Sometimes ya gotta have Mexican food. That’s all there is to it. Maybe you’ve been visiting the far North, or maybe you’ve been trying to knock a few pounds off, or maybe you’ve been paying attention to your cardiologist, but there still comes a time when the spicy siren song of Mexican food cannot be denied.

That song is sung clear and strong at ZuZu. Here at this casual eatery on Mo-Pac near 2222, owner Russell Arnold has carefully crafted his menu to include tasty food, fresh ingredients and healthy alternatives.

Yes, you remember correctly, ZuZu did start out as a franchise… but when the parent organization went another direction, Russell stuck to his homemade-in-this-restaurant guns. Now there is no more franchise, but Russell’s store is still cooking. He graciously gives credit to cook/chef/manager Maria Hernandez and her sisters for developing recipes and keeping the kitchen running smoothly. Her brothers work in the evenings. Everything is made in-store except the flour tortillas which are brought in daily, and the quality tells the whole delicious story.

Let’s start at the salsa bar. Salsas red and green? Yes. Pico? Sure. Onions and tomatoes? Of course. But my favorite addition is a big bowl of freshly picked cilantro. How often do you get to pile on as much cilantro as you want? Heaven.

This day I went in for breakfast and have just two words for you: Picadita Platter. Picture a platter filled with three gorditas (a yummy corn meal mixture, shaped by hand into little “pie crusts” and grilled) filled with black beans, scrambled eggs and cheese, and topped with lettuce and tomato. They are just scrumptious: the crunch of the gorditas, the creamy beans, the crisp veggies. I even tried eating one with my fingers to be sure that I could eat them in the car if ever desperate; it worked well.

Let me mention here that the beans and rice are made with vegetable stock and are not refried, a savings in calories with no loss of flavor. Another wonderful surprise is that the soft drink dispenser offers caffeine-free Diet Coke. Russell and Maria really have the needs of their patrons in mind. Each dish can be crafted to the specific desires of the diners, and, if standing in line to place an order is daunting, they are happy to come to your table.

I was so pleased with the quality of food, I decided to try a couple of other entrees. The Mahi Mahi Salad certainly did not disappoint. The bite-sized portions of fish were citrus-marinated and then nicely grilled, but the best surprise was the rosemary vinaigrette in which the greens were tossed. Don’t be afraid of the rosemary overpowering the salad; Maria knows her way around flavors, and these made a great team. I now know that people drive from all over Austin to buy the salad dressing. It has quite a following and is well worth a trip up Mo-Pac to this brightly lit, colorful café.

ZuZu’s Chicken Enchiladas proved another noteworthy success. What set these apart was the spicy, grilled chicken filling. They use an olive oil and achiote marinade, then grill and shred the chicken into moist, bite-sized pieces. No bland, boiled hunks of chicken here; just flavor all the way through the enchilada.

Just because it’s located on Mo-Pac, don’t mistake this gem of a restaurant for fast/junk food. Yes, ZuZu can have you in and out quickly, but that’s because of a well-run kitchen. Visit them online at zuzuaustin.com to explore the extensive menu, and then heed the siren’s call and sail in for healthy, fresh fare that fills your every Mexican food need.