A Century Of Good Food

 It's rare a restaurant hits the 100 year mark, yet Los Amgeles' El Cholo has managed to do just that. This beloved staple  has been feeding celebrities college stidents and families. What's their secret? Good food and good drink.

Deputy business editor Kevin McKenna takes a break from finance writing and wrote this informative piece  along with giving recipes for today's New York Times Food section. El Cholo is one of those unique  eateries that you would see more in Europe where families own restaurants through the centuries.It started in 1923 when Alejando and Rosa Borquez opened up the Sonora Cafe  named after their home state in Mexico. It was renamed EL Cholo a couple of years later  in 1925.and located near the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Their daughter Aurelia took over with her husband George Salisbury , a regular she met while waitressing there. The current owner ,their son Ron was born in 1935. His earliest memories are of helping his mother count change  at their cash register . He also managed the place for his father when he was eighteen and also going to college. His youngest of seven Bennett, will be running the restaurant now. during its' one hundred years it attracted the burgeoning Hollywood community. regular customers were Clark Gable, Loretta Young and Nat King Cole. Jack Nicholson was also a regular and brought his girlfriend Michelle Philips to el Cholo. Her voice provides the outgoing message for the restaurant. Tom Seaver was a big fan and part time owner  during his college days. he later brought Nolan Ryan there. 

Have the recipes changed over the years? Yes. Mexican food was not really big with the Anglo community and the dishes were often bland witohut any of the usial spices. Over the decades American tastes changed and people were becoming more adventurous. Chimichangas were added in 1967 and crab meat enchiladas in 1971. It was the addition of nachos that  brought in more customers for  El Cholo.This was thanks to waitress Carmen Rocha who brought them in by stealth . Her knowledge of the dish followed her from Texas. she started to prepare them for diners who loved them. Yet it was the introduction of the margarita in 1960s'. The first ones were not that great according to Ron Salisbury  A fellow restaurant owner gave hima few tios, namely blending a variety of tequilas for the drink. Mr. McKenna offer ElCholo's signature dish Sonora style enchiladas. He also includes the green and red sauce recipes too. The filling is shredded cooked chicken sauteed with Mexican oregano, garlic polamo chilis and a tomato. Each are different. The red has guajillo and California chilis cooked with chili di arbol and a onion The green is made   from chicken stock , green bell peppers, spinach onion and poblano chiles. Both are used in assembling the enchiladas and then they 're stacked and served with a fried egg on top. cheese and black olives are sprinkled on top.

el Cholo represents a family's  century devotion and hard work. it has severed generations of Angelenos amdintroduced Mexican food to Hollywood. It is the king of restaurants.