Plenty of food and plenty familiar

Last year Andre Guerrero made a big impression on the Valley with the Cal-Asian restaurant Max. Now he’s launched a second restaurant half a mile down Ventura Boulevard (is that smart, or what?), which makes it easy for him to keep a hand in at both.

With its red curtains, sidewalk patio and B-movie bordello look, Senor Fred sets the scene for a margarita with friends -- lots of friends. Word isn’t out yet, though, and on a weeknight, the week-old place was sparsely populated.

Unfortunately, the margaritas weren’t destination margaritas -- worth driving out of your way to find. They were good and strong, but the Cadillac Margarita, made with Patron anejo, tasted as if it had been doused with an artificial-tasting sour mix, despite the menu’s listing of fresh lime as an ingredient. Fortunately, our waiter was kind enough to bring us a plate of lime wedges. A few squirts and those margaritas began to improve noticeably.

Once sequestered in a high-backed brocade booth, with a lamp in a black-fringed shade the size of a trashcan beaming down from overhead, we contemplated the dauntingly large menu as we sipped our doctored margaritas.

The best appetizer we tried was a quesadilla filled with molten asadero cheese and huitlacoche (corn fungus). The guacamole was fresh and light, just what you’d expect, but the chips weren’t freshly made.

Puffy calamares fritos were a little greasy but acceptable once you dipped them in a chipotle-spiked mayonnaise. Miniature chicken tamales in pumpkin-seed sauce and pork ones in chile verde were other good choices.

The mesquite-smoked baby back ribs need a good dark beer to play against their almost jam-like sweet chipotle-tamarind sauce.

While enchiladas de papas suizas, a vegetarian version of the familiar chicken enchilada made with potatoes, were perfectly acceptable, a sea bass overloaded with ingredients suggested that the kitchen should go easy on the creativity. At least at the beginning.

If the idea is to present authentic regional Mexican cuisine, this first menu seems limited to all-too-familiar dishes (except for that sea bass). Yes, there’s a Oaxacan mole, and cochinita pibil: pork slowly roasted with chiles in a banana leaf.

But that’s about as bold as it gets. I think Guerrero and his Guadalajara-born chef, Raphael Solorzano, are underestimating Angelenos’ interest in Mexican cuisine.

Guerrero has good instincts, though, and I’m confident he’ll continue to hone Senor Fred’s menu once he gets some breathing room. Next week, Senor Fred opens for lunch -- every day. That’s when an appetizer and a salad, either the traditional Cesar or a spicy grilled chicken one, sound like crowd pleasers. Especially if the summery weather holds.

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Senor Fred

Where: 13730 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks

When: Lunch 11:30 a.m.-5 p.m. daily; dinner 5:30-11 p.m. Sunday-Thursday, 5:30 p.m.-1 a.m. Friday and Saturday. Full bar; valet parking.

Cost: Appetizers $4.50-$14.50, main courses $8.50-$18.50, desserts $5-$5.50

Info: (818) 789-3200