"Do you want the good news or the bad news first?" asked Abuelo's proprietor Ramesh Jolam. I chose bad news, but I won't start the story that way.
The good news is that Abuelo's recently unrolled a new menu. It's enormous and reads like a book. A 10-pager, to be precise. The menu upgrade includes new wraps and tortas, which I learned are like Mexican burgers. There is the cheeseburger torta or the Monterrey chicken torte. There are new shrimp and fish tacos as well as new adult beverages like frozen sangria. The lunch menu has also expanded and so has the tapas and small-bites selection.
More good news: I discovered my new favorite shrimp dish - flash-fried, tossed in a spicy chile aioli and served on a bed of Napa cabbage with a side of mango relish. The shrimp was spicy and succulent. The cabbage crisp and the mango relish cool and sweet. The flavors came together beautifully: hot, sweet, cool and spicy.
"That's the new dynamite shrimp," Ramesh told me. "Firecracker shrimp," assistant general manager Terry Smith corrected, then laughed. "But I guess you can call it dynamite shrimp if you want."
The fact is, Ramesh could probably do almost anything and get away with it. Ready for the bad news? Ramesh's last day at Abuelo's was last Sunday. At first he told me not to mention his leaving in the story. But there was no way I was going to abide by that.
After seven years of service, Ramesh has developed close relationships with many of his customers as well as his staff. His laid-back personality is infectious, as evidenced by the servers who gather around him laughing and relaxed. "Are you sad to be leaving?" I wanted to know.
"I am. It's building," he told me. "I am just very thankful for everyone's support over the years." So what is next for Ramesh? Will he retire? Will he run for mayor? "No. Too many skeletons in the closet for that," he joked.
Wherever Ramesh ends up, one thing is certain. He will be missed at Abuelo's.