Written By Sheila Herbst
From the outside, La Fiesta looks like one of the many new chain restaurants that have been cropping up around Carroll County. But as soon as you walk through the door you will know that you are about to have a dining experience that will exceed your expectations.
Located at 1270 Liberty Rd., at the intersection of Routes 32 and 26, in Eldersburg, La Fiesta offers customers healthy Mexican fare in a family atmosphere.
The restaurant is cozy and cheerful. A large saltwater tank at the entrance, home to a handful of colorful fish, is a favorite first stop for many children.
Inside are a dozen large booths and several smaller tables, all with mosaic-patterned tops and Tiffany-style stained-glass lamps hanging above. The walls, painted with earth tones and floor to ceiling cactuses, are a soothing backdrop for an array of brightly painted parrots, plates, and ceramic suns, as well as woven Mexican blankets and authentic sombreros. Mexican music plays softly in the background.
Owner Dilip Kapoor personally greets customers with a welcoming smile. And if he is not in the dining room, he is most likely in the kitchen.
Kapoor is everywhere in La Fiesta, doing whatever needs to be done, from busing tables to cooking meals, making sure he shows his customers his appreciation for their business.
“Anyone who comes to your restaurant does you a favor,” Kapoor said. “They have so many other choices.”
Kapoor, who is Indian, came to the United States in his 30s to work in the restaurant business as his cousin had many years before. His cousin, Ram Kapoor, began as a busboy and worked his way up, eventually owning a Mexican restaurant. He currently owns two other La Fiesta locations: Crofton, opened in 1982 and Edgewater, opened in 2006.
At first glance it may seem odd that a family of Indian origin would develop a passion for Mexican food. But Indian and Mexican cuisines actually have much in common. Both use intense spices, such as chili pepper, black mustard seed, cumin, and even curry leaves. Mexican tortillas resemble the Indian flat bread, roti. Some Mexican salsas are similar to Indian chutney. Beans are a Mexican staple, just as the legumes called dal are in India.
Drawing on his Indian heritage, Kapoor strives to create healthier Mexican fare. He uses no animal fat in the preparation of his food; cooking, as Indian food is exclusively prepared, in vegetable oils.
The breakfast menu includes more than a dozen dishes, including sunrise omelet, T-bone steak and eggs, and a breakfast quesadilla.
For lunch and dinner, patrons are offered a bountiful choice of Mexican dishes: The especially generous Supreme Burrito, stuffed with beans, rice, lettuce, tomato, and a choice of chicken or beef, covered with ranchero sauce and cheese; six other kinds of burritos; eight kinds of enchiladas and tacos; a variety of chimichangas; fajitas, arrozo camrones, arrozo con pollo, chili relleno, and a swordfish or salmon platter; six salads, and such appetizers as black bean soup, chili con queso, crab dip and Mexican pizza.
Desserts include Mexican fried ice cream, flan, tres leches cake, and Mexican fried puff pastries slathered with La Fiesta’s special dessert sauce. There is also a children’s menu.
Because much of Indian food is influenced by vegetarianism, Kapoor offers a second, vegetarian menu. For those who eat meat, he selects only the better cuts. Also, Kapoor uses only products that are completely free of trans fat. And if a supplier does not provide nutritional information about something, Kapoor will not buy it.
Obviously, Kapoor loves cooking and eating good, healthy food.
“I am 50 years old,” said the nearly six-foot tall restaurateur, “and I weigh only 159 pounds.”
The family atmosphere of La Fiesta is another part of Kapoor’s commitment to his customers.
“If you cook in a restaurant, you don’t cook at home,” Kapoor said with a laugh. “My kids know the menu very well.”
Kapoor added that his wife Nadia, his oldest daughter Meera, and his brother-in-law, Mykola, also work at La Fiesta. And the rest of the staff, including sous chef Kevin Carroll, are like family.
Kapoor strives to keep prices low with daily lunch specials, generous entrees priced around $10, and a kid’s menu with eight choices, each only $4.95. He even offers deeper discounts for larger groups. La Fiesta has a no smoking policy. And though there is a small bar at the back of the restaurant, offering such favorites as margaritas and daiquiris, Kapoor says alcohol sales are low. But Kapoor doesn’t mind. This is the way La Fiesta customers want it.
“It’s a customer managed restaurant,” he said.
In fact, it was Kapoor’s customers that brought him to Eldersburg.
The Columbia La Fiesta was his first location, opened in 1996, and many of his customers came all the way from Carroll County. They asked him to open another, closer location and he did, in 2003.
Although the La Fiestas that Kapoor owns aren’t legally connected with those of his cousin, “We’re all family,” he said. “We share menus and experience.”
With two restaurants open seven days a week, the Kapoors’ lives revolve around La Fiesta. But when they’re not working, Kapoor and his wife enjoy spending time with their three children, Meera, Veronica and Dylan.
As for the future, Kapoor said, “I’m looking forward to serving customers. I enjoy it. I have great customers, great coworkers, and we’re doing well. What more could you want?”
For more information about La Fiesta in Eldersburg, call (410) 795-3188 or visit their web site at www.lafiestafood.com. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are served every day.
Hours: Sunday – Thursday: 10 a.m. – 9 p.m.; Friday & Saturday: 10 a.m. – 10 p.m.
