Verona, just southwest of Madison, has recently become a hub for Mexican food. With this series, we’re introducing the latest restaurants to open there, serving familiar favorites like tacos and tamales as well as regional dishes drawn from family recipes.
The first in this series was Taqueria Los Atlantes, specializing in mole and lamb barbacoa on 300 S. Main St. Then we stopped by AzTec Taqueria on Keenan Court, where the tortillas are made by hand, and La Penca, where Jesus Ramirez Cunida guards his family recipes.
The final restaurant in the series, El Imperio, is not technically located in Verona, but it’s closer to the suburb than it is to most of Madison. Formerly a Marco’s Pizza, El Imperio is making its mark.
Hand painted murals adorn the walls at at El Imperio.
El Imperio
Opened: July 16, 2022
Owners: Carlos Martinez, Sandra Castro
Origins: Mexico City, Mexico
Last summer, some former employees of Aztlan Mexican Grill in Mount Horeb and Laredo's Mexican Restaurant in Madison struck out on their own to bring a blend of traditional Mexican dishes and Tex-Mex favorites to Madison’s southwest side.
Carlos Martinez and his sister-in-law Sandra Castro opened El Imperio, which means the Empire, in July on Maple Grove Drive at McKee Road. It’s the first location, their first time owning a restaurant, and it’s been tough, Martinez said. They currently have seven employees, a mix of family and friends.
Colorful sombreros adorn the walls as customers dine at El Imperio.
Many of the menu items come from family recipes, which Martinez’s mother and grandmother in Mexico City helped develop. Martinez also has a friend who’s a chef that helped with the menu.
Martinez doesn’t get back to Mexico City much, he said, so he worked with his mom and grandma on the menu from afar.
Seafood specialties
Among the signature items on the El Imperio menu are molcajetes, an abundant dish served in a stone mortar bowl. A mix of meat, such as chicken, carnitas (pulled pork), chorizo, shrimp and steak, is combined with cheese, potatoes and grilled vegetables, like peppers, tomatoes and cactus. This comes with a side of rice, beans, lettuce, guacamole and tortillas.
The especial molcajete El Imperio is a volcanic stone mortar and pestle bowl, which overflows with meats, vegetables and thick grilled slices of cheese.
El Imperio makes guacamole fresh to order, as well as the red and green sauces for enchiladas. The enchiladas verdes, which are traditionally made, are the most popular entree.
“Our enchiladas are specific to our culture,” Martinez said. “Sauces are the glue for Mexican food. We use different sauces for each dish, each tasting different.”
El Imperio’s sweet mole uses chicken soup seasoning for a base combined with chocolate. They marinate the meats in a special mix of spices. El Imperio serves flavored margaritas, and fried ice cream for dessert.
And unlike some Mexican restaurants, El Imperio offers a variety of seafood options (mariscos), including oysters, tilapia, crab legs and ceviche.
Murals adorn the walls behind a pair of margaritas at El Imperio.
Diners can try a scooped-out pineapple filled with seafood (piña rellena de mariscos), a traditional seafood soup (caldo de mariscos), and buttery, garlicky, chili-spiced langostinos estilo nayarit, or prawns in the style of Nayarit, a small state in western Mexico.
A friend from Mexico designed several murals which wrap around the interior of the restaurant, another connection to home. One is of a group of mirthful men in traditional garb clinking together drinking glasses. Another depicts a larger-than-life ancient Aztec couple in an imposing pose, with a temple in the background behind them.
Co-owners of El Imperio, Juan Carlos Martinez and Sandra Castro, are pictured outside of the Madison restaurant.
Martinez has lived in Madison for 14 years and already had family in Wisconsin before he moved to town. In addition to working at Aztlan and Laredo’s, he also worked at Certco, the food distribution company.
He’s been worried about having to increase his prices because of the cost of food going up. As a new business, he wants to encourage those who haven’t stopped in yet.
“Come give us an opportunity,” he said. “Try us out. Or you’ll never know if you like our food or not.”
