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Edgewater Cafe ReviewsJoy of Eating - North Shore Sunday - October 22, 2004Two years ago, the Cape Ann dining community suffered a huge loss. The Edgewater Café, the center of the universe in terms of amazingly delicious Mexican food, serving up huge, must-take-it-home portions along with warm and professional service, was swept away from its precarious perch on the beach of Magnolia Harbor.
The Edgewater landed in Salem, where the able-bodied skipper (owner Dennis Moustakis) re-established the restaurant as a rare gem: gourmet food, huge portions, tropical atmosphere, amazing wait staff, and, yes, affordable prices. Guess what muchachos y muchachas? Firmly anchored in Salem, Moustakas is sailing full steam ahead and coming back to Magnolia. In affiliation with J.D. Meyers and Friends pub, the reincarnated Magnolia Edgewater will offer a full menu of Mexican delicacies. And buoyed by the purchase of a new chip fryer, the Edgewater annex will serve everything we've come to expect. Let's walk you through a recent visit to Salem to give you an idea of what's on tap for the northern satellite locale. When you enter the Edgewater, you're transported to a warmer place. The hostess had a backdrop of tropical neon lights, palm trees and festive décor that kind of makes you think, "Hey, my Carnival Cruise just stopped in Mexico!" Within 20 seconds (really, it was 20 seconds) of being seated, you're presented with a bowl of chips and salsa. The chips are still warm. My dinner guest and I prefer to add a little extra salt, not because the chips need it, but, well, because we love salt. Outstanding. OK, I realize we're talking about chips here, but there's no understating the taste of fresh, hot tortilla chips, just the right thickness and crunch and so unlike the stale, hydrogenated oily chips of the chain Mexican joints. The salsa - oh, please, indulge us in lingering on this - is so fresh, the tomatoes are still mourning their recently concluded appointment with the food processor, the cilantro just off the vine and the heat of the peppers is just right: Enough to have a little bite, but not enough to chemically peel the skin from your tongue. As we crunch, we order Margarita's (one mango, one orange tangerine) and beers (hey, the newspaper paid for this). The drinks arrive within three minutes of our order. They are cold, delicious and very tropical. (Note to readers: We were not driving that night.) On to the menu. So many choices. The appetizers are instantly appealing because they blend the traditional and the unexpected. For example, the coconut shrimp stole our hearts: large shrimp dipped in coconut batter, lightly fried and served with mango sauce. The shrimp was tender, fresh, and delicately flavored - the coconut's sweetness complimented the tanginess of the mango sauce. We also had Mussels Fra Diablo. These are steamed and then topped in a spicy red sauce that was more delicious than any we've tried in so-called five-star restaurants. Herein the beauty of Edgewater: Moustakas creates dishes that require great subtlety of flavors and preparation, which combine traditional Mexican delicacies with European and New England influences. Next, we had a bowl of fresh guacamole. This thing is huge. Using our chips as shovels, we devoured this bowl of simply, yet subtly complex spiced, crushed avocado dip. The fresh tomatoes and chives that garnished this appetizer also were delicious and added depth to the flavors of the avocado and spices. Next, our entrees arrived. After being warned 500 times about how hot the plates were (they were hot as one of us, OK, it was me, just had to touch one to see), we started eating. I had the vegetarian burrito, a corn tortilla stuffed, well, really I should say crammed, with refried beans, guacamole, steamed vegetables, jack cheese and sour cream, covered in melted cheese and a sauce verde. This dish is so good, justice truly can't be done with words, but since this is a paying gig I'll try: The beans are tasty and spicy, but not over the top. The guacamole (see above), the veggies, cheese and sour cream blend perfectly with the verde sauce. A word about the sauce itself: sophisticated, fresh, delicious. Fine, three words. My dinner guest had the Tinga's Pork. Tender pork sautéed in a honey chipolte sauce with peppers, onions, rice and beans. The pork is truly morselicious, the chipolte is sweet and heavy with just the right amount of smokiness. The rice and beans also were delicious and clearly served to order rather than sitting around under some heat lamp. At this point, we were happily full, but our waiter encouraged us to share a dessert. The Key Lime Pie. Sweet, with a grahm cracker crust, this pie has just the right amount of lime citrus flavor mixed with delicious ice-creaminess. Yeah, it sent us over the Edge. The Edgewater Magnolia opened earlier this month at J.D. Meyers and Friends, often known as the Magnolia Pub. Tell the