Helados Vazquez
2871 Fairfield Ave., Bridgeport. (203) 333-9393.

Helados Vazquez has restored my faith that it is possible to get good chiles relleno in a restaurant. This attractive café and gelateria, where everything is made from scratch, is the only place I’ll order the dish.

The first time I went to Helados Vazquez, I didn’t order the chiles relleno. I’d given up. I’d been disappointed too many times by unfortunate preparations of one of the most delicious dishes in Mexican cuisine. The only good chiles relleno were the ones I made myself, and given the amount of effort involved, I make them rarely.

You’ve got to roast the peppers, peel them, remove the seeds, stuff the peppers. Whip egg whites until stiff, add egg yolk, dip the peppers in the batter, fry them. Then cover them in sauce — you also have to make the sauce.  There are a lot of steps. It’s no wonder that so many restaurants falter by creating overly eggy batters (or eschewing the batter altogether) or by using canned sauces or poblanos.

My mistake in not ordering the chiles relleno at Helados Vazquez was apparent from the moment the waitress served my friends plump stuffed poblanos topped with bright green sauce and a zig-zag of crema (Mexican sour cream). For the next 10 minutes I listened to my friends moan. “This is the best chiles relleno I’ve had since 1952,” Lenny said. I tried a bite. This was it. I’d be back. (The chiles relleno are a special. Call ahead.)

At Helados Vazquez, the meaty poblano pepper was encased in a light batter and the sauce is fresh, tasting of tomatillos and cilantro. Cut into the pepper and mild white cheese oozes out. The combination of tender, slightly spicy pepper, fried batter, sauce and cheese is the sublime chile relleno experience that I’d been craving. And I didn’t have to make it myself! At $9.25, it’s a delicious deal.

Helados Vazquez offers just eight items on its blackboard menu. That allows the cooks to concentrate on doing what they do really well. Good homemade Mexican food is time-consuming, especially when everything, including the beans and tortillas, is made from scratch. Over the course of three visits, everything I ate was prepared with care.

Our waitress’s enthusiasm for the grilled corn on the cob ($2.50) (“It’s so good,”) was borne out. The sweet charred kernels were swathed with crema, sprinkled with Parmesan cheese, dusted with chile pepper and squirted with lime.

The guacamole ($3.50) arrived studded with corn chips. The rich, creamy mashed avocado was perked up with chopped jalapeño, onion, tomato and cilantro.

Chicken mole was the special another day. Two tender legs were draped in rich brown sauce, with well-balanced flavors of raisins, chiles and nuts smoothed by a little chocolate. We savored every drop.  Rice — sautéed with onions and garlic and simmered until fluffy — was given a colorful confetti of corn kernels and diced carrots.

Enchiladas are offered with either cheese or chicken, and a choice of three sauces: green, red or mole. We chose cheese with green sauce and loved it. Beef huaraches — tender, lime-infused steak, grilled onions and strips of poblanos, on fresh tortillas dressed with salsa verde — were delicious and filling.

Our waitress brought us a plate of jalapeño bread with a bowl of spicy orange pepper sauce suspended in olive oil. The bread was light, eggy, sweet and spicy.

The staff cares about the food and the happiness of the customers. The café is spotlessly clean. Owners David and Sonia Stevens obviously put some money into the place. The floors are covered in a pattern of terra cotta and decorative blue and red flowered Mexican tiles. Dark wood paneling reaches half way up the walls. Creamy wallpaper with subtle flowering vines covers the rest. The café tables seat 32 inside, with more tables outside beneath an awning. Latin music is kept low, which adds to the soothing atmosphere.

It’s still BYOB; the waitress instructs customers to go around the corner to buy beer or wine. The Stevenses are working on getting a liquor license — and on accepting credit and debit cards. For now, it’s cash only.

For dessert, gelato and sorbet are made on the premises. After the rich Mexican food, sorbet seems right. Each tastes intensely of fresh fruit. We tried the canteloupe, mango and peach — so creamy it’s hard to believe that they were made without cream. But they weren’t, and the sugar isn’t overdone, either.

Helados Vazquez is a find, my new favorite place. Welcoming, inexpensive, delicious.

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