your friendly neighborhood mexican cafe.

Update: Vega's Cafe has closed.

The reason I don't like writing traditional restaurant reviews is the obligatory ranking system. If I put a few stars next to this picture of spicy, long-simmered red chile beef, would that make you more or less hungry for it? You just can't summarize the taste of food or the service and atmosphere of a restaurant with a 1-t0-5 or A-to-F rating.

And sometimes I get it wrong. For example, I wrote a review of Vega's Cafe and dropped 3.5 stars on it, out of 5. In retrospect, I wish I would have gone with a good solid 3 stars, which to me would designate a restaurant worth repeated visits. It may not be the best Mexican food in town (the simple menu certainly is not the most innovative) but it's reliable, well-spiced, home-style food, and the restaurant is affordably priced, family-operated and doing good business in a neighborhood that needs all the help it can get. In fact, Vega's and another cozy ethnic eatery, Indian Curry Bowl, are two of the few non-franchise restaurants in the northwest suburb known as Centennial Hills. They're also two of the tastiest joints in the neighborhood.

Vega's makes homemade flour tortillas every day, and pairs them with a fresh take on rellenos, this zesty, slightly sour red chile and a spicy, vegetable laden chile verde. The tacos are simple, crispy perfection, especially if you order them packed with cool guacamole or tender potatoes mixed in with the meat. The family behind the business has been serving Vegas its style of Mexican food for over 30 years, always in some little hole-in-the-wall, but Vega's Cafe is comfortable, casual and inviting. There's even a little bar where you can watch the game with an icy Dos Equis and a couple fish tacos. It's pretty much everything you'd want in  your friendly neighborhood Mexican cafe, and somehow we keep coming back, even if it's not just down the street.