Miguel Gutierrez in the kitchen of his restaurant, El Agave in Catonsville, Maryland.
Editor’s Note: Miguel Gutierrez owns El Agave, an authentic Mexican restaurant in Catonsville, Maryland. In this interview he discusses his path to opening the restaurant and the recipes that have helped him succeed.
I came to the United States from Guadalajara about 12 years ago. I was 18, and after a couple of years of doing other jobs, I found a job as a kitchen helper in a Mexican restaurant in Ellicott City, Maryland. I didn’t stay long as a helper – after a couple of months I became a sous chef. That’s where I learned all the basics of being a chef.
After working there for four years I got tired of working for someone else and wanted to try something different. By that time I was married, and I convinced my wife that we should open our own restaurant. She wasn’t sure at first. I told her we have a lot of Tex-Mex restaurants around Baltimore, but I wanted to bring an authentic Mexican restaurant to the area. I wasn’t sure if I could do this better than other restaurants, but I knew I could work hard and figure it out.
I had worked so hard to open El Agave, and about two days after the opening in September 2013, the federal government shut down. The first few months were very discouraging because it took a long time for the local economy to recover. But then Cinco de Mayo came around and that’s when things really turned around. A lot of customers that came to celebrate Cinco de Mayo turned into regulars.
Now we are voted in the top 10 in Maryland for tacos and we’re often the only full-service restaurant on that list. We are famous for our tacos. We are known for the fresh, cooked-to-order meat in our tacos. We are best known for our al pastor, barbacoa, lengua, carnitas, carnaza, chorizo and carne asada tacos.
One main reason el Agave has done well is the recipes from my mom and grandma.
Every time I would go back to Mexico I would get more recipes from them. Then I would call my mom as I was making the recipes back in the restaurant to ask her questions and get them just right. When I started I almost called every day, but now sometimes she comes and cooks at the house and I’ll help her and she’ll give me the recipes right here, so it’s easier. But I still call my mom all the time when I need some help.
My favorite recipe handed down to me is tamales. My mom makes the most delicious pork and chicken tamales. As a tradition back in Mexico, we would have tamales every Christmas and New Year’s. To me tamales brings families together.
Another thing that makes our tacos so good is the fresh corn tortillas we make right here. I think that is the key to good tacos – tortillas. I use a mix of fresh corn masa that we make here from nixtamalized corn and mix some pre-made masa, half and half. And we use a hand tortilla press that my mom and dad brought from Mexico. It’s small and metal – easy to clean and easy to handle. We make a lot of tortillas every day. We have different people who can make it, some people specialize making tortillas.
Customers definitely appreciate a quality product and distinguish our tacos from competitors because the tortillas are handmade.
I also like working in our bar, mixing the drinks. Our micheladas and margaritas are famous – the fresh ingredients make them the best. I work seven days a week, all hours of the day, doing whatever needs to be done, from waiting tables to washing dishes to making repairs.
In the future I would like to start a taco truck and make El Agave’s tacos mobile. My plan is to cater tacos to private parties and also to take the truck to taco festivals.
Ed Avis is the publisher of el Restaurante. He can be reached at edavis@restmex.com