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FIRST IMPRESSIONS: First impressions of a first meal at a new local restaurant or chain.
RESTAURANT: Cazon Southwest Deli, 222 Capitol St., downtown Charleston, W.Va. Opened this August.
DETAILS: Hours: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday to Friday. Closed Saturday and Sunday.Call 352-6490. Website: www.cazonwv.com.
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FIRST THINGS FIRST: Out of the box, I’m having trouble recalling the name. I keep thinking ‘Calzone,’ which is the wrong ethnic association. What’s a ‘cazon’ anyway? Altavista’s Babelfish (Spanish-to-English translation) reveals it’s a ‘dogfish.’ A dogfish!? Plus, it’s confusing when you first walk in. Oh, I see, you’re supposed to come to the counter, nab a menu and order. But I’m not ready to order yet with all these well-meaning waitstaff eyeing me expectantly. Who’s that guy slouched against the wall, studying a menu? I’ll take his lead.

LAYOUT: Cool, tall windows fronted by a window table and stools provide superior people-watching lines of sight onto Capitol Street. The long, narrow room is a tad disorienting. On the left-hand side is the front counter, prep area and kitchen. On the right, are a thin string of tables, stools and booth seating. There are also tables way deep in the room, which you don’t know are there until a pee break. (Those ones will be good places for the money drop with corrupt state officials.)

DECORATIONS: The front room’s brick wall is adorned with a massive painting of an elephant with the yellow text: White Elephant Saloon. It’s pure cognitive dissonance and instantly one of downtown’s funkier pieces of found art.

BATHROOMS: Very nice, clean and aromatic and with a live aloe plant in the men’s room. I know where to come when I burn my fingers slaving over a hot computer terminal.

THE WAITSTAFF: Overly solicitous and chatty. Which is better than inattentive and self-absorbed.

MY MEAL: A Santa Fe Burrito Tomato Tortilla (above): a glorified gourmet wrap with red pepper jack and cheddar cheese, jalapenos, tomato, lettuce, Southwest rice, with sour cream and guacamole in those plastic tubs that will be the only remnants of our society found by 35th century archaeologists. Cost: $5.99.

SUMMARY JUDGMENT: Pretty good. Wraps with complicated ingredients are easy to screw up into messy, bulging masses of no-one-flavor-at-all. This one had crunch, taste and heat behind it.

NOTABLES: Sweet tea on the menu. Not classic, but good. And the menu features big green ‘V’s beside the vegetarian options. A useful touch more restaurants should adopt.

WILL YOU BE BACK?: I will. There are more ‘V’s I wish to explore. The Cap Street parade out the window is pleasant to view. The elephant has a friendly face.

~ Douglas Imbrogno

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