THE TREVINO FAMILY has been in the Mexican restaurant business ever since they opened La Playa Mexican Café in Harlingen, Texas in July of 2006.
“We enjoy bringing a bit of a twist to the Harlingen community, differentiating our restaurant from other Mexican restaurants by offering traditional Mexican cuisine from interior Mexico for a flavorful experience,” owner Elizabeth Trevino says. “Our goal is to provide delicious, high-quality meals and great-tasting menu items for reasonable prices.”
Always keeping a focus on quality, the restaurant’s motto is a simple, sincere one: “We pride ourselves on cooking with love.”
While La Playa is known for its fajitas and margaritas — menu items that have garnered the restaurant local awards — customers also enjoy a variety of other dishes. Examples include many tacos, plus quail, Shrimp Amarrados (seasoned shrimp wrapped in bacon, stuffed with sliced jalapeño and topped with melted Monterey jack cheese), the Pollo Fronterizo Plate (grilled chicken breast stuffed with shrimp, tomatoes, cilantro, mush- rooms, and onions, then topped with a creamy pico de gallo wine sauce), and the Fried Stuffed Avocado.
Here, Elizabeth shares the recipe for the Fried Stuffed Avocado. “It is a wonderful spin on some traditional ingredients which has been very popular with our customers,” she says. “This menu item is special to La Playa.”
Fried Stuffed Avocado with Beef
Makes 1
1⁄2 avocado
2 oz. fajita skirt steak
4 oz. Monterey Jack cheese
1 oz. cracker meal, medium
1 oz. Kikkoman bread crumbs
1 fl. oz. Borden’s milk
Cook the fajita skirt steak and dice the meat. Melt the Monterey Jack cheese. Combine bread crumbs and cracker meal. Put meat inside the avocado and wrap the stuffed avocado lightly with the melted cheese. Dip the avocado in milk and bread lightly with the bread crumb-cracker meal mix. Deep fry for approximately 1 minute.
Serve as an appetizer or appetizer combo, or as an entrée accompanied by a fajita taco, rice and a cup of savory tortilla soup.