Por la comida verdad, De Leon es numero uno

As a native of San Diego, and someone who has spent time in Arizona, New Mexico and Texas, I think I have a decent handle on Mexican food. Enough, at any rate, to know that what we get at, say, Taco Bell has little in common with what you might get in a Guadalajara restaurant — or even from a street vendor.

That said, Taco Bell — whose food I do eat on occasion — is hardly the only Mexican-type food available in Spokane. During my first years here, we used to eat at the Spokane Valley eatery Senor Guillermo's — not just because the food was delicious but because the then-owner had, we were told, also owned one of my favorite Del Mar, Calif., restaurants, the Blue Bird Cafe.

Alas, Senor Guillermo's closed more than a decade ago. And while I've eaten at the restaurant that took its place on Trent Ave., Aracelia's, I did so when it was located closer to downtown Spokane. I still haven't made my way out to the Valley location, where Aracelia's moved some 11 years ago.

But I have been to De Leon Foods, the combination Mexican store and formica-table restaurant located on Francis Ave. When I used to work at The Spokesman-Review, we used to eat lunch at the restaurant that sat (though it no longer does) at the corner of Riverside and Lincoln. But for the real experience, you have to drive north, to the strip mall off Francis. That is where you can order mole and carne asada and genuine chile rellenos.

It's cold and rainy. I can't think of a better time to go, even if I would have to pass on the ice cold Corona.