Dishes that shine at Las 7 Estrellas Mexican restaurant
Casual Cravings
Delicate meatballs in tomato-chipotle sauce? Yes, please.
The menu at Las 7 Estrellas, a small Bay View restaurant that has its roots in a food truck, holds some happy surprises, like those beef, pork and rice meatballs, with a bit of hard-cooked egg at the center. The albóndigas enchipotladas ($12) were tender, the sauce savory. It was an unexpected, delicious dish.
An employee at the family-run restaurant said the dish was typical for the Mexico City area, where the operators of Las 7 Estrellas originally are from.
Much of the menu consists of familiar favorites, such as tacos, tortas and chicken in a rich, cinnamon-tinged mole. Some dishes, such as fork-tender pork ribs blanketed with tomatillo sauce — costillas verdes ($12) — are harder to find around town, making them all the more a pleasure.
Jacqueline Velazquez is an owner of the restaurant; her business partner is the chef, Javier Perez, who worked for a time at Cubanitas downtown.
The restaurant is in a little strip mall that’s easy to overlook as everyone drives to the big Target store across Dakota St., off Chase Ave.
The storefront is small, but the owners have given it polish — walls painted brick red, cloth napkins, modern plates, sleek pendant lights. Open since September, Las 7 Estrellas still looks new, and, not unusual for a new restaurant, it has a few wrinkles to iron out.
I’d be tempted to reorganize the menu somewhat. It lists only two appetizers, chicken tenders and what’s called a fish fry — four small fillets to snack on, lightly breaded and fried golden brown ($5.50).
But under the listing for main dishes are a couple of items that would make fine appetizers, among them esquites chilangos ($8). That’s the warm corn salad that’s popular street food, and with good reason — the mix of corn, mayonnaise, queso fresco and onion, all brightened with lime juice, is irresistible.
Another is coctel de camarones, shrimp cocktail ($14). It’s usually dinner for one, but the cocktail holds enough plump shrimp and fresh avocado that two or four could share it as a snack.
Las 7 Estrellas does its coctel differently, with the red sauce (a mix of ketchup and Valentina hot sauce) on the side rather than in the glass with the shrimp. Add it to the shrimp’s broth, or use it for dipping.
And diners who like guacamole as an appetizer will find it under side orders ($2.50). The restaurant’s version is complexly flavored and especially delicious; tortilla chips are warm and seasoned.
For weekday lunches, the kitchen prepares egg dishes, like chilaquiles ($8.50), the chips bathed in red or green sauce and topped with thin, seared steak and two perfect, over-easy eggs. (The dishes would be a natural for midday on the weekend in brunch-happy Milwaukee.)
The full menu is also available at lunch, and that includes sandwiches like Mexico City’s pambazo. The roll is glazed in chile sauce ($8.75, or $11.75 with rice and refried beans), and the traditional filling is potato and chorizo, topped with lettuce, sour cream and queso fresco. Diners can choose a different filling, but I wouldn’t change a thing.
There are ways to finagle eggs at dinner if lunch isn’t possible. In addition to the usual extravaganza of toppings for a huarache, the long corn cake — meat, beans, lettuce, tomato, onion, queso fresco and sour cream — two eggs crown it all ($8.25, $11.25 with rice and beans). Now, that’s a great idea.
And under salads is a dish called nopal ranchero ($11.95), a satisfying cooked dish of cactus, refried beans and queso fresco, topped with two eggs and served with bell pepper and rice.
(The salads listing is where you’ll find fajitas and nachos, too. If I could have just one minute with the menu and a red pencil...)
With so many of the dishes well-prepared, I had high hopes for the seafood soup, caldo 7 Estrellas ($14.99), especially because the shrimp cocktail had been delicious. But the soup’s fish was less so.
That and an unremarkable burrito ($11.75 with rice and beans) were the main stumbles I encountered with the food here. Dishes were made and presented with care; even the refried beans, which sometimes get short shrift in kitchens, had more flavor at Las 7 Estrellas.
Some dishes I’d hoped to try from the fairly extensive menu were unavailable. It would head off disappointment if servers said at the outset what was off the menu, or if dishes that were quick to run out were offered as specials instead.
Las 7 Estrellas very much has the feel of a family business. I usually saw only one server at a time in the small room, but servers on each of several visits were friendly and thoughtful.
Service can be excellent, as professional as at a higher-end restaurant. But when the lone server one day was underage, alcoholic drinks, of course, weren’t served. On another night, it was plain that another server filling in didn’t usually mix drinks; the margarita tasted nothing like it should. A different night, different server, and the drink was flawless.
If you’re ordering a horchata, hibiscus iced tea or Mexican Coke, then none of that matters. Still, it’s an unpredictable element that’s best ironed out, for consistency’s sake — a hiccup in meals that can offer something out of the ordinary.
Look for Carol Deptolla’s restaurant news column, Side Dish, in Friday’s Weekend Tap section. Contact her at (414) 224-2841, carol.deptolla@jrn.com or on Twitter, @mkediner.
LAS 7 ESTRELLAS
112 E. Dakota St.
Fare: Mexican
Atmosphere: Casual but polished storefront
Hours: 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday. Lunch dishes served 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Monday-Friday.
Prices: Entrées, $9.75-$14.99
Parking: Adjacent lot
Wheelchair access: Yes, entry and restrooms
Payment: MasterCard, Visa, Discover
Of special note: Vegetarian options, including refried beans; outside seating in warm weather; takeout; children’s menu, high chairs, booster seats; Wi-Fi; Tuesday and Thursday specials
Reservations: Accepted for large parties
Carol Deptolla strives to dine anonymously, with food and drink paid for by the Journal Sentinel. To sign up for the Journal Sentinel’s weekly food and dining newsletter, visit jsonline.com/newsletters.