Many windowed restaurants with a view to the outdoors are a rarity in Laredo, but not so at Rey Rocha’s El Catán at the downtown corner of Salinas Avenue and Houston St.
The beautifully fenestrated corner of the historic Hamilton Hotel offers a view of a city on the move, of the industry of people and traffic pouring into downtown.
It’s not, however, the windows that keep El Catan’s patrons coming back. It’s the good food, the attentive staff, the white tablecloths, and Rey himself, a visible, affable host who steps out of the kitchen now and again to say hello.
Rocha holds three tenets as a restaurateur who enjoys the loyalty of return customers. “Service is number one. Keep a high standard of quality across the board, and keep your prices where they need to be, even if the cost of meat and eggs hike upward,” he said.
According to Rocha, he always liked the look of a restaurant that was so good that people were waiting for the next available table, something that is often the case at El Catán as federal, state, city, school district, and county employees, as well as attorneys and downtown merchants, vie for a table. “Lunch time is prime time for us,” he said.
His most popular dish is his chicken fried steak, followed by fish (Pangasius) tacos, both hand-breaded when ordered and never in advance. The fish tacos are served with a healthy side of a rough-cut slaw drizzled with his signature house dressing.
His favorite fish to cook is catán (gar), which is shipped in from Louisiana. He recalled helping in his father’s grocery store in Harlingen and being sent down the block on Fridays for the fried catán prepared at a nearby bar. “It was delicious. You’d get a sack of it for a dollar. I enjoy cooking it, and offering it to people who have never tried it,” he said.
Celebrity chefs Aquiles Chávez and Aaron Sánchez are pictured with Rey and Araceli Rocha when they were in Laredo in 2012 to film a segment about Rocha’s signature catán dishes and his fish tacos.
He recalled a 2012 visit from celebrity chefs Aquiles Chávez and Aaron Sánchez who stopped in to experience for themselves Rocha’s signature catán as they filmed segments from Mexico to Argentina for Utilisima network.
Rocha is a stickler for tender meat. “You won’t be served a tough cut of meat here. The meat in our carne guisada is tender. Our ribs are marinated in Dr. Pepper sauce. Upon request, we bread and chicken fry our ribs,” he said. “Our puffy tacos are a big favorite with our customers,” he continued.
He’s pretty picky about his salsas, too. “I use habaneros, chile pequín, garlic, carrots, and whole tomatoes, never tomato sauce,” he said, adding, “We strive for freshness in every dish we serve.”
Rocha enjoys the ambience of his restaurant with its high ceilings, good light, white tablecloths, and pleasant color scheme. “There isn’t a TV in here. People come to visit while they eat. Families enjoy breakfast here on the weekends. They celebrate birthdays with us and holidays like Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, and Father’s Day. We’ve had weddings here, and showers, and large family dinners,” he said, adding, “We have a good crowd after the Farmers Market every third Saturday of the month.”
The restaurant offers complimentary service for BYOB on Friday and Saturday evenings.
He said breakfast is served all day and that menudo, barbacoa, and tacos de lengua are served on weekends. Those who have sworn off menudo might want to try El Catan’s, which thanks to Rocha’s attention to detail, does not feature a top strata of grease.
He’s looking forward to setting aside one day a week for a barbecue day menu that includes grilled brisket, pork bellies, costillas cargadas, and bone-in pork loin.
The fideo soup El Catán serves with the noon meal is a throwback to his childhood. “My mother was a school teacher with a second job, so it was up to me to cook, and that was one of my favorites,” he said. “I cooked a little bit in college, but I never had a job cooking,” he added.
Rocha came to Laredo from his native Harlingen when he was transferred to the downtown Zale’s store in 1975. He operated his own jewelry store in Laredo from 1979 to 1994, before working for Paul Young Auto as a finance manager for 14 years.
“Laredo has always felt like home. My wife Araceli and I raised our four children here — Reynaldo, Sammy, Francine, and Rolando.” The Rochas have one grandchild, Alessandra López, who is three-years-old.
Rocha established El Catán in 2009 at the Pan American Courts on San Bernardo.
He said that every time he came to the downtown Post Office, he could see that the restaurant in the Hamilton Hotel was empty. He inquired about the space, negotiated a lease with developer Bill Skeen, and moved in January of 2010.
He said time has taught him to roll with the punches of price fluctuations for the items he most relies upon, though given talk of a proposed tariff on imports from Mexico, he sees some uncertainty in prices he may face for certain products.
“Two years ago a 25-pound case of limes cost $15. They became scarce and shot up to $90. They dropped back to $18 to $20, but are now at $28. Avocadoes used to be $32 a box. They are now $60. Tomatoes used to be $14 for a 25-pound box and are now at $24,” he said.
El Catán is open Monday through Thursday from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Friday through Saturday from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., and Sundays from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. You can reach the restaurant at (956) 712-9000, and you can read their full menu by clicking on their ad at www.laredosnews.com
