No small potatoes at Spuds

The incredible breakfast chicken burrito at Spuds (Credit: Frank Espich)

Indy's Mexican meals

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The solitary cook at Spuds Family Restaurant on a Saturday morning is wondering where his lone server went. "I hope she didn't quit," he says jokingly, scanning the clean, welcoming interior of his new restaurant. "Nah, she probably just went out to the store."

 So Edmundo Estrada steps in to take our drink orders. "I have never been a server in my life," he says -- but if he were truly anxious, you'd never know: A disarming grin never left his face.

 Lately, Estrada has become a master of improvisation. He says he and his brother, Jesus, weren't really planning to open a restaurant, but then the space on English Avenue -- next door to a jewelry store and across from Christian Park -- became available for a good price. When he first heard the word "spud," he didn't know it was slang for potato, but the name stuck. Then one day, a guy stopped by and said he'd paint the name of the restaurant on the large street-facing windows for $25. Estrada quickly improvised the logo -- two parental potatoes and three kid spuds.

 "It looks like it was all planned, but nothing was," Estrada says with a laugh.

 Using family recipes and their own experience working in professional kitchens in the city, the Estradas quickly fashioned breakfast, brunch and lunch menus, featuring specialties such as French toast dipped in custard batter, "panhandled" skillets, breakfast burritos, homemade soups -- and, of course, spuds. One of the most popular items on the menu is the Spud Deluxe ($6.99), loaded with ham, sausage, bacon, mushroom, onion, bell pepper, cheddar-jack cheese, and served with butter and sour cream.

 My husband ordered the breakfast chicken burrito ($7.25). The tender meat was mixed with red beans, rice, red peppers and scrambled eggs in a soft flour tortilla, and covered with mild chipotle sauce and queso. Far from a chain-restaurant creation, it was "the best breakfast burrito I've ever had," he said -- and this from a guy who regularly eats lunch at small, local Mexican restaurants. The chicken had been marinated in the Estradas' special blend of spices; the burrito was served with perfectly seasoned breakfast potatoes.

 I ordered granola pancakes ($5.75), a stack of three topped with butter and served with maple syrup. They were crunchy, fluffy and springy all at once.

 As for the missing server, Amanda Marsh? She appeared shortly after Estrada took our orders, and took excellent care of us the rest of the time. It was then we found out why Estrada was potentially worried -- not only is Marsh a server, but the restaurant's manager as well. "They call me Pepper from 'Iron Man,' " she says, referring to Tony Stark's indispensable personal secretary. "I keep the whole operation running."

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