Food Finds: Zaratez Mexicatessen

By Maria Kanai

maria kanai / KA LAMAKUA

Zaratez Mexicatessen 

3121 Mokihana St.
(off Kapahulu Ave., next to Waiola Shave Ice)

Open Tues - Fri 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Saturday 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Closed Sunday/Monday

I am an avid Mexican food lover. There is something about the combination of meats, spices, and tortillas that I can't resist, and I can honestly eat tacos every day if I could! So, you can imagine my excitement when I heard about Zaratez Mexicatessen.

Tucked away behind Genki Sushi on Mokihana Street, Zaratez Mexicatessen is a lunch wagon serving authentic homestyle Mexican food by chef Paul Zarate. Since it is slightly difficult to find unless you know where it is, I was curious to find out how Zarate gets the word out.

The key to their popularity? "Twitter, facebook, and Living Social coupons," says Zarate. "Also word of mouth."

Sure enough, one happy customer said that she had heard about Zaratez Mexicatessen from Living Social and brought her coupon for dinner. (So, make sure to check up Living Social for some nice deals!)

"Our most popular dishes," says Zarate, "are the burritos and carne asadas."

maria kanai / KA LAMAKUA

My $7 Carne Asada Burrito, a whole meal of rice, beans, beef, 

and cilantro wrapped in a large flour tortilla.

I was starving, so I got a carne asada burrito. For a reasonable $7, it was very filling and incredibly tasty. The meat, beans, and rice were well seasoned within the large flour tortilla, and the salsa was spicy and had a unique flavor that went perfectly with the meal. Since the burrito was so huge, I was afraid I was going to make a mess, but it stayed together until the last bite. I loved the homestyle authentic taste, and I was stuffed and happy!

Although challenging working full-time running his own lunch wagon, Zarate says the most rewarding thing is being able to do what he loves and serving people food. He is currently working on future plans on opening up a small shop up the street this summer. I hope that works out, because I am definitely a fan. I can't wait to go back to try out all the other foods on the menu, which consists of tacos ($2.50), burritos ($7), quezadillas ($6), mulitas ($3), with different meats such as carne asada, carnitas, pollo asada, and chorizo.

You can follow them on facebook at www.facebook.com/zaratez or twitter @zaratez.