THIS WEEK IN THE TEST KITCHEN – Celebrating Mexico’s Bicentennial
This week at Test Kitchen we celebrate Mexico’s Bicentennial, curated by Guelaguetza’s Bricia Lopez.
Wednesday, October 27th and Thursday, October 28th Test Kitchen will host Baja California Chefs Diego Hernandez, Ismene Venegas, and Guillermo Barreto. Baja California is perhaps the greatest place for contemporary Mexican dining in all of Mexico. Its unique products from land and sea are abundant, and in many cases, not found in any other part of Mexico. As a result, Baja has lured and cultivated a group of maverick chefs that are redefining Mexican cuisine and expanding its rich vocabulary. These three accomplished chefs from Baja’s Baja Cuisine and Baja Med movement will be serving a $50 prix fixe menu at Test Kitchen.
It was visits to a Tolucan market at a young age that set Diego Hernandez’s course towards becoming a chef. Chef Diego started working under Benito Molina at the age of 18, then at Pangea in Monterrey with Guillermo Gonzalez, and finally off to Mexico City where he learned the vanguard of Mexican gastronomy under Enrique Olvera. Chef Diego Diego Hernandez worked in the best kitchens in modern Mexican cuisine, received a degree from the Culinary Art School in Tijuana, in 2007 earned the honor of being named best young chef of Baja California and opened his own restaurant, Restaurante Uno.
Chef Guillermo Barreto just took over the picturesque El Sauzal restaurant formerly occupied by a Oaxacan restaurant at the Viento wine shop, just minutes before you hit Ensenada. The passionate and easy going Chef Guillermo Barreto owns La Piazza, a successful Italian restaurant in Mexicali, and now wants to be where the action is, in Ensenada. Like many chefs in Baja, he sources the finest ingredients, and deftly marries the Mediterranean and Mexican flavors in his restaurant. You might even call his style of cooking Mex-Italian.
Chef Ismene has cooked at Restaurante del Parque in Ensenada for the past two years. Only in Baja can you find a pizza of quelites, the prized wild greens of Mexican gastronomy, cooked in a wood fired oven of adobe, a contemporary presentation of a Sinaloan aguachile(raw seafood cooked in lime and chili), and panzanella.
Friday, October 29th and Saturday, October 30th Michelin Star Chef Joshua Gil will be cooking a five course preview of Bricia Lopez’s new restaurant, Mitla. Mitla will bring modern Oaxacan cuisine to Los Angeles, merging tradition with nouveau technique. The $55 menu includes Sopa De Guias, Clayuda, Barbacoa de Guajolote (braised turkey), Amarillo de Venado (venison and yellow mole), and Niño Envuelto (guava sponge cake). Chef Gil’s menu will also include $5 bar bites, including Chorizo and Oaxacan Cheese, Croquettes, Mole Drummets, Cemita – Cecina, and Tostada de Chapulines.
Walk-Ins Welcome!
No reservation? No problem! To accommodate everyone who wants to join us, including last minute diners, we always hold a few tables for walk-in guests.
9 After 9 Cocktails (& Special Bar Bites Menus)
Test Kitchen is mixing it up with $9 cocktails after 9pm every night. Guests can enjoy a handcrafted $9 cocktail using only fresh squeezed juices, along with our Bar Bite Menus. Special Bar Bite Menus are available at the bar every night during dinner service and change with every chef. Walk-ins are always welcome at the bar and in the dining room.
Ricardo Zarate at Mo-Chica
Test Kitchen’s Resident Chef, Ricardo Zarate will be cooking a special $35 six course tasting menu at Mo-Chica this Wednesday, October 27th. The tasting menu will include Cancha Peruvian Pop Corn, Aguadito de Choros, Causa Rellena, Ceviche de Camarones, Ocopa de Camarones, Chicharron con Lentejas, and Trés Leches. Mo-Chica is located at 3655 South Grand Ave. LA 90007. For reservations, call 213.747.2141
Please Note
We’ll be closed the evening of Tuesday, October 26th for a private event with Blackboard Eats.
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Test Kitchen is located at 9575 West Pico Blvd. LA 90035. Dinner is served beginning at 6:00pm, with the last seating at 10:30pm. Tables are limited and reservations will be available online only through the Test Kitchen website. For more information on Test Kitchen including current chefs, menus and reservations, please visit: www.testkitchenla.com and www.twitter.com/TestKitchenLA.