Skipper we sent you. Joy of Eating - North Shore Sunday - November 30, 1986The Edgewater Café is certainly true to its name in one respect. It sits by the edge of the water, just a few feet from the beach in Magnolia, although it lists a Manchester address. Details, details.But don't go there expecting New England clam chowder of the flavor of Europe. This is a slice of south-of-the-border as true to Mexico as anything in the region. The menu promises "authentic Mexican Food". The staff delivers. A couple of words of warning. First, make reservations, if you show up with out them on a weekend night, as our party of three did recently, you will wait a long time to sit down. We had reservations of 7:30, and a table opened right up about then. But the room, which holds about 65 people jammed into an area not much bigger than some living rooms, never emptied out all evening. The Edgewater is a popular spot. It is also not much fun to wait. There is no real waiting area. Once you're inside the door, caramba, you're in the dining room, standing next to diners seated two or three feet away. Second, you don't eat much that day. You won't need to, unless you'd like to take half of your meal home for the following days lunch. Apparently, "authentic" also refers to volume. The café itself is an interesting combination of oceanfront cottage, with rough, weathered walls and beams; and Mexican atmosphere, with a few serapes, bullfight posters and the like around. It is as casual as you'd like to be. Most of the crowd was the sweater, jeans and boots variety. Lots of beards, rough hands and weathered faced. Only a few jackets and ties, but then, the point here is to eat, and eat we did. The Edgewater makes no attempt to do anything but its specialty. The entire menu, except for three or four desserts, is Mexican, and features nine appetizers, a dozen entrées ranging from about $7 to $12, and an a la carte menu of tacos, enchiladas and burritos ranging from $2.50 to $5.25. We began with Chile Con Queso ($3.95), a cheese and chili dip that comes hot and livens up a plate of corn chips; Chicken Nachos ($3.95), an abundant heap of spicy meat, and Quesadillas ($2.75 a soft, almost fluffy flour tortilla topped with green chilies, tomatoes, onions and cheddar cheese. The latter was the tastiest of the group, looking almost like a pizza on a thin crust, and carrying some potent flavors without frying the taste buds. It came with sour cream on the side. Then it was on to the main dishes, most of which have so much food on them that they are delivered on platters. We sampled the Mega burrito, the Edgewater Combo and the California combo. The burrito is well-named a massive portion of shredded beef, beans and chunks of chicken for a base, garnished with guacamole, sour cream, lettuce and tomato, and topped with salsa Verde and Monterey jack cheese. The meat was hot and moist, the lettuce and tomato fresh, and the cheese steaming and a bit crisp on the edges. Both combos include a chicken and cheese enchilada. The Edgewater then adds a beef and cheese enchilada and a chile relleno, with guacamole and sour cream for garnish. The California includes a beef burrito and a beef taco, and is served with rice and beans. There was not a disappointment on the plate, the beef taco was as good as any we've had anywhere, including west Texas. The meat is not the last bit dry, and the lettuce and tomato taste like they are in season. Holding all of them together are Mexican pastries done the way these Americans like them. They are thin and tender, almost stretchy, without being soggy. The beans are the only semi-spicy item, and they are not so hot that you have to signal the waitress for several glasses of water. If you have room (only two of us did), the dessert menu is limited but interesting. We sampled Key lime pie, and cheesecake with strawberries. The cheesecake tasted good enough to be homemade, but the pie was the more flavorful of the two; a burst of lime chiffon as fresh as a squeeze from the fruit itself, delicious. Service at the Edgewater is not heavily attentive, but certainly adequate. Given the size of the room, the waitresses are hardly ever out of earshot. And for prices like this, it is hard to get so full. We staggered out for about $53 including tip. No question, come another day when we don't plan to eat until evening, we'll go to the Edgewater. Dining Out - Boston Globe, North WeeklyAt last, there's an answer for the conga line of systematically modernistic, novella-cuisine, Continental-fusion, compote-crazy restaurants proliferating along the North Shore. And it's been here all along (or at least since 1981): The Edgewater Café. Anyone
looking for home-style, huge-portioned Mexican dishes as authentic as any
offered north of say, the Rio Grande, should point their car toward 69 Raymond
Street in Manchester by the Sea. From the ouside, the place looks like it
might use Velveeta cheese on its nachos, which just goes to show image isn't
