A handful of years ago, retired deputy sheriff David Struckman was in search of a meeting and eating spot for himself and his friends.
“We were looking for a good place to sit down, have conversation and drink coffee and have breakfast,” Struckman said.
They found it at El Tacazo Mexican Delights Deli in Le Center. Owned by Noemi Martinez, the restaurant is open Monday through Friday 8 a.m.-8 p.m. and Saturdays 8 a.m.-2 p.m.
Struckman’s group is comprised of a variety of individuals, both working and settling into retirement. Their professions include farming, transportation, electrician work, law enforcement and the priesthood. The group continues to regularly stop in for the home cooking.
The breakfast burrito has been a hit among many in the bunch. The blueberry pancakes are a favorite for Struckman.
“They’re to die for. They’re huge,” he said, also adding a newly introduced breakfast sandwich is providing fierce competition for his standard pancake order.
Struckman encourages people to come for Martinez’s breakfast menu and added, “Her dinners are out of this world.”
Martinez moved from California to Minnesota in the early 1990s with hopes of finding a better place for her children to live. She recalled they moved in the month of June when everything was green and the lakes were beautiful. With a laugh, she remarked, “Boy, they didn’t tell me nothing about the winters.”
“In those times, there wasn’t really a lot of Hispanic stores like we have now,” Martinez noted. Having to travel sometimes to the Twin Cities to buy authentic grocery items, she decided to open a store in Montgomery, and added to it little by little.
“We started really small,” she stated, offering basics such as tortillas, beans, salsas, chorizo and cactus fruit. With time their selection expanded with candy, dried chiles, spices and more.
She said by the time they relocated a few years later, the store was packed. She said Montgomery was a very supportive community, and added, “Just like [Le Center]. This town is very supportive, and I’m truly, truly grateful.”
In Le Center, Martinez decided to also start a restaurant. She opened El Tacazo, a name she said refers to a lot of tacos. While the grocery store has since phased out, the deli has operated at the 95 E. Minnesota St. location for 13 years.
The deli’s primary cooks are Martinez and her two daughters, Rita and Amy Martinez. Popular items include their chimichanga as well as their tacos and enchiladas. Struckman specifically raved about the chimichanga. “It’s huge, and it’s so good, you’ll go out of there in a wheelbarrow.”
Chilaquiles (pronounced chee-luh-kee-layz) resemble nachos, though differ in texture.
“That is a dish I used to make at home for my kids,” Martinez stated. Consisting of deep fried corn tortilla chips with homemade red sauce and queso fresco, Martinez also refers to it as Mexican pizza. It is served with rice and beans.
Torta is a sandwich made with telera — a Mexican-style bread — Caribbean cheese, choice of meat and a variety of toppings.
Martinez describes her cooking as being based in her and her husband’s families’ traditional Mexican dishes, but with her own ideas added in. Her mother is from Oaxaca, located in southern Mexico. Her father’s roots are from Nayarit, a state in western Mexico just north of Puerto Vallarta.
“So they both have different styles of cooking,” Martinez stated. She said, for example, there are different ways to prepare a chimichanga. Over time, she has shifted recipes to make them her own.
Martinez also explained hard shell tortillas are not part of original Mexican cuisine. “If you go down to Mexico, you won’t find hard shell. It’s all soft shell.”
Especially during the lunch hour, Martinez acknowledges that people are often on the go. Their menu offers meals people can get even when they’re in a hurry.
She added they keep their selections basic, with good taste, and not a lot of spice added.
Martinez’s daughter, Rita, noted they make an effort to buy fresh and local.
They partner often with Hy-Vee for produce, and also sometimes purchase from local farmers.
El Tacazo’s food truck provides a mobile option, and is used for county fairs and various parties and events.
Along with a final promotion for that chimichanga, Struckman concluded El Tacazo is a friendly place to get a meal.
“Noemi is probably one of the kindest people in Le Center, helping other people out,” he said.
Speaking to both the hometown community support and the customers who visit from surrounding areas, Martinez stated, “We’re very grateful.”