By Maximiliano D'Onofrio
Memories, experiences, flavors and love. These are the ingredients artist Alfonso “Piloto” Nieves Ruiz chose when he created Zentli, a new Mexican restaurant in Evanston, Illinois, together with partners Marcos Rivera and Danny Howard.
Nieves Ruiz, who grew up in México, says art and food have always been essential parts of his being. His mom’s cooking combined those elements.
“My mom sowed the land with her hands, the same ones she cooked with, the same ones she showered me with, the same ones she caressed me with,” he says. “We maybe ate beans three times a day, but in an act of love, she cooked them in a different way every single time.”
Eventually Nieves Ruiz moved to Chicago, where the idea for an art-filled restaurant was born.
“When I was walking to work in Chicago, I used to pass by these art galleries, which were kind of a source of inspiration. Until one day I asked myself what do I like to do? Art. So, I went for it.”
Nieves Ruiz is a self-taught artist, but he now sits on the Evanston Arts Council and his murals decorate walls in several Chicago neighborhoods. Around the time that he was developing his art career he met Marcos Rivera, who is co-owner of Libertad restaurant in Skokie, Illinois, and grew up in the family that owns Chicago’s Las Palmas family of restaurants. Rivera gave Nieves Ruiz the opportunity to show what he had learned from his parents. Soon after that the idea for Zentli emerged.
“I always wanted to resume what I’d learned and open a taco restaurant, decorate it my way, bring the flavors I learned from my mom and dad, pure Mexican street food,” Nieves Ruiz says. “One night, like at 2 a.m., I called Marcos and told him my idea. I wanted something socio-cultural, to teach people about our roots through food and art. Specifically around corn.”
That was the genesis: corn. Not just any corn, specifically non-GMO. “It is the closest to what our natives had,” Nieves Ruiz explains. In fact, Zentli is an indigenous Nahuatl word for corn. “It is basically the cob ready to shell.”
Based on that concept, Nieves designed every space of the restaurant. “You come into the restaurant facing the south-north axis. Every cardinal point has its own representative piece of art. I designed it like this because natives always greeted the four directions. If you know where you are, is easier to know who you are.”
One of the pieces of art is a mural he painted of a grandmother and a boy (Nieves’ mother and son). “She is blowing a dandelion to him, and every seed means a value, and where it falls, it blooms.” Another prominent piece of art is a giant skull that Nieves Ruiz fashioned out of recycled styrofoam and old televisions.
Nieves hopes to run recycling workshops to convert the restaurant’s trash into art pieces for the community. “I want to transform our environment,” Nieves says. That transformation also involves giving opportunities to other artists. “The west side (of the restaurant) will be a free space for artists, for them to expose and sell pieces without us taking a percentage. Just an exchange.”
Music is also an ingredient of the restaurant’s atmosphere. At Zentli you may hear many different bands and genres, but always with a touch of indigenous songs.
Naturally, the cuisine is key to Nieves Ruiz’s vision. The menu – authentic street food items such as tlacoyos, pambazos, and tacos – evolved from recipes from Nieves Ruiz’s and Rivera’s mothers. The recipes had to be molded to become functional in a restaurant kitchen.
“Our mothers’ recipes don’t include normal measures,” Nieves Ruiz explains. “Everything was about fists or guided by the eyes. We spent hours measuring fists and converting them into spoons.”
The most popular menu items so far have been tacos de asada, tacos de alambre, pambazos and enchiladas. Nieves Ruiz credits Chef Mark Mendez for the menu’s popularity.
“The seeds that I have planted have blossomed today,” Nieves Ruiz reflects. “We are looking to recognized not only as a restaurant, but also because of our social work. We are all the same living on this planet and we are aware of it.”
Maximiliano D'Onofrio is a freelance writer located in Olavarra, Argentina.