OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — It's only fitting on Cinco de Mayo that we introduce you to one of the hottest Mexican restaurants in town right now — and it's all because of one very special and delicious item on the menu. In this week's Cheap Eats, 3 News Now Anchor Serese Cole takes us to Estilo Jalisco to see what the hype is all about.
The pizza at Estilo Jalisco is taking on a life of its own.
"Just pizzas, pizzas, pizzas. I'm like, 'what's going on here?'" said Estilo Jalisco Mexican Restaurant owner Marco Garza. "Everybody is coming from everywhere to get the pizza!"
"I wish I could say it was my idea, but it wasn't — it was the previous owner," Garza added.
Garza and his wife Rosa took over the South Omaha restaurant a few months ago.
The pizza explosion started soon after with one Facebook post.
"Somebody posted it on Omaha Food Lovers," Garza explained. "I looked it up and there was a picture of the beautiful pizza and tons of comments, tons of likes — absolutely crazy and then it just got more and more busy."
His chef makes about 20 to 30 pizzas a day.
The pizza starts with three handfuls of cheese and three huge tortillas.
The birria is the key. It's marinated and cooked for hours until it's nice and tender.
A generous portion of the meat is added to the tortilla, then comes the cilantro and onions, and that's just the first layer. There are actually three.
The masterpiece is served with consommé, which is a must with this hearty pizza.
"I call it the Mexican French dip," Garza laughed.
And — there are fries.
"I've never seen anybody in house here eat the pizza and fries — never seen anybody finish it," Garza joked.
While the pizza is the big draw, the tacos put this place on the map.
"The birria tacos is what made this place what it is," Garza said.
Now their chalupa is getting rave reviews.
"It's like a crunch wrap from Taco Bell, same kind of process type thing. Theirs is like that big, ours is like huge," Garza demonstrated.
And the price is right.
"It's Cheap Eats because all this right here is $23.99, and if you want the pizza alone that will fill you up is $19.99," Garza explained.
Garza is glad his food is bringing people to South Omaha.
Now he invites you to explore.
"Try other things that are around here, go shopping around here — this whole Vinton area is a really cool area to visit," Garza shared.
He's thankful he's giving customers a taste of South O in South O.
"I'm from here, but it makes me feel like I'm a part of here. I'm from here, but I feel like I'm a part of South Omaha, you know," he said with a smile.
If you want to try the pizza for yourself, the restaurant is open every day at 10:00 a.m.
It's located at 1837 Vinton Street. To see the full menu, go to Estilo Jalisco's Facebook page.
Every weekday, they offer a special. Thursday's it's $5 quesadillas.
This Saturday only, you can get five mini birria tacos for $5 ($6 with cheese) from 2 to 4 p.m.
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