Much equipment suitable for Mexican and other Latin-cuisine restaurants was on display at the National Association of Food Equipment Manufacturers' convention in Orlando last month. Here are some highlights:
Optimal Broiler for al Pastor
Optimal Automatics displayed their Autodoner vertical broiler line, which is ideal for Mexican restaurants serving al pastor on cones. Their largest version, Model G-600, can handle 100 pounds of meat! It runs on either natural gas or LP gas. The company also offers an electric heater version for cones up to 65 pounds. All of Optimal's models are easy to clean feature pivot skewer holders for easy operation. www.optimalautomatics.com
American Eagle Meat Cutter
American Eagle Food Machinery showed its meat cutter that is perfect for Mexican and other Latin restaurants. It quickly and efficiently prepares strips of meat for fajitas and other dishes that require cut meat. The Model AE-MC22N features a 1.5 horsepower motor and gear-driven transmission. www.americaneaglemachine.com
Robot Coupe TexMex Food Processor Package
Robot Coupe demonstrated its food processing solution designed especially for TexMex restaurants. The system includes processors that quickly and conveniently chop vegetables for fajitas and pico de gallo, as well as prepare salsas, guacamole, mole, refried beans, and other blended menu items. Fast and efficient, with a high ROI. www.robotcoupeusa.com
Dutchess Tortilla Equipment
Dutchess showed its line of equipment, much of which is used in tortilla production. The DUT-DMS-2-18 Tortilla Press, for example, can produce 1,000 tortillas per hour! http://www.dutchessbakers.com/
MicroMatic Beer Equipment
Beer is an essential menu item for most Mexican restaurants, and MicroMatic makes the best beer tapping equipment on the market. Their draft beer towers, for example, are not only highly functional, but fantastic looking, too! http://www.micromatic.com/
Taco Taxi
TableCraft showed off a line of interesting dining room items suitable for a Mexican restaurant. The Taco Taxi line of taco servers, for example, includes versions that are made of stainless steel wire, stainless steel sheet, and patterned stainless steel. These are definitely worth checking out if you like displaying your tacos in style! www.tablecraft.com
Al Pastor/Gyros Griller
Inoksan was displaying several models of their broilers for meat cones, which are becoming increasingly popular among Mexican restaurants for preparing al pastor. Inoksan's machines feature galss backs, which are easy to clean, and motors that are enclosed for protection. They also showed a new automated model, Roboinoks, which can cut slices automatically. www.inoksanusa.com
Dough Press, Meat Shredder
Somerset displayed its line of dough presses, including the SDP-747, which can press 600 tortillas per hour and has a compact tabletop design. The company also showed its meat shredder, the SMS-60, which is ideal for quickly and easily creating pulled or shredded chicken, beef and pork. http://www.smrset.com/
Tortilla Press
DoughXpress showed its line of manual tortilla presses, which can press four 6-inch tortillas at once, and par bake or cook them. They work with either corn or flour tortillas. Both the upper and lower platens are heated, and they can handle an infinite range of thicknesses. www.doughxpress.com
Powerful Ranges for Mexican Restaurants
Comstock-Castle Stove Co. displayed its line of powerful commercial stoves, including those that are ideal for Mexican restaurants. These include extra-hot pot boiling elements and cheese melters, in addition to powerful ovens and ranges. www.castlestove.com
Serving Equipment
Lodge, Tomlinson, GET and other companies were exhibiting quality serving pieces that are ideal for Mexican restaurants. Tomlinson's line of cast iron serving pieces carry fajitas to tables in Mexican restaurants across the country. Likewise, Lodge cast iron equipment is at home on Mexican restaurant tables everywhere. And GET's line of taco servers, tortilla baskets and other attractive tableware improves the dining experience in thousands of restaurants.
Ice Crushing Power
BarMaid displayed the BLE-110, a 1 horsepower bar blender that crushes ice with ease, perfect for mixing frozen margaritas, pina coladas, etc. It comes with stackable 48-oz containers made of durable BPA-free Tritan. A stainless steel 32 oz container is also available. www.barmaidwashers.com
Dough Divider/Rounder
Erika Record demonstrated its line of dough dividers/rounders. Its entry-level machine, the SEMI Divider/Rounder, creates perfectly formed dough balls in seconds, accelerating your tortilla production. The interchangeable knife head system allows you to create different types of dough balls with varying weights and sizes. www.erikarecord.com