And two months ago, Tracy and Winston Gabriel, two Hawai'i-born residents, started Baja Tacos on Wai'alae Avenue, patterned after the little taco carts they used to eat from in Tijuana, Ensenada and Rosarita, Mexico, when they lived in San Diego.

They're among the handful of new restaurants basing their futures on regional Mexican cuisine that the owners hope will draw a following in the Islands.

The focus on homespun recipes and imported ingredients is welcomed by Hispanic residents of Hawai'i, who made up 7.2 percent of the state population in the 2000 U.S. Census.

And it means — potentially — more activity for the Hispanic-based businesses that cater to restaurants, such as Juan DeVilbiss-Mu–oz, a native of Tamaulipas, Mexico, whose mariachi band plays at Mexico Lindo.

"A lot of restaurants don't serve authentic food," DeVilbiss-Mu–oz said. "They can't get all of the products so they make substitutions like crazy. And they smother everything with cheese. We don't eat that much cheese in Mexico, certainly not like over here."

The Hawai'i Restaurant Association doesn't have a specific count of the number of Mexican restaurants in the Islands. Amaury Olguin, who sells tortillas, spices and other Hispanic goods through his Hawai'i's Latino Distribution company, estimates that O'ahu alone has 25 Mexican restaurants, some of which come and go with regularity.

Now, with new restaurants emphasizing regional dishes, more non-Hispanic customers will get to taste a wider variety of Mexican cuisine, Olguin said.

"People are getting to know more about real Mexican food because (restaurants) have to cater to Anglos and local people," Olguin said. "If they just counted on Mexicans, we'd be out of business. The population isn't big enough."

Mike Chun enjoys a steak taco while talking with Tracy and Winston Gabriel, owners of the new Baja Tacos restaurant in Kaimuki.

Father Alfredo had been working as a maintenance supervisor in a convalescent home. Mother Maria Luisa most recently was selling real estate. Brother Jorge was an assistant manager with Wells Fargo Bank. Brother Ray operated a forklift in a Firestone warehouse. The two youngest — Marlene and David — were still in school.

Fiesta's Mexican Grill features Maria Luisa's recipes from her Guanajuato upbringing. And Jorge — the Fiesta's front-end manager — encourages bewildered customers to try something new.

"We've had a lot of customers say, 'Is your taco salad like Taco Bell?' " Jorge said. "We tell them, 'If you go to Mexico you're not going to find anything like Taco Bell.' "

So Jorge and the family try to help Hawai'i customers navigate through their menu.

"Tripas, that's beef intestine tacos," Jorge said. "Menudo, the locals refer to it as tripe stew, is stomach lining with nerve endings and hominy grain. It's served in a red broth that's pretty spicy. I say, 'Just try it. I won't tell you what it is technically because it might give you a bad image. If you don't like it, we'll make you something else.' The locals are very receptive, especially those who like spicy food, Thais, Koreans, Filipinos."

Out of nearly 30 different entrees, the most popular dish is a combination plate of a green enchilada, a chile relleno, pork tamale and Spanish rice and whole pinto beans for $13.99, Jorge said.

The Perezes had the usual restaurant startup problems: dishes that came out incorrectly or too little or too much ordering of various ingredients.

"Working with your parents and brothers and sister is good and bad," Jorge said. "No matter how much love is shared, people are bound to be testy. But nobody's left yet and things are running smoothly now."

Down in Kaimuki at Baja Tacos — the sign outside says "Tacos Baja" — Tracy and Winston Gabriel keep their menu streamlined.

Winston, who used to be operations manager for I Love Country Cafe, learned to cook while working in Mexican restaurants along the California-Mexico border and fell in love with the little taquerias and taco carts in Mexico.

"There's no lettuce in a taco," Winston said, "just meat, cilantro, onions, guacamole and salsa."

Winston makes his salsas fresh every morning and uses only chicken breasts in his pollo dishes and rib eye in his carne asada.

He won over Mike Chun on Chun's first visit soon after Baja Tacos opened. And Chun has been a regular ever since.

"I've tried other Mexican restaurants on the Island, but I don't really care for them," Chun said last week, in between bites of the two carne asada tacos he ordered for $3.75. "This is the best Mexican food I've ever tasted."

Chun's family owns the Kim Chee chain of restaurants and Chun joked that he would help the Gabriels launch their own chain.

"But I don't know," Chun said, "I didn't even go to work today because I came here to eat."

John Langan, Hawai'i general manager for the Compadres Bar & Grill chain, believes that more Mexican restaurants on O'ahu is good for his business.

"It opens people's minds and opens their palates," Langan said. "Any kind of exposure like that is good for us."

Much of Compadres' menu has been shaped and tweaked over the restaurant's 21-year existence. "We call it Western cooking with a Mexican accent," Langan said.

But over a year ago, Compadres began offering authentic items on a "Real Deal Menu" that changes regularly.

The idea came about, Langan said, when owner Rick Enos visited the kitchen of one of the California Compadres and saw the Mexican-born cooks eating tasty-looking food not offered on the menu.

"How come we don't serve that?" Langan quoted Enos as saying.

Now they do.