New Latin café blends Mexican, Guatemalan, Salvadoran flavors

• Owner Melina Ruan Serrano grew up in her parents' restaurant kitchens and worked as a chef at The Phoenician.
• "It's a way to share my culture, especially coming from being all three (cultures) — Mexican, Guatemalan and Salvadoran," she told the Phoenix New Times.

Zoom in: Valley residents are intimately familiar with Mexican cuisine, but the Guatemalan and Salvadoran influences add a twist to some of Malegria's offerings.

• The enchiladas Guate, for example, are more like a tostada.
• And if you order a cup of horchata, Malegria offers both the Mexican and Salvadoran versions, the latter being nuttier with sesame, pumpkin and morro seeds, according to the New Times.

Best bites: I got the Mexi sandwich, filled with chorizo, fried egg, queso fresco, crema verde and avocado.

• The egg makes it breakfast-y, but the dish hit the spot for lunch. The queso fresco and avocado gave it a creaminess that complemented the spice of the chorizo.
• I also tried the enchiladas Guate, with shredded chicken over cabbage-beet slaw, topped with sliced, hard-boiled egg, on a hard shell.
• Though I'm not a huge beet fan, the tostada-like enchiladas were tasty.