Leticia Hansen wants you to feel at home when you dine at her Canyon County restaurant. That’s why she has seen to every detail of the decorating at Don Cuco’s Mexican Hacienda.
Her passion is cooking and decorating and she excels at it like nobody’s business. That’s because it is her business.
Rising up from a 36-year family history of restaurateurs comes the expertise of Hansen who has hand-picked the wall of crosses, a hand-carved angel from Tlaquepaque, limestone columns and hand-painted tiles. It’s all the little touches of a well-thought out look at the restaurant that contribute to a memorable night out. That same consideration is taken with each plate of food served from her kitchen.
“Everything is fresh. Our cooks are at work at five in the morning. Nothing is nuked in our kitchen,” says Hansen, who appreciates her close-knit, dedicated staff.
A fire that destroyed Don Cuco’s seems to have brought her staff even closer than they were before the disaster. She was able to rebuild and re-opened seven months ago.
“Ninety percent of my staff came back,” says Hansen, “I turned the negative of losing everything into a positive seeing the loss as a chance to really create a new place with my style of decorating and using my parent’s tried and true recipes.”
Eighty percent of the recipes have been handed down for decades and really make your mouth water for them after you’ve experienced them just one time. The Taquitos Ranchero, three corn tortillas filled with chicken or beef and served with sour cream and guacamole is to die for, seriously. If it’s seafood you like, try the Seafood Fajitas, grilled mahi-mahi and shrimp, served with white rice, black beans and fried plantains.
The plantains take Hansen back to her childhood days when they were a regular staple at her home, being that her parents were from the Yucatan, where they are a part of regular diet.
Today Hansen strives to always look for new, interesting dishes for her regular customers, of which she has many.
“I eat and shop for a living. When my husband and I travel, we love to eat out and I can usually taste what they have in a dish, but, sometimes I have to ask,” says Hansen.
It’s on one of her trips to Mexico that she bought some incredible hand-blown Margarita glasses for her restaurant. If it’s not the contents you drool over, the glasses you will. Plan to order more than one Margarita. They’re irresistible, just like the style of Don Cuco’s, the friendly staff and remarkable food.
For further information, call 661-252-8074, 27247 Camp Plenty Road, Canyon Country, 91351 or Hansen’s second Don Cuco’s Mexican Restaurant location at 1106 West Avenue K, Lancaster, 93534, 661- 945-1048. Inquire about their private banquets, catering and take-out.