Don Chido, the replacement for Fred's Mexican Cafe, isn't scheduled to open until the end of the month but the restaurant's kitchen guru, Antonio Friscia, gave Eater an inside peek at his menu for the new modern Mexican restaurant.
Friscia will preside over a custom-made Santa Maria grill, fueled by red oak, that includes two 48" grills, a perforated plancha that will allow smoke to pass through it, and a Caja China-stye oven that'll cook ingredients from the top down and from the bottom up. There will be tacos, tortas, and other traditional dishes including birria, or classic braised goat, made with animals from local TAJ Farms, chicken mole and a daily fish cooked over red oak coals and served with roasted tomatillo corn sauce, smoked potatoes and charred broccoli rabe.
The chef's longtime chef de cuisine, Alfonso Verdugo, will back him up here while his first mate from Gaijin, Fern Tran, handles a corner crudo bar; Friscia says the crudo selections will change often and it'll be in these dishes that we'll see influences from his experience with Mediterranean and Asian cuisines.
The RMD Group will next tackle a redo of the Marble Room next door, with an Americana-style concept that Friscia says will have a farm-to-table menu highlighting his cooking roots, including housemade pasta.
· Don Chido [Official Site]
· All Eater Tracking Coverage [~ESD~]
