PEPE'S VEGGIE MIX BISTRO

"Enjoyed meeting Peppe,owner and creator of the foods served. Found out he obtained foods from the local farmers market, which happened to be going on same day of our visit. Enjoyed sweet potato quesadillas and home made lemonade. We plan to return with friends."

"I found Pepe's in the yellow pages under "Veggie Mex." They answer the phone Pepe's and that's what it says on the door, and the newspaper reviews say "Veggie Mix" instead of Mex. Whatever. It is a small vegetarian Mexican restaurant, with an emphasis on local produce and thus a changing menu.

The place is in Lincoln's Havelock neighborhood, upstairs. (The sign on the door reads "Pepe's"; it's easy to miss. It's upstairs from an art gallery.) The ambience is pretty coffee house; you order at the counter and then find a seat. There were two women working there the night we went, in a microscopic kitchen screened off from the rest of the restaurant. Menu had four items on it, plus dessert (fried ice cream) and various beverages. The cucumber lemonade is what they're known for; I found it a little odd, but not bad. Other than that you're basically looking at commercial beverages: soymilk, Jones soda, Diet Pepsi in cans; tea ...

The service was exceedingly variable; we were a group of five and two people's food came first, and then the rest of us waited about 15-20 minutes for ours. The people who got their food first were already done, which was a bit awkward. I'd recommend ordering the chips and guacamole so you have something to eat while you wait. Each table's salt and pepper tray was balanced on a couple of books; you might need them as you wait for your food.

The food was OK if not transcendent. The guacamole was pretty good (topped with chopped apple - hmm!) and the salsa is made there (slight hint of smokiness from chipotle and some kick). I got the Cuban sandwich (seemed to be tempeh - like a reuben without the mustard on toasted flatbread). I got a taste of the spinach enchiladas, which were also OK - not particularly spicy, but competently made. Other possibilities that night included sweet potato quesadillas. For the nonadventuresome kid, one of which we had with us, plain quesadillas are available.

I'd come back if I was in the neighborhood; the place got a nod in the local paper as one of the best five restaurants the paper had discovered that year in the Lincoln/Omaha area."