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Issue date: October 13, 2000

Small-town atmosphere at Los Altos' Casa Lupe

@vcredit:Matthew Walker

By Jim Harrington

Despite growing commercialization and the influx of chain stores, downtown Los Altos still retains some of its highly valued, small-community atmosphere.

Main Street and the neighboring thoroughfares have managed to retain a number of long-term residents. There's a sense of continuity not found in other shopping districts on the Peninsula.

Casa Lupe is a big part of that community foundation. The Mexican restaurant opened in 1974 and quickly became a favorite with locals who look for good food at reasonable prices. Other restaurants come and go, but Casa Lupe continues to deliver quality burritos, carne asada, and enchiladas.

You can find better Mexican food on the Peninsula, but tacos and tostadas are only part of Casa Lupe's appeal. Margarita Velasco runs the restaurant the way her parents did before her: Once you sit down at a table, you're family. When waiting tables, Velasco is more than happy to chat about the dishes, the restaurant, or just about anything.

Velasco searches for a way to make a connection with each diner - and usually finds it. My connection was practicing my high-school Spanish. To her credit, she never laughed when I got something wrong.

Niceties are just that. But winning over a diner goes a long way. While it didn't make me overlook a burnt tostada shell or watery blue-cheese salad dressing, it certainly lessened their impact.

Casa Lupe is a prime people-watching spot. Grab a table by the big windows and brush up on Mexico's history and famous figures such as Pancho Villa and Hernando Cortez by reading the paper place settings. Skip the Los Cabos (wine) margaritas, and order a simple Carta Blanca, Tecate beer ($3.25), or maybe a sweet mandarin Jarrito soda ($2). Spend some time munching on the hot, thick and salty tortilla chips and hand-cut salsa.

The nachos are a must. Unlike the traditional pile-of-chips-covered-with-glorious-gunk approach, the Casa Lupe nachos ($5.50; $6.95 with beef or chicken) treat each chip as an entity. The tortillas are evenly covered with massive quantities of jack and cheddar cheeses and generous amounts of meat centered in the plate, along with two dishes of guacamole and sour cream provided for those who can't get enough fat grams.

If you're in the mood for a Mexican breakfast, try the huevos rancheros ($7.95), two eggs fried over-easy on a corn tortilla, topped with a creamy vegetable sauce, and melted cheese, served with rice and refried beans. The two-egg Spanish omelet ($7.95) is also worth ordering.

The "a la carte" menu works well for lunch. Casa Lupe's vegetarian burrito ($5.95) is a great wrap of rice, whole pinto beans, tomatoes, lettuce, and olives in a large flour tortilla, liberally topped with guacamole and sour cream. The fiesta tostada ($6.95) features a crispy tortilla shell filled to capacity with layers of refried beans, cheese, lettuce, sour cream, tomato sauce, and either ground beef or chicken. For something slightly different, try the entomada ($3.75), basically a chicken enchilada topped with sour cream, tomato sauce and -- the kicker -- parmesan cheese.

The dinner combinations are a good deal. A two-item combo runs $9.25, while a three-item monster goes for $11.25. Both allow you to build your plate from the usual suspects (burritos, tostadas, tacos). I didn't choose well and was disappointed with both the bland tamale and the over-cooked tostada.

However, the steak picado ($12.95) was delicious: tender, diced steak sauteed in a thin tomato sauce with onions, bell peppers, and cilantro.

Mountain View's Casa Lupe on Castro Street, run by the same family, also is a worthwhile destination for family-style Mexican food.

Casa Lupe, 185 Main St., Los Altos; Phone: 941-7390. Hours: 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and 5-10 p.m. daily. Credit cards are not accepted. Mountain View's Casa Lupe, 459 Castro St.; Phone: 965-2944.