Illustration: Maanvi Kapur
“You can also make an important taco out of something,” says chef Enrique Olvera. “All you want is a tortilla created from heirloom corn and a robust salsa sport.” Olvera will surely know. Along with the impossible-to-book Pujol in Mexico Metropolis, his empire now consists of over a dozen eating places within the U.S. and Mexico, together with Cosme in Flatiron, Atla in Nolita, and Esse Taco in Williamsburg. This month, he was on the town to launch his new cookbook, Sunny Days, Taco Nights, co-written with Alonso Ruvalcaba. His taco fillings “are usually easy, impartial flavors,” he says, “whereas the salsas are the place you add your character.” Subsequent week, he’s off to launch the e-book in London, the place certainly it should be inconceivable to get a good taco? “No, all you want is nice corn,” he says. “And spices journey.”
Thursday, June 5
Once I’m in New York, I keep at an house in Gramercy I lately began sharing with Gonzalo Gout, our head of visitor expertise. This morning, I began the day at La Cabra Bakery on Second Avenue with a chilly brew and a croissant. Fast, quiet, and excellent.
Espresso is maybe the one factor I can’t stay with out. I’ve all the time loved the style, ever since I used to be a child in Mexico strolling alongside the freeway, the place meals stands would serve contemporary scorching milk with a shot of espresso. I additionally love espresso ice cream.
However ten years in the past, it turned an obsession. At one level, I ended ingesting it for six months, however I missed it a lot. It was a sense worse than heartbreak — although, for the primary time shortly, I started dreaming once more. Since then, I’ve discovered a more healthy steadiness: I drink much less espresso, and I dream, too.
Subsequent, I am going to the Brooklyn warehouse of our produce purveyor, Natoora, to fulfill the founder, Franco Fubini. Natoora has a chef-like obsession with looking for the absolute best components when it comes to taste and seasonality. I like that they know the place their merchandise are coming from and the names of the individuals who produce them.
We movie a taco recipe utilizing eggs and inexperienced beans from my new cookbook, then go on a tour of the warehouse. I strive the monk’s beard, a leafy inexperienced {that a} Mexican would let you know tastes like nopales — watery and barely salty. We additionally strive white asparagus, nectarine, and snap peas straight from the crates — incredible!
Then I am going again to my taqueria, Esse Taco in Williamsburg, and work whereas snacking on a field of cherries. We’re growing an inaugural “chef sequence” of tacos to convey a bit extra innovation to the menu.
I introduced my youthful son, Aldo, alongside for this journey. He comes by the taqueria and we stroll over to Blue Bottle for chilly brews with a splash of milk; he and my oldest, Bruno, share my appreciation for espresso.
Again at Esse, we have now one among my favourite drinks: a suero. It’s simply lime, salt, and glowing water: a Mexican Gatorade. It’s the right thirst quencher and palate cleanser, which I’ll want forward of a giant dinner tonight.
I’m assembly Aldo and my father on the Grill. Pujol’s twenty fifth anniversary has us fascinated about what an old-school restaurant with old-school service appears and looks like, and that’s how we ended up on the Grill.
We now have a selection of classics: king crab with tartar sauce, chopped salad, smoked salmon, and aged home steak with dill potatoes. Smoked salmon is nearly nonexistent in Mexico, so after I’m in New York, I make a degree to choose some up at Russ & Daughters. I can’t resist after I see it on the menu. Additionally: lemon cake for dessert and a bottle of Châteauneuf-du-Pape for the desk.
The flavors are daring, however from the standard of the components, moderately than from extreme preparation. I really like easy meals; there’s no hiding.
Friday, June 6
I don’t get too hungry within the mornings, so I are likely to skip breakfast. At the moment, as all the time, I begin my morning with espresso. I like a lightweight roast, black, to start out off my day; if I’ve a darkish roast, I’ll lower it with a splash of milk. I really like La Cabra’s Hacienda La Papaya beans, which I purchase to brew at residence.
Then I head to Cosme to shoot a video. We simply celebrated Cosme’s tenth anniversary final October; we’re going to start out spotlighting signature dishes from through the years, just like the uni tostada. I need these dishes to change into recurring seasonal specials our friends can stay up for yr after yr.
Whereas I’m within the kitchen, I press some masa dough into corn tortillas for the video, and throw them on the plancha. They arrive off piping scorching, a bit crisp on the surface however smooth within the center, with a robust, recognizable corn taste all through. I really like sprinkling one with just a bit salt; that and a slice of avocado is one among my favourite issues. This afternoon, I simply eat the nice and cozy tortilla straight, and it’s incredible.
I’m saving room once more for one more large dinner tonight, this time at one among my absolute favourite locations, Una Pizza Napoletana. I meet my good friend Ernesto, and we order a large unfold: olives, gigante beans, burrata, a charcuterie plate from the kitchen, and my favourite, the margherita pizza, topped with Calabrian chiles.
