Holy mole! A Japanese-Mexican restaurant, cozy Cafe Con Chocolate

In the food world there's fusion that leads to confusion. But for Cafe Con Chocolate chef/owner Yoshiko Yamasaki, the blending of Mexican and Japanese is how she grew up. Her father is Japanese and her mother Mexican.

Yamasaki recalls, with a charming giggle, "I grew up in Mexico City and my mother cooked Mexican and my father Japanese, but we ate sushi rice with everything."

Though that might take a meal into confusion, I can report happily that at Cafe Con Chocolate long-grain rice came with the Mexican dishes and the sushi rice was reserved for the Japanese dishes.

There's really no fusion going on here, but rather a mixed menu.

Honestly, do you really think Mexico and Japan on the plate is a good idea? OK, I'll give David Ansill over at Ladder 15 cred on the Asian-Mexican fusion with his Korean Tacos. In general, though, this is a mash-up destined to elicit a "seemed like a good idea at the time."

The menu is much heavier on the Mexican selections because more people order Mexican dishes.

On my first visit, I tried the Flautas Platter ($9.50), which offers a choice of chorizo, pork, beef or chicken. I opted for the roast pork and, while I thought that the fried tacos were just ever-so-slightly tough, the pork was richly seasoned and moist. Yamasaki serves the traditional black beans as a side, but you can request refried beans. Platters also come with a nice bed of rice tossed with some corn.

The Mole Enchilada with Chorizo ($10.50) was a generous plate of tortillas filled with crispy, flavorful and gently spiced chorizo swathed in a rich, complex mole. A spike of crumbled, fresh Mexican cheese and refreshing crema balanced the mole.

I asked Yamasaki the secret to her mole, but she cheerfully side-stepped the reveal. She does use chocolate and sesame seeds in the mixture, and while most cooks lean either toward sweet or spicy, she tweaks the sauce to be both.

We really liked the Huevos Motulenos Especiales ($9.50), a traditional breakfast dish from Yucatan. It is very similar to Huevos Rancheros with eggs served over tortilla, but here there are also layers of refried beans, ham and cheese. In the especiales the sauce is loaded with a mix of sauteed poblanos, onions and garlic, along with tomatoes and cheese.

While the Empanada with Potatoes and Chipotle ($4) was not quite what I was expecting, we did enjoy the mix of sensations from the crunch of the fried, rosy taco to the creamy potatoes and the fiery spice of the chipotle.

On the Japanese side of the menu we tried the Onigiri ($1.75) special. This traditional Japanese lunch-box item is sushi rice molded into a triangle. Yamasaki hand-forms hers and stuffs it with a mix of eggplant, green bell pepper, miso and a touch of shiso.

This is a cafe, so there are some nice breakfast options, including bagels and a variety of coffee drinks. The signature drink is Cafe con Chocolate ($4.50), which is a big-bowl cup of coffee and Mexican hot chocolate with steamed milk foamed on top. It could easily be a dessert.

The Oatmeal Fruit Smoothie ($4) is a meal in a glass. Seriously, this is breakfast on the go and the mix of fruit, orange juice and oatmeal is very filling and a healthy way to start the day.

There are a variety of Mexican desserts. I opted for the guava pastry ($1.75). While the puff pastry was obviously of the frozen, mass-produced variety, the guava filling more than made up for that.

Next time I'll leave room for the Tres Leches cake ($3.75) and the Churros, fried dough with cinnamon sugar ($3.25).

Service can be a little slow, but I prefer to think of it as relaxed. This is not intended to be fast food, so there is a little wait while dishes and drinks are made to order, giving you plenty of time to chat with other patrons or the server.

From the intimate acoustic soundtrack to the brightly colored walls, Cafe con Chocolate is a very welcoming atmosphere. There is a commitment to creating community in the neighborhood, and they host a pinochle group. There are poetry readings as well, and live music some evenings, often featuring Yamasaki's daughter, who steps aside from her serving duties and plays the violin.

All in all, no confusion here, just a neighborhood cafe with good food for reasonable prices.