The dearth of Mexican food in the Northeast corresponds in an inverse way to its popularity -- visit Chowhound.com a few times, and you'll see frequent, impassioned pleas asking for information about good Mexican. For devotees of the cuisine, takeout burritos don't quite fill the need.
In steps El Guapo, a newcomer in Somerville's Ball Square, just blocks from the lively Mexican place Tu y Yo. One could ask why Ball Square should be home to two Mexican places, and the answer would probably fall somewhere between affordable rents and a ready population of Tufts University students. An added plus is the recent announcement of the Green Line extension into Somerville, including stops nearby, according to El Guapo's owner, Bill Johnson.
El Guapo is subtitled "Cantina & Eatery," an explanatory phrase that is illustrated as soon as you walk in. Half of the place is taken up by the bar, and even on a rainy evening during a dreadful stretch of bad spring weather, the margaritas-and-chips crowd is thick at the bar and around the elevated tables near the windows.
But there's more to this big, 118-seat restaurant, which has just opened for lunch and serves until midnight. Unlike Tu y Yo, where the emphasis is on homestyle, authentic Mexican and where Americanized staples like burritos and chips and salsas are eschewed, El Guapo and its chef, Jose Hernandez, aim to cover all bases. Appetizers range from nachos to tamales to ceviche. Chili con carne, several kinds of burritos, enchiladas, and fajitas fill in the Tex-Mex category. And the entrees, all very full plates with many accompaniments, range from sirloin steaks to moles to seafood with pasta. The wine list, for a Mexican place, is fairly extensive, and the beer and tequila list is impressive.
One evening we're greeted amiably and led to a table in front of the ladies' room on the bar side of the restaurant. Waitstaff efficiency must be an issue, I surmise, since the quieter restaurant side looks fairly empty as an entertainer sets up equipment on the little stage. We strain to talk above a noisy party of eight at a raised table next to us. Slightly miffed, I nevertheless peruse the menu and settle on shrimp ceviche and salbutes, little tostadas with vegetables, beans, and queso fresco. The ceviche sparkles, the shrimp and hearts of palm firm and flavorful, the limey marinade tart, and the presentation attractive. The wedges of crispy tostadas, covered with soft refried beans, pickled onions, and grilled vegetables, are a little heavy, but also good.
On another visit, we share a gooey dish of three cheeses topped with strips of poblano peppers. Another appetizer of tamales stuffed with grilled vegetables and drizzled with sour cream is accompanied by a coarsely chopped tomato salsa, which gives it a nice kick. (That is, when we discern that's what the salsa goes with, since the server plopped it down in the middle of the table between the appetizers with no explanation.) In general, the hearty and substantial appetizers may work better as snacks to enjoy with drinks rather than as a prelude to a full dinner.
Johnson says he and Hernandez decided to concentrate on main courses to distinguish El Guapo from other Mexican restaurants that serve many appetizers and small plates. El Guapo's are heaping plates, with each main protein accompanied by beans, rice, or sometimes tamales, and can be enough to feed several diners. Carne asada, a flattened sirloin steak, gets a boost of flavor from chilis rubbed into the meat; the steak itself suffers from being slightly overcooked and dry, but the seasoning helps. But by the time the accompaniments of a good cheese enchilada, grilled chorizo sausage, green tomatillo salsa, and rice and beans are sampled, the steak seems like a memory.
On many of these entree plates, it's the soupy red beans, plain but perfectly cooked and delicious, that are the stars. They go well with a mammoth double-cut pork chop slathered with adobo chili sauce, complementing the rich meat and a vegetable tamale accompaniment. A little pot of the beans nestles on the plate alongside a full rack of deeply basted and roasted baby back ribs. These ribs -- tender, sticky, and very tasty -- fulfill any meateater's dreams.
A sweet and quite spicy chipotle sauce covers large shrimp in another dish, and again the sides shine with an appealing sofrito, or mix, of sauteed zucchini, corn, and tomato balancing the chipotle sauce. Grilled salmon sports a light chili glaze and a creamy version of tomatillo salsa. The fish is a little dry and the potato cake with it seems to have drifted over from perhaps an Irish restaurant.
Two chicken dishes fade against the spicier entrees. In one, strips of chicken breast are covered with a tomatillo sauce, fresh and light but rather boring. Chicken in mole sauce is better, though the mole lacks the complexity of the best versions. And a poblano pepper stuffed with beef picadillo is too soggy, its eggy batter overdone so as to lose the contrast between the batter and the crisp, slightly chili-hot pepper with its well-spiced meat filling.
After all this food, dessert seems superfluous, but one evening we decide to share fried ice cream. The ball of crunchy nuts and oatmeal around an ice cream center is pretty to look at, but the covering overwhelms the ice cream, which stays very solidly frozen inside its shell. A fruity margarita might be a better choice to end the evening.
El Guapo has broad range of food, a cheerful ambiance, and service that is generally helpful, if a little slipshod in spots. A little more finesse on some of dishes would help boost this Mexican-for-everyone restaurant up a notch. 
