Restaurant Review: La Cocina de Doña Clara

A taste of Zacatecas

By: Patricia Greathouse
Published online: Friday, September 21, 2012
Appeared in: Pasateimpo

Mexico, a country with varied ecosystems, numerous ethnic influences, and diverse indigenous cultures, has a cuisine that is expressed in strong regional traditions. La Cocina de Doña Clara, operated by the Zambrano-Ruiz family of Zacatecas, serves the meat-heavy food of the family’s homeland. Unfortunately, some of their food falls short on flavor because of limitations beyond their control.

A common problem that Mexican restaurateurs encounter in the U.S. is the inability to source raw ingredients that taste the same as they do where they originated. For instance, Mexican cheeses, when produced in Wisconsin, don’t taste like those produced in Mexico. Cuts of meat are different, too. Cooks have to adjust both ingredients and cooking methods to turn out authentic-tasting food.

Mexicans have traditionally been locavores, getting food from nearby fields, ranches, and markets, but when they open restaurants in the U.S., they frequently buy from large food distributors, who might truck in products from thousands of miles away. For a while, La Cocina de Doña Clara was buying cabrito (kid goat meat) for birria (chile and goat stew) from a local New Mexico farmer, just as the family might have done in Zacatecas. The health department busted them, and now they order through a meat distributor. Needless to say, the commercially raised meat doesn’t taste the same.

The Zambrano-Ruizes grasped Americans’ expectations that Mexican restaurants be brightly colored and festooned with serapes and sombreros, so Doña Clara’s downtown location is festive. The tourist trappings don’t stop Mexican employees of downtown hotels and restaurants from dropping by the Santa Fe Village location to pick up to-go burritos. Most Mexican restaurants outside the tourist zones of Mexico are much more utilitarian, and the Airport Road branch is in a strip mall and minimally decorated.

The extensive menu at Doña Clara begins with appetizers ranging from chips and salsa de molcajete to guacamole and queso fundido (melted cheese with chile strips and chorizo). Although listed in a different part of the menu, a tasty traditional coctel de camarones (shrimp cocktail) featuring sweet shrimp, onions, cilantro, and avocado makes a good appetizer to share.

Many dishes, such as tacos, will sound familiar to Santa Feans. However, these tacos are Zacatecan style, most composed of meat and masa, and are traditionally eaten as a light supper with no other accompaniment except salsa. A very long list of fillings includes what are politely called “variety meats,” coming from every part of the animal: buche (pork stomach), guisado or cabeza (pork head), deshebrada (shredded meat), and barbacoa made with beef cheeks. These tacos are more interesting and flavorful than ground-beef tacos, although some meats that had been cooked on the griddle would have been more tender braised.

La Cocina de Doña Clara also serves large tortas and a delicious hamburger with fries. The gorditas, which are griddled, are similar to pupusas or arepas, the corn staples from El Salvador and Argentina, respectively. The dish consists of two handmade tortillas stuffed with a choice of filling. The list of choices is longer and even more varied than for the tacos. Gorditas are usually eaten for breakfast in Zacatecas but are good any time.

Enchiladas (with a choice of New Mexico green or red chile) or flautas may be ordered with chicken or beef filling. The flautas are topped with guacamole and crema.

Desserts include tres leches cake, flan, chocoflan, and flan de arroz (rice pudding flan), but stick to the savory items on the menu. The sweets are not made in-house and are generally not very good. The strawberry on top of the tres leches cake was past its prime.