My Dinner With Sandy

Tia Maria’s Brings a Little South of the Border to the East Side

Serving Genevans for more than 25 years, Tia Maria’s was the first to serve those “ugly beans.”

Tia Maria’s has been serving up authentic Mexican food since 1983 and offers up a somewhat different Mexican menu. Located in a strip mall on the East Side of Geneva, this place really gives you the feeling of a colorful little café south of the border. Owner Lissette Rubio said her brother Ricardo first started the business and introduced some family recipes and dishes common to her hometown of Mexico City. That included black beans. “We were one of the first ones to put black beans on the menu,” she said. “People would say, ‘what is this?’ They look ugly, but they’re very good—give them a try.” Try we did. The black bean soup is full-bodied and served with Chihuahua cheese, chopped onions and sour cream. Our group sampled the Potato and …

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Ale House Rocks

I had a terrific lunch with my dining partner at Ale House in Geneva. Great service, terrific food—and beers to match any item on the menu.

It was one of those snowy days almost two weeks ago, and my boss suggested we get outside and shoot pictures of people doing things in the snow—making snowmen, sledding, trudging, maybe shoveling or making a snow angel. Only thing is, Paula had a doctor's appointment, which got pushed back, and with the weather what it was, she decided it wouldn't be worthwhile to go all the way in to the city for work. So we went to lunch. And that, as they say, was the inspiration for this column. And as much fun as it would have been shooting photos of folks frolicking at Fabyan's, it was that much more fun having a terrific lunch with my wife. We pointed the car in one direction, but the first restaurant wasn't open, so we tried the Ale House. We're …

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