everything.A varied, voluminous selection of appetizers is crowned by the nachos grande - a gargantuan platter of corn chips tossed with chile, frijole beans, lettuce, tomato, onion, cheese, scallions and sour cream for - get this - $5.50. Another irresistible starter is the battered and fried coconut shrimp for $5.95. Chile con queso is an excellent choice of $5 and the Edgewater's own guacamole, a blend of avocados, herbs and diced veggies, priced seasonally, is phenomenal. There are only 10 entrees anchoring the menu, a misleading total considering an assortment of enchiladas, burritos, tacos and tostadas form a collection of 19 additional a la carte offerings. All 19 are enormous, scrumptious and list at an average price of about $5.75. The colossal bean burrito as $4.95 is an absolute steal. Not to denigrate the entrees, which range from the enchilada special: seasoned chicken breast layered with Monterey Jack cheese between three corn tortillas and topped with salsa Verde and sour cream ($10.95) to the mega burrito: a just-one-more-bit mélange of shredded beef, beans, chicken, guacamole, salsa Verde and Jack Cheese (for $11.25). There is a specials board, but the entrée postings rarely deviate from the option of tinga, a delightful blend of spices, peppers and onions in a potent sauce made with shrimp, steak, scallops or pork, Beware: this is not a first date entrée. Interestingly enough, the Edgewater staff reports the restaurant has become a hot spot for blind dates and Valentine's Day dinners and has even been the site of multiple marriage proposals. The Edgewater, located just down the hill form the intersection of Raymond Street and Route 127, enjoys a fiercely loyal patron base, quickly filling to its 70 seat capacity from early evening until the 10 pm close on most weekend nights. There's often a wait, but Edgewater regulars, wonder aloud in the entryway why it isn't longer in light of the meal that follows. Surely, the Edgewater owes part of the breadth of its appeal to being vegetarian savvy. Almost everything on the menu can be adapted to non-carnivorous dietary restrictions. Beans and rice come as a side order, but even the most insatiable of appetites wouldn't likely require either. For dessert, a short list of offerings is topped by an above average key lime pie. The décor is rustic. Low budget even. And having a private conversation in the close quarters of the general seating area is like trying to skydive with a fishnet parachute. But smart money says not a soul cared. The booth-lined, unfinished wood walls, though they look flimsy, are a perfect compliment to the distinct hum of a Friday or Saturday night. The rickety, wood-frame screen door squeaks and swings like the shuttered double doors of a Wild West Saloon. Business North - Salem Evening News - January 17, 2003Salem - the Edgewater Café could not have picked a worse time to open. It is the dead of winter, it's freezing cold outside, and it doesn't yet have its liquor license. Against all these odds, the city's newest restaurant not only has opened but is booming with business.The Edgewater, which opened last Friday at the corner of Washington and 
Front streets, has been packed every night. Many are old customers who loved
the Mexican restaurant when it was in Magnolia, but many others are new."You never ever want to open on a Friday night," said owner Dennis Moustakis. "That's the thing about the Edgewater, we don't go by any rules and we never have". The Edgewater had an almost mythic reputation in Magnolia as a place where young couples went on a date and food lovers went to eat. Many stopped at a liquor store next door to pick up something to take to the BYOB establishment. That was part of the charm. The Edgewater will serve liquor in Salem, bit it has a seasonal liscence which doesn't begin until April and BYOB isn't allowed here. In the interim, it is serving virgin margaritas, O'Douls beer and lots of juice drinks. Based on the crowds, nobody is too worried about the alcohol.* They come here for the food said Moustakis, a Salem native with a long background in the food industry. He ran the Edgewater during its heyday in Magnolia and continues to be the head chef in Salem. "People love our food." The Edgewater serves what its owner calls poor people's Mexican food. It has traditional Mexican fare, with more entrées priced between $4 and $14 and also all the old Edgewater favorites. Yes, the chicken chimichanga is still on the menu, with chunks of chicken smothered in Jack cheese and wrapped in a flour tortilla. "They love the chimi", Moustakis said of the customers who come through the door clamoring for chimichangas. "They need their Mexican fix". The Edgewater opens daily at 4 pm for dinner, and is expected to add lunch in a few weeks. It stays open till 10 pm on weekdays and 11 pm on weekends. *Both Edgewater locations (Salem and Magnolia) now have a full liquor license. |
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