WILMINGTON — A new restaurant at The Pointe at Barclay is putting a new spin on Mexican food, but it’s inspired by the age-old traditions of the Zocalo plaza.
The Zocalo plaza in Mexico City was once the center of the Aztec universe. Today it’s still a cultural and political center for Mexico – it’s also a place to find classic street food. That’s the mix of sophisticated and street-level that Zocalo Street Food and Tequila is going for as it prepares to open in the next two weeks.
(Zocalo evokes a type of Mexican street food that has become very popular throughout the United States, but the word itself is less familiar. It’s pronounced ‘zoh-koh-loh,’ without accent on the second or third syllable, co-owner Emmanuel Ibarra said.)
Co-owner Alejandro Hernandez said the way modern American cooking often elevates simple farm-based dishes inspired him to bring a modern touch to his favorite foods.
“We wanted to present street food, because we all remember it from our childhoods and love it, but we wanted to bring a level of refinement and presentation to it,” Hernandez said.
Classic recipes, contemporary cooking
Hernandez, along with brothers Emmanuel and Salvador Ibarra, grew up as the children of the owners of El Cerro Grande. Hernandez had nothing but fond memories of his parents’ restaurant, but said it was time to “push the culinary boundaries a little.”
“We think people used to be more conservative, but palates have changed. People can be more adventurous now,” Hernandez said. “The farm to table movement was a big influence on us, it captured local ingredients and recipes, but then did new things, more adventurous things with them.”
The restaurant is meant to evoke the Zocalo plaza, but the food is geared toward a sophisticated modern palate, Hernandez said.
“We wanted the place to evoke the plaza. You’re walking around and you see the old lady selling corn, you see the gentleman selling tacos from a cart, it’s this open, huge place, and you’re completely surrounded by these ancient, authentic recipes,” Hernadez said. “But, we’re taking those recipes, and presenting them in a modern way. We’re very concerned with plating and pushing flavors.”
Overall, the menu blends “comfortable favorites” that will be familiar to those who have eaten at El Cerro Grande with more adventurous dishes. However, presentation will be quite a bit different, Hernandez said.
“Take for example our tortillas and our sopes, we make them with blue corn, ancho and cilantro, they’re very colorful – and flavorful. But it’s – on the plate – very important to us that the food look good. You eat with your eyes, and people are very keen to that visual aspect now, and it’s just another way to push the boundaries of taste and presentation for us,” Hernandez said.
Culinary echoes of home
A good example is Zocalo’s duck carnitas tacos – a departure from the familiar pork dish that also has roots in the food of Hernandez’s childhood.
“My grandfather’s ranch was about eight hours from Mexico City, in a very open area, and I remember him going out early in the morning to hunt duck. He’d bring some home and braise up a carnitas with it. So, I remember that, very much so,” Hernandez said. “So, it’s a play on tacos, a different take and it’s eye-catching on the menu. But also, it’s my childhood.”
The Ibarra family ranch is in Jalisco, a Mexican state that includes mountainous regions (like the town of Degollada, where the Ibarras lived before emigrating to Wilmington). The state also borders the Pacific ocean, and has its own style of ceviche. Zocalo’s chef Julio Camberos will serve three ceviches: tuna with watermelon, shrimp with habanero, and red snapper with mango).
The restaurant also serves fried calamari, something Hernandez said people say surprises them.
“People ask, ‘fried calamari, on a Mexican menu? But I tell them, ‘hey, we have squid in Mexico too, you know?’ Ours is just battered in masa, which gives it a unique taste and texture,” Hernandez said.
Raising the bar, behind the bar
Hernandez said Zocalo will serve 11 craft beers – and the house sangria – on tap, focusing more on craft beer than his family’s restaurants had in the past. It was also important for Hernandez to push boundaries with the wine and liquor.
“At El Cerro, we usually have a house wine, one or two others. Here, we’ve gone through and specifically picked these bottles to match our food. And, in a few months, I’ll be changing up the wine list. People don’t cling to consistency so much any more with wine lists. Every couple of months I want to change it – not so often that people are thrown off, but seasonally, so that people can explore,” Hernandez said.
Jalisco is home to the town of Tequila as well as the blue agave, the main ingredient in the town’s namesake distillation. So it’s not a huge surprise that Hernandez and Ibarra wanted Zocalo to be on top of this region’s tequila game.
“I want this to be the place where the best tequila in town lives. We’ve got 56 bottles right now, as well as some really strong Mezcal brands, and I’ll be building that list,” Hernandez said, adding, “Those tequilas are behind our margaritas – it’s not canned sour mix, it’s fresh fruit juice and really good tequila.”
Zocalo is tentatively planning a soft opening for next weekend (on July 15), and will host its grand opening on July 20 – just in time for National Tequila Day on July 24. Ibarra said he hopes the restaurant will be able to host several distillers so that aficionados and novices alike can try new and rarer tequilas.
Zocalo will be open 11 a.m. – 10 p.m., from Monday to Saturday, and from 11 a.m until 9 p.m. on Sundays. More information, including updates on its soft-opening, can be found at Zocalo’s Facebook page and website. The restaurant is located at 1474 Barclay Pointe Blvd., Suite 206 – next to The Pointe movie theater.
Send comments and tips to Benjamin Schachtman at ben@localvoicemedia.com, @pcdben on Twitter, and (910) 538-2001.
