Enough Spice to Go Around

8/11/2019 Enough Spice to Go Around

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ENOUGH SPICETO GO AROUNDAt Caf Mabels in Laurel, the Mexican dishesand thosewho serve them upare nothing short of authentic

fter 23 years of waiting tables in her familys

restaurant, Mabel Torres has seen it all.

But my friend Bob stopped her in her

tracks. Hed just ordered a second plate of

ropa vieja, a succulent blend of braised beef, vegetables

and spices that serves as comfort food all over Latin

America. Its rich and filling and delicious. And its not

a Lays potato chip. It comes with beans and rice andtortillas and most people can barely eat just one. But Bob

wanted two.

And thats what made Mabel pause. Had anybody ever

eaten two of them before? She took the question seriously.

She thought for several seconds.

No, she said. Then she went to fetch Bobs second

load.

Mabel (pronounced Ma Bell) is the public face of Caf

Mabels, a funky-looking joint on the industrial east endof Laurel, which is a fragrant neighborhood. Coal and

oil trains bake in the sunshine there, and moving them

around creates a lot of diesel smoke, which almost over-

whelms the creosote oozing from all those railroad ties.

And theres usually a hint of refinery wafting in from the

big smokestacks down by the river.

But Mabels is a rose among these thorns. In the

potholed parking lot, youll get a whiff of what you came

for: garlic and beef, pork and potatoes, chicken and chilis.

Its a heady blend for a hungry traveler.

But first you have to find the place. Drive to the

middle of Laurel, cross beneath the railroad tracks to the

north side of town and turn east on Main Street, past the

bars and junk shops and storefront churches. When you

see an old motel the color of Pepto Bismol, youre getting

warm. Watch for a nondescript gray storefront on the

north side of the street, sandwiched between a brace of

convenience stores. Thats Mabels. Find a place to park

(mind the potholes) and haul your appetite indoors, where

BY SCOTT McMILLION

PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOHN WARNER

A

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Above: Caf Mabels will prepare any of its di shes to your desiredlevel of heat. At lef t, the restaurants namesake, Mabel Torres,

takes orders, serves tables and clears them at a steady pace.


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People hear us laughing and singing and having a good time, says Joel Torres, center. They hear you sing, says chef Bert Vasser, left,

and when you dance I leave. Jake Powell, right, rounds out the crew of chefs.


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you might catch a faint whiff of bleach, depending on

how recently Mabel cleared and swabbed your table. She

keeps the place very clean.

Overhead, a pressed-tin ceiling resembles an avocado

skin. The walls are mango. The carpet is a little frizzyand the table-tops are Formica. A velvet Aztec adorns

one wall and giant picture windows offer a commanding

view of those trains parked across the street. In the corner

theres a gumball machine, another that sells temporary

tattoos and ornamental stickers, spelling out that this is

a family joint. There isnt a speck of dust anywhere. Not

much noise, either. Everybodys too busy eating.

And then comes Mabel and she is impeccable. She

doesnt walk so much as she glides, servicing a dozen ormore tables and running the cash register, too, making

it all look easy. Smiling beneath horned rim glasses and

a perfect crown of steel gray hair, she brings chips with

salsa of her own making, the kind with a little efferves-

cence in it. She brings menus, tells you beer is available

in the convenience store next door and goes about the

business of easing hunger, one table at a time, as shes

done for all these years. The Mexican food she brings

is the real stuff, not some Tex-Mex hybrid, which isnt

bad but it isnt what Mabels is about. Shes a trained

chef. So is her husband, Joel. They serve the kind of

food Mexicans serve their holiday guests, or order in fine

restaurants. Fresh ingredients, plenty of lime and cilan-

tro, and not too much heat, unless you want it that way.

A sign outside describes it as both nuevo Latinoand

traditional Mexican.You can go somewhere in Mexico and find the same

dish, Joel explains. We try to cover all five regions of

the country.

