MAGAZINES 
Delicious fare at Si Señor! Real Mexican Food is matched by courteous service
Left: Gustavo De León, owner of the Si Señor! restaurants, shows off the 64-oz. “grande” Margarita and his meltingly tender, flavorful carnitas platter. Right: Juan Atilano, manager of the Boulder restaurant, gets ready for the breakfast crowd in the colorful dining area.
By Rachel Odell Walker
Photos by Phil Mumford
Spanning Boulder County, the Si Señor! Real Mexican triad offers authentic meals at affordable prices. With locations in Lafayette, Erie and Boulder, the brightly colored eatery nourishes patrons with food and libations that are as engaging as the service.
And no wonder—restaurant owner Gustavo Flores De León insists that his servers treat customers as if they were splurging at a fine-dining establishment. He doesn’t think of them as “waiters” (“Anyone can take orders,” explains De León. “It takes a professional to serve”), and it will be the rare diner who walks through the doors of any Si Señor! without receiving a warm greeting and wide smile.
The attentiveness could seem overwrought if it weren’t followed by the delivery of aromatic and enticing dishes. Serving breakfast, lunch and dinner, Si Señor! strikes a fine balance between value, quality and taste.
Most meals begin with a basket of chips and freshly made salsa packed with herbs, a touch of garlic, and just enough picante to establish the restaurant’s authenticity.
The menu, which is the same at all locations, is a mélange of what you’d expect of a Mexican restaurant: burritos, enchiladas, tacos, carnitas and fajitas; chicken or beef tortilla soup; menudo and hearty breakfast plates. But this is no “typical fare.” The dishes stand out for their deep flavors and impeccable quality. Take the carnitas ($11.95), slow-roasted pork smothered in green chili and served with beans, guacamole, fried onions, pico de gallo and tortillas.
The pork arrives piping hot and so tender it submits to the slightest pressure from a fork. The green chili sauce makes an immediate and rewarding connection between your mouth and the brain’s pleasure center. The guac goes beyond simple avocado doctored with cumin and lime juice, and the beans have a buttery flavor and texture so enticing that you will eat them, even if you’re full.
Like most of the dishes, the carnitas could easily serve two. Unless you have the self-discipline of a monk, request a to-go box early to keep from noshing until you’re more than satiated. Another benefit of that strategy? Leaving room to sample your companions’ food. The tamale plate ($8.75) and Si Señor! Enchiladas ($8.95) are well worth a taste, as are the vegetarian burritos, tamales and enchiladas ($8.75).
worth its salt
Of course, no Mexican restaurant would be worth the salt on its Margarita glass if it weren’t for, well, the Margaritas. Si Señor! delivers on that end as well, offering a range of margs with different tequilas. Indulge in a shot of Patrón tequila or enjoy the house bottle. Either will complement the sassy Margarita mix that toes the line between sweet and sour. Also available are a selection of mojitos and other cocktails, and beers served either one at a time or in a “bucket” of five.
By dessert time you may think you’re too full to enjoy one of the menu’s sweet options. Find it in your heart to make room for the flan ($3.95). Light, creamy, and drizzled with caramel and chocolate sauce, this bright custard smooths its way into your mouth and bookends the meal.
success story
The food at Si Señor! is even more enjoyable when you know the amount of hard work and effort that brought it to fruition. De León arrived in Colorado a complete stranger in 2005 from Las Vegas. Penniless after a divorce, he rolled off the bus, rounded the corner and saw a line of homeless people waiting for meals at a shelter.
“At the time, I knew they were in a better position than me because at least they knew where their next meal was coming from,” he says.
His extensive restaurant experience (he began washing dishes at age 15) helped him land a job quickly, and within a few years, he was managing a Mexican restaurant in Lafayette. The owner offered to sell De León the operation, and soon he was the boss. Shortly after that he expanded to Erie, and in 2010 he opened his third location in north Boulder, close to the intersection of Broadway and U.S. Route 36.
Focusing on Mexican fare was a natural choice, but De León strove to differentiate his establishment by implementing standards he observed in Vegas, especially focusing on the details. The restaurant interiors are impeccably clean. Servers wear black socks to match their shoes and pants. Instead of asking, “What can I get you?” they offer customers choices, as in “May I offer you a Margarita?”
The difference, says De León, is that the customer immediately feels she is being catered to, which contributes to the enjoyable restaurant ambience. Water glasses never drop to empty, and drink refills are offered before they are requested. “No one who works here is more important than anyone else,” he says. “We are a team and we need every one of us. The really important person is our client.”
Rachel Odell Walker is a freelance writer and editor living in Boulder.
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