Of Cantinas and Carnitas
Festivals are ever present in New Orleans and environs, and with the emergence of several south-of-the border-style eateries, it’s also, always, fiesta time.
Margaritas and mole, tacos and tamales, salsa and Sangria—these are just a smattering of the delights to be found in Mexican and Latino eateries, variously called grills, cocinas, taquerias, cantinas, and cafés.
Perhaps the most exciting, innovative cocina to open in the area recently is Mizado, on the corner of Metairie Road and I-10. Mizado is a project of the Taste Buds, a partnership composed of Chefs Gary Darling, Hans Limburg, and Greg Reggio, who have over the years collectively created and operated restaurant concepts in the New Orleans area and the Gulf South, with much success.
Mizado, the Buds’ third concept restaurant, following Semolina and Zea Rotisserie Grill (the latter now numbering ten locations), has been in the works for some time. “The concept has been in our thoughts and discussions for five or six years, even before we opened the first Zea,” said Reggio, “but we only became serious about it two to three years ago.”
Although Reggio joined the threesome twenty-five years ago, he’s the newbie in the group as Limburg and Darling have been friends and associates for forty years. Limburg recalls, “Gary and I used to get these spiny lobsters on the beach in Baja just below San Diego for $5. We made tacos from the grilled lobster tails, spooning beans and rice into the taco shells.”
Limburg kept this very pleasant shellfish taco memory in mind for many years, thinking how much fun it would be to make them for lobster parties. Now the Taste Buds have incorporated the lobster party idea into Mizado’s menu, complete with tacos, guacamole, Baja cabbage, tortillas, and three different salsas.
This was just one of the many dishes that evolved from the chefs’ individual and shared experiences over the past decades.
In addition, “Massive research went into the effort,” said Darling. “We went around the country, traveling to Miami, Chicago, New York City, Austin, and Los Angeles visiting top Mexican and Latino eateries. We took continuing education courses at San Antonio’s Culinary Institute of America (CIA) outpost.”
Reggio noted that the trio also attended several years of the CIA’s annual Worlds of Flavor conference and festival, which attracts chefs from around the globe to exchange ideas and share their culinary culture. “We engaged the Latin contingent from various regions to see what they were doing,” he added.
“Most of the Latin cuisine in North America is on the U.S. coast,” said Limburg. “We knew we wanted to do ceviche, so we looked at all the different styles: Peruvian, Brazilian, and others. We wanted it to be different, and that’s when we focused on the Peruvian style,” he continued.
“Peru has a Japanese community, and they, in turn, influenced the ceviche with their own Asian flavors, different sauces, and juices like soy, orange, lime, and soy combos, orange combos, and lime combos,” he added. “We decided to do a ceviche bar with all freshly made ceviche prepared to order, sliced thin with quick marinades so it cooks quickly.”
As examples of the trio’s extensive research and re-creation of the flavors they love best: the tails grilled for the lobster party reflect Baja-style cuisine; the Cornish hen marinade is indicative of the Yucatecan tradition with jalapeño chiles and pineapple; the aged, tri-tip gaucho steak is Brazilian, accompanied by chimichurri sauce and typically blended with cilantro, lime, chile, and parsley.
“What we’re all about is marrying different tastes from traditional dishes and sauces within like culinary cultures. From the Caribbean to the Yucatan to both Central and South America, we take these characteristics and apply them in different ways to create varying flavor profiles,” said Limburg.
“We go online, brainstorm, have chat sessions and tastings, exploring diverse options. The process begins mentally, then we take it to the research kitchen in Metairie,” said Reggio.
Tasting and playing around with ingredients and flavors is all part of the testing experience. “We need to come up with the recipes behind the dishes that will work well on the menu,” said Darling.
Each chef has his own workspace, and each may be working on developing different components of the same dish or working on separate dishes.
“Sometimes it can take ten minutes or ten days,” said Limburg. “Sometimes we have a dish that we feel is a sure thing, but then it comes out and we find that it doesn’t work for any number of reasons, so we have to continue to tinker with it,” he said.
“At times a dish needs crunch or texture so we experiment with different flours, looking for a specific flavor profile,” said Reggio. “A recipe also has to fit within the overall plan or would need to be modified. Or, some can just be too difficult to execute at the cook’s station, so the method of preparation has to be corrected,” he added.
Mizado’s Chef de Cuisine Eric Solar, a long-time Taste Buds chef, minds the kitchen, delivering such delightful dishes as Peking duck tamales with salsa borracha, pineapple jalapeño glaze, crema, cotija cheese, and cilantro. Tamales are also prepared with beer-braised, natural grass-fed beef with chiles and roasted vegetables.
Other favorite appetizers found in the spacious contemporary dining room are anticucho de puerco—skewered crisped pork belly, sweet plantains, salsas de habanero, and tomatillo; anticucho de Cameron—wild-caught Gulf shrimp, roasted chilaca, and citrus butter; and pickled vegetables that are very popular with guests.
Tacos are divided into “tradicionales” and “nuevo”—all exceptionally prepared. The nuevos represent an exciting array of chef-composed creations such as alligator with ancho chile tartar, cabbage, cilantro, and Serrano; Peking duck confit with caramelized onion and fresh pineapple-melon salsa; and fresh scallops a la plancha tacos with grilled onions, cabbage, tomato, melon, Salvadorean crema, and salsa de Mizado.
The charred, rare fresh tuna taco is featured with citrus soy, melon, roasted jalapeño crema, cucumber, tobiko, cilantro seaweed, and pepitas served in crisp romaine leaves that act as shells. The “skinny lobster” tacos—with poached, chilled lobster—is complemented with salsa de aguacate and serrano crema, cilantro, jalapeño crema, tobiko, and shredded phyllo on romaine shells.
Ceviches are quickly marinated in citrus juices with chiles and herbs and offered in Peruvian, tiradito, or Baja styles. The "platos principales" include amazing preparations of marinated Cornish hen, Gulf fish with Manchego smashed potatoes, and gaucho steak with chimichurri sauce and smoked pork belly potatoes.
Meanwhile, the bar staff creates, makes, shakes, stirs, and sends out dazzling drinks from Mizado’s bar menu.
“We spent a long time on the bar work with the management team,” said Limburg. “We took an approach like we did with the food, talking about the components of the drinks and finding the right balance of sweet and sour.
The results produced mouth-watering margaritas and Caribbean-Latino-inspired libations: pisco sangrias are made with pisco and Malbec; a cilantro peach caipirinha features white peach purée, lime juice, cachaca, and rum; a mixed berry batida mingles coconut rum and cachaca with fresh berries. All drinks are made with fresh-squeezed juices. Limburg reported that the bar goes through 125 pounds of limes daily.
In addition, the bar offers premium tequila and rums, piscos, mescals, and other spirits along with a nicely chosen wine list and an array of local, draft, and south-of-the-border beers.
Like other top eateries in the Americas, Mizado values both traditional and modern Mexican cooking and celebrates the cross-cultural trend featuring characteristics of multiple cuisines.The food is exciting, the atmosphere inviting, and the prices so reasonable that it’s definitely a worthy adventure for your “taste buds.”
Related recipes: Salmon Tiradito; Peruvian Tuna Ceviche; Chorizo Tacos
Details. Details. Details.
Mizado Cocina 5080 Pontchartrain Boulevard New Orleans, La. (504) 885-5555 Open Tuesday–Saturday, 11 am–11 pm; Sunday, 10:30 am–3:30 pm Closed Monday. Free valet parking. Credit cards accepted. No reservations.