The proliferation of Mexican- and Latin-inspired restaurants continues to elevate the cuisine throughout the U.S. — and nowhere is that more evident in the number of high-profile honors chefs are bringing home.
Chef Edgar Rico
Food & Wine magazine’s Best New Chefs
Edgar Rico, Nixta Taqueria, Austin. Rico is a chef who, as Food & Wine said, “is deepening the art of the taco in America one vivid, veg-forward bite at a time.” Taking time to nixtamlize corn sourced from Oaxaca is the secret behind a menu that includes dishes like the Enchilada Potosina Taco, a specialty from San Luis Potosí, Mexico, his family hometown.
Emmanuel Chavez, Tatemó, Houston. As Food & Wine reported, Rico “nixtamalizes 80 pounds of masa a week at his Houston restaurant Tatemó” where “corn is everywhere on the menu.” The restaurant’s mission is to restore the cultural value of maiz, which Chavez does with a menu includes dishes as diverse as pancakes that Chavez makes with dehydrated masa he transforms into a flour and mixes with buttermilk, and crispy masa flour buñuelo served with masa ice cream and mousse made from corn cobs steeped in buttermilk and heavy cream.
Michelin Star
Chef Michael Diaz de Leon, Bruto, Denver. Described as a “hip spot” featuring contemporary Mexican fare, Bruto — with Diaz de Leon at the helm — “takes a serious approach to locality and seasonality, not only in the produce but also the grains, which they mill or nixtamalize in-house,” the Michelin Guide said, noting that the menu “…has a clear narrative, and is perhaps best displayed in lamb prepared two ways — as a street-style taco and ground lamb leg kushiyaki with a quenelle of mole chichilo.”
el Restaurante congratulates these award-winning chefs and can’t wait to see what’s next from Nixta Taqueria, Tatemó and Bruto!