You can get a burrito or a couple tacos if you want. But

thats not why youre here, not when you can get a plate, or

two, of that ropa vieja. In English, that means old clothes,

but its really a pot roast, in a sauce Joel and Mabel

created. Like everything on the menu, except the tortillas

and chips, its made by hand, in-house and from scratch.Pot roast isnt your style? Try thepollo al cilantro. Or

the steaks rubbed with Mexican spices. The house chili

Caf Mabels sits east of downtown Laurel

and blends in with the industrial image of

the area.

Caf Mabels, 801 E. Main, Laurel

Lunch: 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday through Friday

Dinner: 5 to 8 p.m. Tuesday through ThursdayFriday and Saturday 5 to 9 p.m.


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loaded with beef and beans. Or the pork chops sauted

with garlic and black pepper and green chiles. Or thegordosalad, which means fatboy, because its topped with

a grilled ribeye. Or you can get it topped with shrimp,

instead. Both, if youre feeling especiallygordo.

The menu has something for everybody, except vegetar-

ians, though the crew will work with you on that.

And then theres For the Adventurous. Thats a

menu item. Honest. You never know exactly what youll

get. Just select a type of meat and announce your toler-

ance level for peppers: poblanos for the dyspeptic,

habaneros if youve got a leather gullet, somewhere in

between for most people.

Your choice of meat, your choice of heat, the menu

says.

People who are adventurous pretty much let me do

what I want, Joel says. In 20 years, nobodys been

disappointed.

So I figured why not? I ordered chicken, shrimp andchipotles. It arrived mounded with Mexican queso fresco,

papayas and peppers. A spare plate held the rice and beans.

Portions are big at Mabels, the service is prompt

and the prices are reasonable. Lunches run about $10,dinners about $20, mostly.

Both Joel and Mabel were born in Mexico, but Joel

quickly points out that hes all American now. (Theres a

map of Mexico on the wall, but theres an American flag

next to it.) He first came to Montana to study at Montana

State University Billings, where he later taught culinary

arts, and brought Mabel up from Arizona for a visit in 1980.

I loved it, she said. It reminded her of her childhood

home in the Sierra Madre foothills of western Mexico. In

1989, the Torreses returned and set up their own busi-

ness. The mountains drew them, Joel said, but he didnt

want to get locked in to a seasonal resort economy. So

he settled in Laurel, a blue-collar town where he could

distinguish himself and his menu from the chain restau-

rants and Tex-Mex places that dominate shopping strips

in bigger cities.

He and Mabel started out selling takeout food andmaking deliveries but his business quickly outstripped

his workspace so he moved to the current location, once


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a bakery and before that a grocery store,

paying off the mortgage in three years. His

kids worked there until their educations

priced them out of that kind of work. I

couldnt afford them any more, Joel sayswith a proud smile, but a 13-year-old grand-

son now helps the kitchen crew, most of

whom have been with the Torreses for years.

I pay my help well and they work hard

when I need it, Joel says. So far, it works.

The crowd is mostly local, mostly blue-

collar, but you could see almost anybody

there: Billings bankers on a lunch break,

workers from the refineries or the nearbyfarms, a young couple celebrating their

first anniversary, travelers detouring off

Interstate 90. But they all have one thing

in common: If they leave hungry, its their

own fault.

Which is something my friend Bob

didnt do. On a second trip, he ordered the

ropa viejaagain.

Dos, por favor.

Mabel just rolled her eyes. This time,

shed seen it before.

Tacos andlive jazz every

Tuesday

102 N. Main Street, Livingston, MT (406) 222-1095

www.mintbarandgrill.com Follow us on Facebook

Barbecue andlive blues everyWednesday

Live bingoevery

Thursday

Local musicon

Fridays

MINTBAR& GRILL

Victor Perez, right, and

Melchor Ortiz are local

customers who findfamiliar and delicious

fare at the restaurant.

Enough Spice to Go Around

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