Photos by Peter Korchnak
ABOVE: Felicia Eby, left, and Samantha Steerman enjoy dishes at the bar of El Jarocho Mexican
Restaurant in Astoria. RIGHT: A tilapia taco, accompanied by a limonada, or Mexican lemonade.
BELOW: Rojas carries plates to a lunch crowd.
Continued from Page 12
Sweeping views of the Columbia River
at a location right on the Astoria River-
walk combine for a steady fl ow of hungry
customers.
“I was shocked how many people walk
by here,” Inzunza said, including many
familiar faces from the Seaside restaurant.
And, she adds that the pair “get a lot of
local support.”
The restaurant’s name originates in a
nickname for people from the region of
Veracruz, where Sanchez hails from.
“He puts his jarocho touch in his cook-
ing,” Inzunza, originally from Mexicali,
Baja California, said. The restaurant’s
extensive lunch and dinner menus feature
classic Mexican fare.
Original items include la botanita, a
vast seafood appetizer platter, botana, with
shrimp, mussels, clams, octopus and oysters
served with fresh vegetables.
A not-so-secret, off -the-menu item is
aguachiles, shrimp cooked in lime and
served with a spicy green sauce, onions and
cucumbers.
“We’re pretty open,” Inzunza said. “If
you come in looking for something that’s
not on the menu and we have the ingredi-
ents, we’ll make it.”
The restaurant’s main goal is to make
customers feel at home, with good food and
good service.
Sofi a Rojas has been serving El Jarocho
customers since opening day. “I enjoy what
I do because we have customers from dif-
ferent countries and I can talk with people,”
said Rojas, who speaks French and some
Italian. “And I like to prepare drinks. You
need to try the mojitos here.”
Margaritas at El Jarocho feature a home-
made mix. In addition to the classics, house
variations include pineapple-jalapeño, man-
go-chamoy, avocado and cucumber-lime.
In summertime, the restaurant has been
turned into a late-night bar on Friday and
Saturday nights, open until 2 a.m. A plan
for next year is adding outdoor seating
along the river-facing wall.
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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2022 // 13