Crystal’s Family Café & Diner Serves Traditional, Mexican Favorites
It’s said that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and if that is indeed the case, you might as well eat something that tastes good.
“So this is ready — two ranchero skillets,” said Pedro Torres, as he held up two plates of food.
A ranchero skillet is just one of the delicious items served up at the Family Café & Diner, which opened six months ago in a small strip mall just off of Bass Lake Road in Crystal.
“I’m open 8 to 3,” said Torres. “I do everything, lunch, breakfast and dinner.”
Pedro Torres is the owner of Family Café & Diner in Crystal.
Torres is a Mexican native who has spent three decades working in the kitchen of different restaurants. When the Crystal space became available last year, he decided it was time to step into the world of restaurant ownership.
Family Café sells many of the traditional items that people would normally associate with breakfast, but one of the best-selling items on the menu are the pupusas. It’s a flatbread stuffed with beans, cheese and pork that’s kneaded by hand and then thrown on the grill.
Soup is also a popular item here.
“So here’s the menudo, this is a Mexican food,” said Torres, as he held up a ladle filled with soup.
Menudo is made with tripe and cooked in a red chili pepper base with a number of different seasonings.
“You know, it’s cold,” Torres said, referring to Minnesota in the winter. “So it’s good for warmth.”
So whether you’re more of an omelet person, or someone who’s looking for a little more spice in your diet, the family cafe has a little something for everyone.
“A lot of people like my food,” Torres said. “And I’m happy for that.”
