Worthy detour to the Yucatan

The Redlands-adjacent community of Mentone has neither a mayor nor a city council, but it’s the fortunate home of Casa Maya, one of the few Yucatecan restaurants in Southern California. With its mostly organic ingredients, house-made corn tortillas, marinades and sauces, and deft updates of family recipes, this modest cafe turns out the kind of distinctive fare that used to be called “worth a trip” and today earns it a place in anyone’s GPS points-of- interest file.

Out-of-towners (that’s most of us -- Mentone’s population is less than 8,000) will find it a blissfully satisfying stop for, say, a baked lamb taco or a panucho (bean-stuffed corn tortilla topped with roasted turkey and marinated onions) at lunch, a cochinita pibil (marinated roasted pork) plate for dinner or even some menudo or machaca con huevos at breakfast.

Inland Empire commuters, take note -- it’s an easy detour from the 10 or the 30 freeways; folks residing farther to the west can look for it on the way to or from Big Bear or Oak Glen via Calfornia 38.

At lunch on weekdays, locals, including college professors, citrus ranch hands and a coterie of office gals blessed with some juicy gossip (“She’s 68 and he’s 40-something!”) stop by in groups of six or more for one of the seldom-seen Yucatecan delicacies featured here. Depending on the day of the week, your choice might be that panucho, a wonderfully hearty, rustic dish with a pleasingly chewy, puffed-tortilla base (made by griddling a fresh round of masa on one side, then frying it), suave roasted turkey and a crunchy bite of pickled onions on top. Or try one of the several kinds of generously sized tacos -- lamb, cochinita pibil, carne asada, soft bean, Mayan fish. The delicious lamb taco is a layered flavor experience: a fresh, soft, house-made tortilla wrapped around very tender morsels of lamb that’s been marinated (in a mixture of citrus juices and soaked, pureed black, pasilla and New Mexico chiles), then roasted in banana leaves.

Sopa de lima (lime soup) is a revelation, simple but punchy -- shredded turkey, rice, chopped red onion and cilantro and shredded fried tortillas in a clear, tangy lime-infused stock. A Yucatecan-style empanada, available filled with beef, turkey or potato, is like a cross between a northern Mexican tamaland an enchilada. Turnover-shaped, it has a corn and flour crust with a unique texture that’s firm but grainy. The potato filling is beautifully savory -- sliced, sauteed potatoes and caramelized onions in almost equal proportion -- and it’s served with a robust tomato sauce.

The nopales salad is big enough to share or order as a lunch main course. Long, thin strips of green-bean-colored, lime-marinated cactus and diced tomato and onion come in a crisp corn tortilla on a slaw of cabbage and cilantro. It’s a refreshing counterpoint to the smooth, contemporary bean soup, a black-bean puree with complexity of flavor thanks to judicious spicing with jalapeno or serrano chiles. Get it with an order of sweet-potato fries; they’re soft inside with lovely sweet-potato flavor and crisp crusts.

The extensive menu offers a long list of larger plates, again, including some well-prepared Yucatecan specialties. Cochinita pibil, pork marinated in achiote (annatto); and a mixture of lemon, lime and orange juices (which stands in for the traditional juice of the Mexican sour orange, not available here) and garlic, onion, habanero peppers and spices is great here, rich and moist.

Other specialties include chicken poc chuc (marinated, grilled chicken) and turkey salbutes, a glorious open-faced sandwich of puffed, corn tortilla, shredded turkey and pickled red onion.

Yucatan-born Ruben Ochoa, who owns Casa Maya with his wife, Lisa-Marie Ochoa, had worked in restaurant management at resorts in Canada and Mexico before coming home to San Bernardino County. Working with his late mother, he developed the recipes for the wonderful Yucatecan dishes that, he says, were a hard sell at first.

Casa Maya is a relaxed, comfortable place -- an easy gathering spot. Sports fans are welcome to linger in the bar area over beers, but families feel at home too: There’s a kids’ menu, and the bar area is separated out so parents can relax with the family in a comfortable booth with bright, tropical-patterned upholstery. There are photos of local military service members as well as Mayan archaeological sites, a wrought-iron chandelier and some beer and tequila promotional decor. Just down the mountain after a camping trip? On your way to study group? Gathering for a birthday dinner? Come on by, the salsa’s hot.

susan.latempa@latimes.com

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Casa Maya

Location: 1839 Mentone Blvd., Mentone, (909) 794-7458.

Price: Breakfast, $3.25 to $10; lunch special, $5.75; soups, $2.25 to $13; salads and tostadas, $4.50 to $16; entree plates, $10 to $13; seafood specialties, $15 to $17.

Best dishes: Sopa de lima, cochinita pibil, turkey panucho, potato empanada, salbutes.

Details: Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, until 10 p.m. Friday; 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday, until 8 p.m. Sunday. Full bar. Lot parking. All major credit cards.