RESTAURANT REVIEW 101 PARK PLACE | POINT RICHMOND | 510-260-0163 | ELSOLEASTBAY.COM | ASK FOR JOSEPHINE
-tacos, burritos, quesadillas, fajitas, flautas,
nachos--with meat choices including
chicken, carne asada, carnitas, fish and
shrimp. Vegetarian selections and entrée
salads are also available. Most items can be
ordered a la carte or as full plates, and there
is a separate section of the menu that lists
combination plates, which include one or
two entrée items with choice of two sides—
rice, beans, or Mexican potatoes made with
chorizo. Not many Mexican restaurants
offer potatoes on their menus, so I was
immediately interested in trying these. The
potato theme was carried through to other
menu items—there is a steak and potato
burrito, and “Mondo’s Special”, a mix of
grilled steak, Mexican potatoes, fresh salsa
and hot sauce. Specialty menu items include
tamales and chile rellenos, and selections
made with tiger prawns. My guest decided
to order the chile relleno combination
plate with rice and beans. After much
deliberation, I also chose a combination
plate that included a chile relleno and a
chicken enchilada, with beans and potatoes.
Separately, we ordered bean dip and two
glasses of horchata, a sweet Mexican drink
made with rice and cinnamon that looks a
bit like milk. Other beverages available at El
Sol include sodas, a variety of imported and
domestic beers, and wine, including several
wine-based cocktails.
While our order was being prepared, we
hungrily munched on the chips, salsa and
bean dip. My guest found the salsa to be
a bit too spicy for her taste, but she really
enjoyed the bean dip, a generous bowl of
refried beans topped with plentiful white
cheese. We observed a steady parade of
customers who placed “to go” orders at the
front counter, referencing the large chalk
board menu hanging overhead. Behind
the counter is an open kitchen where the
cooks can be observed hard at work, and
servers bustle in and out to place and pick
up orders for delivery to seated customers.
The entire right side of the restaurant is a
festively decorated dining room with ten
wooden tables covered with colorful plastic
tablecloths. Pictures and artwork created
by local artisans are displayed on the yellow
walls, which are available for purchase. A
colorful banner is strung across the ceiling,
and the back wall is adorned with small
white lights. Mexican themed decorations,
including large metal suns representative of
the restaurant name, are also interspersed
throughout the dining room. The overall
atmosphere of the restaurant is casual, clean,
and comfortable and unhurried—a place
where customers can linger and converse
long after their meals are finished.
Our meals arrived promptly, and both
plates were full almost to the point of
overflowing, and appeared very appetizing!
I immediately took a bite of the Mexican
potatoes, which were soft, tender, and
flavorful, but only mildly spicy from the
chorizo that had been cooked with it. I
prefer a bit more spiciness, so I added some
of the salsa to the potatoes which made
them even more delicious. As we ate, my
guest and I compared notes on our chile
rellenos, agreeing that while they were very
good, we couldn’t distinctly taste the green
chiles; however, we enjoyed the generous
amount of cheese filling and the red mole
sauce poured over the top. My chicken
enchilada was excellent, chock full of tender
shredded chicken, and topped with the
delicious red mole sauce and cheddar cheese.
The meals were very filling, and neither of
us had to request boxes for leftovers! The
glasses of horchata were served after we’d
finished eating, so we enjoyed them as an
after dinner “dessert”. El Sol does not offer
dessert selections, which is likely because the
meals are so filling that most patrons don’t
often have an appetite for dessert! Drinking
the horchata was indeed like partaking
of dessert because it was very rich, sweet
and creamy—the best horchata that I have
personally ever tasted!
After we finished eating, we finally got
the opportunity to speak with Josephine,
who had been working in the kitchen
most of the night. We conversed well past
the 8:00 PM closing time, and by the end
of our conversation, we had learned all
about El Sol, as well as about the many
extracurricular activities Josephine does to
give back to the communities where their
businesses are located. She is a member of
the Point Richmond Business Association, a
board member of the Masquer’s Playhouse,
34 MARKETPLACECONTRACOSTA.COM NOVEMBER 2019
and also serves on the Bay Front Chamber
of Commerce. She is the chairperson for
the annual September Rodeo Chili Cookoff
and Car Show, and is also the chairperson
for the Point Richmond Community
Octoberfest. Her ambitiousness also inspired
Josephine to serve as the women’s softball
coach at Richmond’s Salesian High School
for 17 years! My guest and I marveled
at how she finds time to be so active in
her community and still run a successful
restaurant and catering business!
I returned to Point Richmond the
following weekend with my daughter
to attend the Octoberfest that Josephine
coordinated. Vendor booths lined Park
Place in the downtown area, and a live band
played during most of the event. There
were organized children’s activities and
adorable puppies pleading for adoption.
We had lunch at El Sol, affording me the
opportunity to try other menu items for
this review. I ordered the Quesadilla Erica,
a flour tortilla stuffed with grilled steak,
topped with melted jack cheese, fresh
tomatoes, sour cream and cheddar cheese.
My daughter ordered a super burrito made
with shredded chicken, lettuce, rice beans,
cheese, and sour cream. My quesadilla was
served in a tortilla folded in a rectangular
shape instead of being round and cut in pieshaped
pieces. The tortilla was filled with
tender pieces of delicious steak; however, I
would have preferred that the ingredients on
top were folded inside of the quesadilla so
the flavors could have been enjoyed together.
My daughter’s burrito was very large, and
was served wrapped in aluminum foil
although we were dining in. It was so large
that she barely ate one third of the burrito
before requesting a box. We are both
eager to return to try Josephine’s Mexican
breakfast, and some of the other items on
the lunch/dinner menu.
Since the El Sol first opened in Rodeo in
1982, the Orozco’s estimate that they have
served eight generations of those families
who were their first customers. Although
many have moved away over the years, loyal
customers often return for a meal whenever
they’re in town. Josephine shared a story
about a relocated family whose mother
HOURS: MON – SAT 8:30 AM – 8:00 PM