Cox: Juanita Juanita is delicious, delicious

There’s a place on Arnold Drive in Sonoma that’s filled with life, fun, and laughter; where there are plenty of smiles to go along with some good food, and that operates as a kind of informal community center.

It’s Juanita Juanita - the little frame taqueria with several profiles of the same sleepy-eyed woman spray-painted on the side of the building. The profiles are repeated just like the name of the place.

Why the repetition? According to the folks who work there, the original owner was named Juanita. When the phone rang, the staff would answer, “Juanita,” then to make sure the name got across, they’d repeat it. It became the standard way of answering the phone and became the name of the restaurant, continuing for 25 years to the present day.

The life, fun, and laughter come from local kids, whose colorful drawings paper the walls, and from stickers that plaster the equipment behind the counters with funny sayings. If you visit Juanita Juanita, be sure to spend some time perusing the artwork and the stickers.

It’s interesting how restaurants can have a certain culture. Juanita Juanita’s is roadside casual. Service with a smile is supplied by young women. In fact, the entire staff - front of the house and kitchen - seems to be female. On several trips, I didn’t see a male employee.

The main dining area is one medium-sized room, and there’s a small outside area for when the weather is nice. It’s all pretty funky.

A couple of wines are available - Ravenswood and Robledo - by the glass or bottle, but this food calls for beer, and there’s a good selection on tap or by the bottle, mostly Mexican imports like Negra Modelo, Corona, and Pacifico.

The food at Juanita Juanita is more expensive than at the usual taquerias, but in its favor, the portions tend to be generous and the quality very good. Taco Al Pastor ($3.50 ** ½) is barbecued pork cut from meat sizzled on a vertical spit and loaded onto two corn tortillas, then topped with salsa. Look over on the counter and there’s a line of various hot chili sauces to choose from. A couple of dashes will brighten the flavor of any taco you choose. Besides the commercial hot sauces, there is a small bowl of house-made spicy salsa that’s set before you along with a basket of tortilla chips when you first sit down. Try the house salsa first before you go for the commercial brands. You may find it superior.

The Taco Carne Asada ($3.50 ** ½) was made with grilled steak. At a lot of taquerias, the cut of beef used to make carne asada is unforgivingly tough, but this meat was very chewable. It came with the same salsa and benefited from a splash of hot sauce.

The Taco Chorizo ($3.50 ** ½) needed no hot sauce, as chorizo sausage is spicy enough. Besides these three tacos, grilled chicken is also available, as are prawns on occasion but not routinely.

Burritos run in price from $7.75 for the regular with choice of meat, to $13.50 for the super “Garlic Garlic Burrito” stuffed with prawns, avocado, garlic/walnut paste, beans, rice, cheese, sour cream, and salsa, among other things. It’s a steep price for burritos, compared with many taquerias, but they’re fresh tasting and each is a hefty meal in itself.

The spiciest dish on the menu - and the highlight of the evening for our table - was the Chipotle Plate ($16 ***). Spicy hot chipotle peppers are made into a creamy sauce. Grilled chicken dark meat is set on a bed of sautéed spinach, then covered with the sauce, making each bite a peppery, creamy treat. To one side is pico de gallo, although not noticeably spicy, along with white beans mixed with melted, mild, jack-style cheese. Sour cream is also on the plate. A yummy feature of this dish is herbed rice, perfectly seasoned, that beckons you back for more.

The Enchiladas ($14.85 ** ½) change every night between soupy red and green tangy tomatillo sauces. On a recent night, the red sauce topped two fat enchiladas - corn tortillas rolled around grilled chicken - then drizzled with sour cream. They’re served over pinto beans, more of that good rice, and pico de gallo.

Finally, a Flan ($4 ***) was authentic and delicious.

To sum up: A taqueria so nice they named it twice.

Jeff Cox writes a weekly restaurant review for the Sonoma Living section. He can be reached at jeffcox@sonic.net.