One of the saddest things to happen here in this little burg this winter was the indefinite “closed for vacation” of mexican cafe Ay Caramba, a fave of many of my friends and a regular stop on on the usual suspects’ birthday party train. Ay Caramba opened very soon after I bought chez valet and was a welcome addition to the neighborhood. They always took a couple of weeks vacation in the winter, so when they first closed this winter, there was no big concern. Then we started to hear rumors that they weren’t re-opening, and the sign in the window changed from saying “closed for two weeks” to “closed until the end of next month” and then stories appeared in the local newspaper that they were looking to transfer the business and liquor license.

Well … early Tuesday morning, on my way into town from the CTP tour … there was a sign in front of the restaurant … “Andale Cafe opening May 20” … that was that very day, Tuesday! For the rest of the drive home (fortunately for the rest of the guys in the van, only 1/4 mile), I kept singing “Andale Cafe – Opens Today” and doing a bit of a “happy dance” along with it.

Thursday night, Ms Greentwig & I swung by to check things out – as it turns out, the place is now run by a former waiter of Ay Caramba and the menu is very, very similar to that of Ay Caramba – o rapturous joy! It looked like the dessert menu was a little bigger, and tacos are now sold by the pair rather than individually. Also, tuna tacos look to have a different sauce. Oh, there are now several bean choices: black beans, pinto beans, refried beans, and refried beans w/ chorizo. The only semi-bad thing is that they have yet to get their liquor license, but they hope to within the next month or so – and they have glass bottles of Jarritos, so really, who cares if they have a liquor license or not?!?!

So … if you were a fan of Ay Caramba, I’m pretty sure you won’t be disappointed by Andale Cafe. If you never went to Ay Caramba but thought about it – what the heck are you waiting for? Get over there and spend some $$ – ANDALE!