The gigante beans are so particular — they’ve a leathery pores and skin that catches extra of the dressing, a bit tangy, and a bit salty. The chunk has a very nice resistance, and the beans style a bit bit earthy, with a green-celery be aware.
We get a bottle of Amarone della Valpolicella and cut up lemon ice cream topped with cream for dessert.
Saturday, June 7
This weekend is the launch of our Chef Sequence at Esse Taco, and we actually needed to strive one thing totally different. The taco is on a black-corn tortilla crammed with sushi rice, nori, Wagyu steak, and a sake-based “drunken sauce.” I eat seven of them all through the day for high quality management, and in addition as a result of they’re scrumptious.
Japan is one among my absolute favourite locations — and cuisines — on earth, so this captures my love for hand rolls in taco type. We name it the “Taco del Ojo,” a play on a Mexican phrase meaning, primarily, “eye sweet.” I’m comfortable to see it promote out.
The warmth right now requires a chilly espresso, so I get a noon iced latte from Café Leon Dore in Nolita. I hardly ever sit all the way down to get pleasure from my espresso, since I’m normally on the run someplace.
Later that night, I see Wes Anderson’s new film, The Phoenician Scheme, within the theater; I order plain buttered popcorn and a seltzer.
I really like film popcorn — it tastes like synthetic butter, in a great way, and any child who was raised within the ’80s is aware of the flavour. It’s much more buttery within the U.S.; in Mexico, we have now our popcorn with lime juice and Valentina sauce — it’s vinegary, and made with puya chiles — which I really like.
Sunday, June 8
I am going for a run and spend time with Aldo, then head over to the Blue Bottle espresso subsequent to Cosme for a cortado. My whole morning and afternoon has me fascinated about the French Open match between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner at Roland Garros. Once I come again from my run, Alcaraz is shedding. However later, I am going for a stroll, and he bounces again — and wins. An unbelievable match.
I refuel with one other iced latte at Cafe Integral, one among my favourite espresso outlets in New York. I additionally cease by Esse Taco as soon as once more for one more Wagyu taco.
I chorus from consuming an excessive amount of else in preparation for my third large meal of the journey, at César. Aldo dines with me; it’s his first true New York fine-dining expertise.
The tasting menu is a revelation: 13 programs with a robust seafood focus — smoked-trout rillettes, bluefin-tuna parfait, foie gras flan with crab and wood-ear mushrooms. Some of the memorable dishes, and my favourite, is an uni tart topped with tuna and caviar. It tastes as if it got here from one other time, in a great way.
The entire menu is trendy, however with an old-school aptitude that jogs my memory of designs by Philippe Starck. One factor I don’t like about eating out nowadays is that, with menus and pictures all over the place on-line and on social media, there’s not any thriller round what the precise eating expertise will likely be like. Fortunately, this wasn’t the case with César; they ship everybody residence with a signed menu, sealed in an envelope, to reminisce about later.
Monday, June 9
At the moment is a lighter consuming day — extra of a snacking day — as I flit between appointments for my e-book tour. I head to Food52’s places of work to show a beef flauta from the cookbook, and I snack on a few of the components whereas we prep. Naturally, I’ve a espresso whereas I prepare dinner.
Later that afternoon, I’m in Fidi and discover respite in a plate of prosciutto and grilled octopus at Eataly. We now have two different conferences within the space, so we cease by Epicerie Boulud for extra espresso — this time, a cappuccino — and some chocolate-dipped, crumbly butter cookies shared on the desk.
Tonight, I head again to Cosme for service. The eating room may be very high-energy. It’s actually darkish — the lighting is intentionally directed to the highest of every desk, so that you solely see the individuals and the meals.
A number of younger individuals work within the kitchen downstairs, they usually’re all the time blasting music, even throughout service; every prepare dinner will get to decide on the music for in the future. At the moment, it’s principally salsa.
The Cosme menu is “New York Mexican” — Mexican method with New York components. We use East Coast fish, and in addition a number of merchandise from the area. Proper now, we’re serving white asparagus with a inexperienced mole made out of sugar peas — positively not components we frequently get in Mexico.
Tonight, Gustavo Garnica, the top chef, is attempting out some new dishes, so I sit all the way down to strive them earlier than service. A lot of the artistic work within the kitchen is completed in collaboration between Gustavo and the cooks. Often, I would give an unique thought to Gustavo, after which he’ll develop it. We’ve been working collectively for greater than ten years, so we actually perceive one another.
The melons from Natoora had been extraordinarily tasty, so we’re at the moment within the means of growing a melon aguachile. And we’re additionally considering of some scorching scallops that we’re going to make al pastor with pineapple.
As soon as residence, I munch on some pecans. I’m in mattress by a good 10:30.
EAT LIKE THE EXPERTS.
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