[Southpoint Spotlight] A Family's Heritage Finds a Fresh Start in South Durham

Edna de Luna and her husband Gustavo Angel want to show pride in their culinary heritage with the new restaurant they’ve opened on NC Highway 55.

Mexico Lindo Y Querido opened its doors in late June at 4325 NC Hwy. 55. The name means “Mexico, beautiful and loved.”

“We chose this name to honor our roots, let it be known we are proud of where we come from and what our delicious food is representing,” de Luna said.

The couple attended Northern High School. In 2018, de Luna graduated with a nursing degree from University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, but she committed herself to helping with the family business.

In March, de Luna and Angel took over the family’s restaurant, Guanajuato, in North Durham off Roxboro. His family had been in the restaurant business for more than 15 years. They changed the name for a fresh start, with an eye toward growing and expanding the business. That led them to the restaurant site just up the road from Interstate 40 in South Durham, which has struggled to keep tenants in the past.

But this husband and wife team remains optimistic about the new spot.

“The Highway 55 location appealed to us because of the space and big kitchen,” de Luna said. “We were able to expand our menu due to bigger kitchen space, and also give service to a greater amount of people due to the bigger dining area inside (at least compared to our much smaller first location).”

She credits her mother-in-law as the chef, inspired by family cooking in the small rural farming town of Guanajuato, Mexico.

“Family was and still is very important to her and she grew up close to her family,” de Luna said. “They would gather together to cook, share meals, and stories. She says to this day that is what inspires her: the love she has for her family and showing it through cooking delicious meals for them.”

The restaurant’s most popular dishes include:

• Tacos with homemade tortillas and a wide variety of meat choices.
• Chiles rellenos.
• Platillo de asada.
• Mole rojo.
• Quesabirrias.

De Luna describes their mission as dedicating themselves “to delighting our clients and cultivating an atmosphere true to the heart of a Mexican kitchen. Our main focus is cooking delicious homemade meals that give you that cozy and comforting feeling of being at grandma’s house.”

Caldo de Rez (Beef Soup)

Southpoint Access asked Edna de Luna to share a recipe that readers might try at home for themselves. [Photo by Wes Platt. Pictured: Edna de Luna, daughters Eva and Elena, and her husband Gustavo Angel. Not pictured: Their youngest, Santiago.]

Ingredients:

• 1 pound of hind shank.
• 1 pound of rib meat.
• 2 pounds of oxtails.
• 4 potatoes.
• 3 carrots.
• 2 chayote squash.
• 2 handfuls of green beans.
• 2 zucchinis.
• 2 corn on the cob.
• ½ cabbage.
• Rinsed garlic.
• Onion.
• Salt.
• Cilantro.
• 1 tablesoon of spearmint.
• 1 tablespoon of parsely.
• ½ of a Xoconostle (sour prickly pear), rinsed, peeled and chopped.

Rinse and chop all vegetables to bite size.

Wash the meat very well and chop into smaller pieces. Put to a boil in a gallon and a half of water.

Boil the meat for about an hour and a half. Check to make sure water doesn’t need to be added and that the meat is soft. Remove foamy scum as needed.

Add a whole head of garlic, one small whole onion, salt to taste, a handful of cilantro, parsley, spearmint, and xoconostle. Add corn pieces and let it boil for 10 minutes.

Next, add vegetables, starting with carrots and chayote. Let that boil for seven minutes and then drop in potatoes, green beans, and zucchini. Boil for another 10 minutes. Add cabbage. Boil for another seven minutes and then turn off the stove, but let the soup continue boiling with the lid on. Enjoy with some lime, a side of rice, and warm tortillas.

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