A neon angel and the name-Angel`s-lights up the front window of this little diner up on Clark Avenue, in the Andersonville section. It`s almost a generic diner, the kind you would find anywhere-a few booths, a few tables, laminated menus, dark carpeting, a pastry case-except that there`s a definite Mexican overtone to the place.
A large plant near the front door is decorated with electrified red-glowing chili peppers (somehow, two brief power failures during a recent visit didn`t affect the electric peppers). Interspersed with garlic shrimp and backribs on the menu are flautus, enchiladas and guacamole. It`s an interesting mix.
And a very inexpensive mix. A half slab of barbecued ribs was $5.95, which included soup-of-the-day and salad bar. A bowl of vegetarian spaghetti with garlic bread and soup was even less, at $3.95.
We started with crepes Florentine, ($3.50) an entree that we shared as an appetizer. So much cream sauce (billed as hollandaise, but definitely not lemony) covered the top of the spinach-filled pastry that we could have used a spatula to divide it. The taste was similar to the spinach soup-of-the-day, also creamy with little bits of chicken.
Angel`s special shrimp ($6.95) came with six large shrimp blended in a cream-wine sauce with hefty portions of sliced mushrooms and onions, and included the soup and salad bar. Enchiladas ($5.25) were the best bet, three nicely cooked soft tortillas wrapped around spicy ground chicken and covered with mole sauce. Refried beans and rice were on the side. Crispy flautas ($5) also passed muster.
Even the breakfast menu offered a mixture of Mexican and American. For example, huevos con chorizo (eggs with spicy Mexican sausage, $4.50) or a Denver omelet ($3.25). You choose which side of the border.
This is a menu that includes just about everything-what`s commonly known as a Greek menu-and then a few extras. You won`t find wonderful cuisine, but you`ll get a large choice, and you`ll have to really eat a lot to spend more than $10.
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Angel`s Restaurant, 5403 N. Clark St., 271-1138. Hours: 8 a.m.-10 p.m. Sun.-Thurs., to 11 p.m. Fri.-Sat.
