Businesses & Restaurants
Las Brasas
"The last stop on my search for the best taco in Silicon Valley brings me
to a sidewalk barbecue where North America and Latin America blend together
- and to the winning taco.
"[Northside resident] Larry Jensen has invited me to Las Brasas Restaurant
at the corner of Julian and 17th Streets, in one of San Jose's oldest and
most culturally diverse neighborhoods.
* * * *
"There isn't a more authentic Mexican restaurant in Silicon Valley than
Las Brasas. It takes up the first floor of a large pink house, where the
owners live. . . . There's an upright rotisserie, the kind you find throughout
Mexico. This one has a pineapple at the top end that drips juice onto the
rotating pork.
"Las Brasas is a genuine mom-and-pop restaurant. Pop is Ramon Ruiz. A trained
butcher, he buys and cuts the meats. Mom is Carmen Ruiz, who prepares the
marinades and chile salsas.
"The Ruizes come from Gaudalajara, the city that has sent more Mexicans
to Silicon Valley than any other city. It's poetic coincidence that I find
the best taco in a restaurant that most symbolizes the north-south connection.
"Without a doubt, the best taco in Silicon Valley is Las Brasas' taco de
suadero.
"Any backyard barbecue loving American knows the meat. Suadero is the tender
meet from the lower part of a beef rib. It's the part you eat first. . .
.
"At Las Brasas, Ramon Ruiz prepares the suadero meat and hands it to Carmen,
who marinates lightly. . . . Placed in two warmed, small corn tortillas,
the suadero filling is toped with a little chopped onion and cilantro. They
add a delicately balanced brown salsa of toasted tomatillos and red chile
arbol that doesn't burn or wimp out.
"This is more than the best taco; it's the best taco experience in Silicon
Valley. But here's the catch: the suadero taco is served only on Friday,
Saturday and Sunday nights after 7 p.m., when Las Brasas holds its outdoor
taquisas or taco parties."
- Joe Rodriguez, San Jose Mercury News, September 1999
Las Brasas is located at 763 E. Julian St., next door to Lai Lai's. Telephone:
408-971-9639.
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