Editorial Review:

Jose Perez fled his native El Salvador in 1980 to get away from the civil war in his homeland. He planned on staying away for only a year, but each time he thought of returning, his parents urged him to remain in this country for his own safety.

He started out as a busboy for a Capitol Hill restaurant, gradually working his way up in the business, eventually snagging a server's position at the popular Lauriol Plaza restaurant in Adams Morgan. After more than a decade in the United States, Perez opened a small Mexican restaurant -- El Mariachi in Rockville's Ritchie Plaza in 1991. Over the years, it has grown in popularity and is the dominant restaurant in a small shopping center that offers a variety of ethnic food.

Six weeks ago, Perez and two partners, Jose Hernandez and Rigoberto Gutierrez, opened Mariachi Restaurant in the new Lansdowne Town Center in Leesburg, the most formal of what has now expanded to a group of five restaurants -- including two in Frederick County and one in Rehoboth Beach. Along the way, Perez has spun off one of his restaurant properties to his sister -- El Golfo in Silver Spring -- and one is in the works in Frederick County.

Perez was persuaded to move into Loudoun County by a longtime customer of the Rockville restaurant, a developer who relocated here.

Mariachi Restaurant at Lansdowne has none of the characteristics of the big-box Tex-Mex chains. Instead of hard surfaces and cacophonous noise, Mariachi is quietly elegant with carpeted floors, white cloths on the tables and buff-colored walls on which hang native paintings. A crescent-shaped vestibule offers a buffer between the main dining room and the busy street outside. Two smaller dining areas extend from the main dining space, providing intimate settings for a meeting or a private dinner.

Despite the dining room refinements, Mariachi isn't staid or stuffy. The restaurant does not allow smoking.

Although the menu draws on El Mariachi's Mexican favorites, it embraces a broader range of Latin American dishes under the direction of Jesus Reyes, another El Salvador native who is a veteran of Lauriol Plaza's kitchen.

Meals begin with a basket of crisp white corn tortilla chips and homemade salsa. A good accompaniment is a bright but not too sweet margarita.

My favorite dish on the menu is ceviche de pescado, white fish marinated in lime juice with red onions, peppers and cilantro. Ceviche has become a popular dish at many restaurants, and Mariachi's version is a straightforward presentation that never fails to please. The fish is never mushy, and it's just tart enough without being astringent.

Other appetizers include quesadillas (grilled flour tortillas stuffed with chilies and cheese), sopa de lima (a chicken broth-based soup with shredded chicken and lime), cream of crab soup, seafood soup (brimming with scallops, shrimp and mussels) and fried green plantains.

There are several entree salads and a selection of vegetarian dishes.Main courses include a variety of Mexican and Tex-Mex favorites, including fajitas, tacos al carbon (flavorful, diced grilled flank steak wrapped in soft flour tortillas) and chiles rellenos (poblanos stuffed with stewed beef or Mexican cheese, dipped in egg batter and fried). None of Mariachi's dishes use ground meat. All of the meats are braised or grilled and then cut into bite-size pieces, the Mexican way.

There also is a variety of main courses from across Latin America. A Cuban favorite, masitas de puerco, is chunks of pork loin, which are first marinated in a criolla sauce that includes onions, the juice of Seville oranges and olive oil, and then simmered until all the liquid evaporates, allowing the pork to take on a slight crust. The pork is tender and juicy, not overpowered by the bitterness of the oranges.

The trout that serves as the base for pescado Acapulco is fresh-tasting and cooked just until it flakes, then topped with shrimp and scallops. Other South American favorites include lomo saltado, sauteed strips of sirloin with onions and peppers, and lengua al vino, sliced beef tongue in a sherry sauce.

Desserts include the very sweet tres leches cake; a smooth, rich flan; a version of Key lime pie served in a margarita glass; and my favorite, fried ripe plantains served with sour cream. Whereas plantains have an assertive flavor when green, when they are ripe, the flavor mellows so that it is similar to sweet bananas. When fried, the sugars in the plantains caramelize and are a perfect foil for the cream.

--Nancy Lewis (June 28, 2007)