are served with tortillas, either floor or corn, which are traditionally used for stuffing, but also are useful for enjoying the list bit of sauce, and with better then average Spanish rice and beans.

Great, best describes the restaurant's carne asada burrito ($9.95) with its delicious marinated beef. Also adding to its appeal was the presentation. Sampled from the side orders was a very good chile relleno ($4.00) made with a fresh chile, and from the appetizer list came tasty chicken flautas ($9.95) served with the traditional guacamole and sour cream. And, don't neglect the deserts - the bananas borrachas ($4.95) consisting of fried bananas, ice cream and homemade carmel sauce was excellent. There were also raves for what the restaurant calls true Mexican flan ($3.95).

Las Katarinas is a welcome addition. The food is very good, surroundings pleasant and service first rate. The owners hope to add to the menu so they can introduce area restaurant goers to Mexican dishes not traditionally seen on menus in the United States - something to look forward to.

Restaurant open 11am - 9pm: Sunday - Thursday
11am - 10pm: Friday and Saturday
Closed Tuesday