Editor’s note: This is part of a regular series featuring some of the signature menu items at restaurants in the Tri-Lakes area

Among some of the best food one can find from a local restaurant in the TriLakes area are the dishes which come with a story.

In the case of Jarrito Loco, not only does every dish and sauce on and off the menu come with a tale as to its creation, so does the restaurant itself and its owners.

Located at 315 Hwy 105 in Monument, Jarrito Loco moved to its present location just west of I-25 early 2021 and has featured its popular Mexican flare with many of the recipes handed down from owner Angel Jimenez’ grandmother and his father. The restaurant originally opened in Monument in April 2018 in its first location, also on Hwy 105.

While not only is Mexican cuisine a cross-generational talent and passion for Jimenez’s family, Jarrito Loco’s history started with Angel’s Grandma Maria who in her younger years worked as an executive chef for one of the wealthiest families in Mexico. Jimenez’s father migrated to Los Angeles at about 30 years old after learning to cook by watching chefs and line cooks with a photographic memory.

Eventually his father opened his own restaurant, La Cabanita Restaurant, of which the menu was designed by him and his wife, but the recipes for it were created by Grandma Maria. Jimenez said since Jarrito Loco opened in 2018, it has been the grace of God and the multi-generational family recipes which has helped it succeed in the region.

As the legacy of creating food continues, Jimenez often evolves recipes and experiments with new ones which become off-menu items at times. However, there are some items on the Jarrito Loco menu which have become the restaurant’s most popular, making them some of its signature dishes.

Caldo de Pollo

Caldo de Pollo is one of many dishes created by Grandma Maria, which not only still takes life at Jarrito Loco, but also remains one of its signature dishes. Nestled among the menu’s soup options, the Caldo de Pollo features homemade chicken broth with shredded chicken breast, hearty vegetables, rice, onions, lime and cilantro. It is also served with tortillas and avocado.

Although the timeline origin of Grandma Maria’s recipe is unknown, Angel Jimenez suspects, since it is such a homestyle recipe, the Caldo de Pollo was created before Grandma Maria was a teenager when she was sent to live with her aunts in Oaxaca, Mexico. In the telling of her story, Grandma Maria was treated as a slave to the family of 17 members living there. It was Maria’s task to cook for the entire household.

“Imagine that’s where she first learned to make it,” Jimenez said. “I’m sure she honed her skills over time. She taught me to not cook the vegetables in the broth, because all the vegetables cook at different temperatures and different times. We cook the vegetables aside so that the broth is still a clean chicken broth. Then we just put the vegetables in when you order them. That way, they are still crisp and havent been cooking all day.”

Torta Cubana

One of the owner’s recipes from his father which has become a signature dish of the restaurant is the Torta Cubana. The torta, or Mexican sandwich, features carnitas, ham and cheese with mayonnaise, lettuce, onions, tomato, jalapenos, served with beans and avocado. For an added boost of sweet acidic Cubana flavor, the menu suggests adding pineapple to the creation.

The concept of the Cubana torta is one that’s prevalent in Mexico, Jimenez said, with ties to the Cuban Sandwich. He guesses the concept came to Mexico as tourists returned from Cuba and brought it back with them. However, the dish offered at Jarrito Loco has differences to make the Torta Cubana original to his Jimenez father’s version. The Torta Cunbana at Jarrito Loco uses craft bread and instead of pork, or lechon like the traditional Cuban Sandwich, the torta uses carnitas.

His father opened a torta shop in Los Angeles, which Jimenez describes as “one of those hole in the wall places.” It was 200 square-feet, including the kitchen, and featured 12 tortas on the menu.

“It was a little shack, and that place was jumping for lunch,” Jimenez said. “It was a line of 20-30 people from the high school and from different work places on the busy avenue. And that’s all we did, tortas and grilled tacos.

“He created the torta menu for that restaurant, and when I chose to open the restaurant here, I decided I’ll bring over our most popular tortas from there. It’s a big, ol’ delicious sandwich and it’s super popular here.”

For a complete look at the menu at Jarrito Loco, visit the restaurant’s website at www.JarLoco.com.