By JOE SEELIG
Highlands Today
"SEBRING - It was opening day Wednesday at Don Jose Mexican Restaurant and large, delicious portions were selling like hot tamales.
Sebring's newest eatery is located at 1711 Lakeview Drive, at the site of the former Cafe DeLago. Open for lunch and dinner, the restaurant features a wide variety of traditional, fresh Mexican cuisine.
By 3 p.m., owner Samuel Arceo was thrilled with the first day's receipts and that his customers were loading up.
"We had a lot of lunches for the first day," Arceo said. "And they liked it so much, they ate everything."
Coming from a large family, 10 brothers and two sisters, Samuel Arceo is the company president and three of his brothers, Rosendo, Luis and Jose, are partners. For the last five years the family has owned and operated a second Don Jose Mexican Restaurant at East Hanover, N.J.
"It's a dream to make this into something very nice, nice and dean," Samuel Arceo said. "We like it here. We have a lot of family here."
The restaurant will feature live Mariachi entertainment.
"We're going to have three guys, the Mariachi like you find when you go to Acapulco," Arceo said. "They will go to every table with their guitars and play."
The restaurant has a beautiful natural wood bar, serving mixed drinks, DosEquis, Bud Lite and Miller Lite on draft, bottled -beers and a wine list. While the grand opening has not been scheduled, Arceo said it won't be too far off.
"We will have a big party when we do our grand opening," he said.
Arceo emphasized that everything they serve is fresh. When asked about his red snapper, his first reaction was one word. "WOW!"
"Fresh, we don't use anything frozen," he said. "Our meat is all fresh, our chicken, fresh, our beef, fresh, our fish, all fresh."
Daily specials are featured and a sevenitem child's menu, including burgers, is also available.
Arceo recommends his steak tampiquena naca, a grilled shell steak combined with two enchiladas, one with mole and one with green sauce. Mole is a sweet paste. It's served with rice and beans.
Overlooking Lake Jackson, the restaurant is open from 11 a.m. to midnight, seven days a week, for eat in or take out. All major credit cards are accepted. For more information, call 385-9326."
JOE SEELIG/Highlands Today
