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A tip of the hat to El Sombrero

Sonoma County's oldest taqueria celebrates 25 years of fresh, quality Mexican food in Healdsburg. Anniversary party Sunday, 3/13 at 1 p.m.

There are almost as many expensive restaurants in town as precious wineries, but no one can drop $300 or even $50 on a meal every time they eat out.

I was reminded of this recently when a colleague and I needed to grab a bite in the middle of a project, and almost simultaneously we came up with the same solution: fish tacos at El Sombrero.

is the go-to place for lunch and dinner for many locals, and wine country weekenders have found the place too. (Just try to squeeze in for a burrito during Barrel Tasting or any Plaza event.)

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The modest one-room restaurant on Center Street just opposite the is clean, provides good Mexican food at reasonable prices, and seems to fit everyone’s definition of what a California taqueria should be: fresh, flavorful, quick, and consistent.

Did someone say consistent? El Sombrero has been in the same location since it opened 25 years ago, according to current manager Jimmy Sanchez. That’s when his parents, Benjamin and Celina Sanchez, opened what was then the first taqueria in Sonoma County, taking over what had been the city’s Greyhound bus terminal.

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Back in their home town, near San Jose de Gracia, Jalisco – there’s a small mural of the town on the north wall – Benjamin Sanchez’s family owned a farm, and the two met when they were young. Benjamin Sanchez moved to Mexico City when he was 18 and opened a taco stand; when he earned enough money to support a wife, he returned to San Jose de Gracia to claim his bride, Celina.

Several years passed, the young family grew, and when they arrived in Sonoma County, they had enough experience and confidence to open the Healdsburg taqueria. Now there’s a second Taqueria El Sombrero, in Santa Rosa at the corner of Piner and Range, managed by another son of theirs.

Twenty-five years in one location is reason enough for a party, and El Sombrero will be throwing their own la fiesta de aniversario this Sunday, March 13, from 1 – 4 p.m. Mariachis will play, Spanish-language radio station KJOR “La Mejor” will be broadcasting live, they plan to open up for food and beer on the sidewalk outside the taqueria, and, as always, chips and salsa are free.

It’s easy to see why El Sombrero has such durability. The menu is full of Jalisco-style offerings that most of us associate with the national dishes: tacos, burritos, tostadas, enchiladas, chiles rellenos. Yes, the newest items on the menu, fajitas, are a Californication of traditional Mexican food, but there’s also lengua (beef tongue), menudo (tripe soup) and pulpo (octopus) for traditionalists.

Taquerias are usually unpretentious by definition, and while that term suits El Sombrero, you’re not getting by with less. Every guest orders at the counter, usually from the easy-going and flexible Carmen Rodriguez (she’s been here 13 years).

You can select from a number of drinks in the cooler right next to the register, including many Mexican cervezas as well as American craft and mainstream brews. (Perhaps in a tip-of-the-sombrero to its location, wine is now available as well, from Kendall-Jackson.)

Even the sodas have a south-of-the-border authenticity – the Coca-Cola is bottled in Mexico (which means it uses real cane sugar, not high fructose corn syrup), and the popular Penafiel and Jarritos drinks are available as well.

As soon as you sit down someone brings you fresh chips and salsa, and it’s hard not to make a serious dent in that basket before your meal arrives. But try to save room – there’s hardly a dish over $10 on the menu, but it’s all just what you want from a Mexican meal.

Jimmy Sanchez is only 23, but he says he has been “working here all my life – I was born here!” When he was younger, he used to help out however he could, starting with bringing chips and salsa to customers.

Now, after graduating from and getting his small business and management education at SRJC, he has a greater appreciation of the restaurant he now runs.

“The first place kids want to eat when they come back from college,” he told me, “is El Sombrero. Why? We make it bigger. The tacos have a lot of meat, the super burrito is huge. You can take home half for lunch the next day.

“And it’s always fresh," he added. "We make the salsas each morning, both the pico de gallo and the tomatillo, from fresh ingredients.

"We get fresh tortillas delivered daily, from El Molino on Stony Point Road. Everything else is made here,”he said.

Even if you’re a vegan or vegetarian, El Sombrero fit the bill: all the beans are vegetarian, and a meatless and cheese-free burrito is just as filling as one with carniatas, carne asada, pollo or al pastor.

“Al pastor is probably the favorite here,” Jimmy told me. “Marinated pork, rotisserie grilled. Have it in your burrito, fajitas or tacos – we’re a taqueria, after all.”

So come on by to tip your hat to El Sombrero this Sunday afternoon, and let them know you appreciate good fresh Mexican food in town. Benjamin and Celina Sanchez will be there, sharing their celebration of a quarter-century in Healdsburg.

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