Sometimes it just happens; you find magic when you aren’t looking for it. And isn’t it fun when it’s food?
“Our beans are vegetarian, but you would never know,” says Janet of Gaytan’s Family Market & Taquería as she takes a short break from taxes. She acts like the owner of this family-run market and restaurant, but she is actually the owner’s daughter, and it’s her father’s taxes she is helping with. She looks on when I take my first bite of the beans. My eyes raise in a smile while I Mmmmm in delight.
Rich, creamy, smooth in texture… Suddenly, I can’t stop eating them. “I told you you would never know they are vegetarian,” Janet smiles. My second and third bites confirm her words. I ask how they do it, and she smiles even more broadly, letting me know it’s a family secret, and I acknowledge in agreement before moving on to a veggie taco with everything wonderful on it. Each taco is filled with flavorful beans, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, cilantro, and your perfect pico de gallo. I am delighted to find such a satisfying vegetarian find. But Gaytan’s Family Market & Taquería has more than just vegetarian options: My food journey is just getting started.
Next on my plate is their tamale, and my expectations equal my anticipation when I take my first bite. It’s moist all the way through, plenty of spice, and a generous portion of rich-flavored meat inside.
“Everything we make is from scratch and our own family recipes,” Janet continues. “I think restaurants’ biggest mistake is not cooking what you cook at home for your customers. When you eat here, you’re like family.” And I can’t help but agree. In the kitchen, happy music is playing, which, in my home, is the first ingredient to cooking good food. The walls are filled with family photos, each one telling its own story, some of which Janet shares with me. The space is small, with only a few tables spread across the gray-tiled floor. Snacks, soda, and ice cream freezers make it an essential market. But the food, hospitality, and outdoor seating make it a destination if you have the time. And in my mind, it’s also a future stop for me when I want to bring home something truly special for my family.
I have just one more dish to taste. I’ve saved just enough room for a bite or two of the chili verde. The potatoes surprise me with their tangy, sweet flavor alongside the tender pork. Every bite is juicy, fresh, bright, and full of flavor, with a lingering depth. I am stuffed and succumb to packing up the leftovers into to-go boxes to share with my family.
It’s been a lovely surprise not only to find such scrumptious food, but to be filled with so much warmth that can only come from the heart. I know the warmth I experienced is the kind that comes from visiting someone’s home. I was not only blessed with homemade goodness but also with the spirit of the home and the hearts of those who dwell there. It is the perfect kind of love expressed in hospitality that doesn’t require china, expensive cutlery, and the show of oversized furniture and perfect lighting that gloats on the experience but leaves you feeling hollow inside. No, Gaytan’s Family Market ‘s& Taquería’s greatest service is their heart.
The clouds and sun seem to take turns revealing their glory on this early spring day as I make my way to my car. The lake and Mount Konocti look on unchanged like constant companions, and it all seems to fit together. The familiar, mixed with a dash of the new, runs deep in my soul, making the ordinary not so ordinary after all.
Gaytan’s Family Market & Taquería
Address: 14110 Austin Rd, Clearlake, CA 95422
