¡Ay Güey! Cocina Mexicana Opens In Stratford

There's a spot in Stratford most people can't see. An eighth of an acre, give or take, on Rt. 110 between I-95 and the River Road, where nothing seems to exist unless you're looking right at it. Focus your eyes on the spot, and your mind might register the word "Deli" on the storefront, which itself might be different each time you did, because they've been opening and closing in the location for years, flashing in and out of existence with the frequency of the scroll on an electronic billboard. There was nothing wrong with any of them, they just didn't send a signal from enough people's eyes to their brake pedals. A new spot has them taking notice.

¡Ay Güey! Cafe & Cocina Mexicana is a wholly different concept, and has transformed the space as much as the food served within. Everything from every deli before it went out the window. The interior is bright white, with inset drink coolers and a few tables for inside dining, while the sidewalk patio has been joined by a fenced and landscaped outdoor dining area to the side. Snag a Mexican Coca Cola, Mundet, Jarritos, etc. and whatever from the case and take a good look at the menu. Horchata, Topo Chico, and cafe de Olla (coffee dosed up with cinnamon and Piloncillo raw sugar) are also available for the soda-averse.

The menu is diverse, and ranges from nachos made with fresh fried chips done up in several different ways, to steak and chicken and rice dinner plates, enchiladas rojos or verdes, torta and cemita sandwiches, and seven distinct preparations of tacos. I ordered none of these things, and ended up with one of the best burritos I've had in Connecticut.

I grabbed a spot outside and a very friendly server brought out a setup, along with a bowl of duros (those fried wagon wheel "chips" sometimes also called... wait for it... "duritos") and salsa. The duros themselves were lightly spiced, and the salsa was tasty, but much too thin to be gathered up on a duro in any appreciable quantity. They seem to have noticed this as well, and provide a little spoon for meting out portions on whatever else you order.

Choosing skirt steak from other options, like chicken, al pastor, or carnitas, my burrito arrived double wrapped in paper and foil, and sliced neatly in half. Ay Güey's burritos come to you stuffed with red rice, black bean spread, crema, cheese, a healthy portion of sliced avocado, and "it depends on the burrito" according to the conversationally worded menu. One bite and I knew this wrap deserved a writeup on these particular internets.

The steak was seasoned and slightly smokey, the flour tortilla toasted just right to add a crusty crunch and flavor, and the pico de gallo - with tomato, red and green onion, and just a few kernels of sweet corn - was fresh and bright. I mowed down an entire half, appreciating every bite, before noticing the additional ramekin of salsa they'd provided. The burrito was good enough on its own to make any additional doctoring superfluous, but I liked the salsa with the duros, so I dumped some on and took another bite.

WOAH THERE, SPARKY, this was not the same salsa! Much more caliente, and with an unmistakable smokey/chipotle flavor, this second salsa roja is probably more properly called a hot sauce, and deserved the respect I hadn't shown when I poured it on there without checking. After a few moments spent in quiet reflection on the latest deficit in my attention while my mouth cooled down, I resumed attacking my lunch, and added some more of the fiery sauce to the burrito's stumpy end.

Ay Güey may have an inexplicably camouflaged address in Stratford but, like that salsa, it's one that should no longer be overlooked.

¡Ay Güey! Cafe & Cocina Mexicana; 613 East Main St., Stratford; (475) 449-9143