Chez Mauricette:
food the way it's supposed to be

By Tom Moore

In a time when an awareness and appreciation of good food and good cooking seems more widespread than ever, Laredo has its own culinary treasure downtown in Chez Mauricette, a little restaurant in El Mercado Square that specializes in authentic French food.
"For me it's family food," said owner Mauricette Barrera. "It's not restaurant food. It's old-fashioned. Today people look for presentation, for the color, but I like to cook in an old-fashioned style. I do my food the way it's supposed to be, not to make money. Not for presentation but for taste. This is the way I have cooked from the beginning."
Originally from Geneva, Switzerland, Barrera moved to Laredo 36 years ago. "Now I am more from Laredo than I am from own country," she said. She first opened Chez Mauricette in the late 1970s at San Agustin and Park.
"I opened a restaurant because when I ate out I got tired of eating the same foods -- carne asada, no vegetables. That was all you could find then," said Barrera.
Six years later Barrera moved Chez Mauricette to a second location on Zaragoza St., where she stayed for three years. She reopened the restaurant at its present downtown spot in 1987.
The same style of food has been served at Chez Mauricette since the beginning, although the first location was open in the evenings to serve dinner and featured a larger menu.
"When I opened the restaurant I knew nothing about running a restaurant," said Barrera. "I just cooked the food that I liked. At the first restaurant I used to serve a lot of shrimp, a lot of steak. But more people are eating foods like fish and chicken. People like different things now."
Only fresh ingredients are used in Barrera's cooking. She prepares foods as they are ordered, making sauces in advance. "I prepare my food in small quantities. I like fresh food. If you cook in large quantities it doesn't taste as good, it doesn't have the same flavor."
Barrera learned to cook from her family. "My mother and father were good cooks," she said. "I learned from them, I didn't go to school. You don't learn this in a cooking school. You learn by practicing."
Some of Barrera's specialties are not listed on the menu, but customers are aware of them nonetheless. "I prepare some foods, like lasagna and spaghetti, that are not on the menu. But people know they're here and they ask for them. I know how to cook Italian. I have very good spaghetti and very good lasagna."
Customers have also developed favorites through the years. "People like the beef bourguignon," said Barrera. "A lot of people like the coq au vin. When customers here like something, they'll always orders the same thing. They might order something different some time, but when they come back they'll order what they like."
Barrera acknowledged other changes over time, most attributed to Laredo's growth. "When I started the first restaurant, I made my own French bread," she said. "Before, you never found French bread in Laredo, but now you can buy it at the grocery store. And I buy it, I don't make it anymore. I don't have the time. I don't have the patience."
Business has slowed as well, from the period in the mid-90s when truck trailer traffic was heavily congested on I-35. People prefered to avoid the traffic and not come downtown. Now traffic is no longer a problem, but the number of customers has not returned to its previous level.
"It's funny, sometimes it's empty, and sometimes there are too many people, and since the place is small, there is not enough room for everyone," said Barrera.
Chez Mauricette is open from 11:30 to 4:30 everyday except Sunday, and seats from 25 to 30 people. Dinner reservations are available, and should be made a day in advance. Chez Mauricette is also available for catering. Calls should be made a week in advance at 726-9453.
Menu items at Chez Mauricette include appetizers such as quiche, toasted cheese with mushrooms and wine, and shrimp scallops in cream and sherry brandy sauce; soups; lamb chops and lamb stew; the aforementioned beef bourguignon (a beef stew prepared with red wine and mushrooms), beef medallions in bernaise sauce, and beef tenderloin flamed with cognac or with mushroom sauce; steaks; French-style curry chicken and duck in orange sauce. Desserts include chocolate mousse and crepes Suezette.
Despite the slight downturn, Barrera still enjoys running her restaurant. "I've had customers who have been around for as long as I've been in business," she said. "What keeps me in the restaurant business is that I have nice customers. To please them makes me happy. When they are happy, I am happy. I enjoy making different foods that they appreciate."