Illustration: Maanvi Kapur
“You may make a terrific taco out of something,” says chef Enrique Olvera. “All you want is a tortilla made out of heirloom corn and a robust salsa recreation.” Olvera would definitely know. Along with the impossible-to-book Pujol in Mexico Metropolis, his empire now contains 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 typically easy, impartial flavors,” he says, “whereas the salsas are the place you add your persona.” Subsequent week, he’s off to launch the guide in London, the place absolutely it should be unimaginable 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 condo 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 ideal.
Espresso is maybe the one factor I can’t reside 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 recent sizzling milk with a shot of espresso. I additionally love espresso ice cream.
However ten years in the past, it grew to become an obsession. At one level, I finished 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 satisfy the founder, Franco Fubini. Natoora has a chef-like obsession with looking for the absolute best components by way of 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 collection” of tacos to deliver 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’ve got one in every of 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 an enormous dinner tonight.
I’m assembly Aldo and my father at the Grill. Pujol’s twenty fifth anniversary has us occupied with what an old-school restaurant with old-school service appears and seems like, and that’s how we ended up on the Grill.
We’ve got a selection of classics: king crab with tartar sauce, chopped salad, smoked salmon, and aged home steak with dill potatoes. Smoked salmon is just about nonexistent in Mexico, so after I’m in New York, I make some extent to select 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, somewhat than from extreme preparation. I 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 present, as all the time, I begin my morning with espresso. I like a light-weight roast, black, to start out off my day; if I’ve a darkish roast, I’ll minimize it with a splash of milk. I 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 turn out to be recurring seasonal specials our company can stay up for 12 months after 12 months.
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 sizzling, slightly crisp on the skin however tender within the center, with a robust, recognizable corn taste all through. I like sprinkling one with just a bit salt; that and a slice of avocado is one in every of 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 in every of my absolute favourite locations, Una Pizza Napoletana. I meet my pal Ernesto, and we order an enormous 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, slightly tangy, and slightly salty. The chew has a very nice resistance, and the beans style slightly 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 wished to strive one thing completely different. The taco is on a black-corn tortilla full of 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 likewise as a result of they’re scrumptious.
Japan is one in every of my absolute favourite locations — and cuisines — on earth, so this captures my love for hand rolls in taco kind. We name it the “Taco del Ojo,” a play on a Mexican phrase which means, primarily, “eye sweet.” I’m completely satisfied to see it promote out.
The warmth at present 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 take pleasure in my espresso, since I’m often 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 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’ve got our popcorn with lime juice and Valentina sauce — it’s vinegary, and made with puya chiles — which I 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 occupied with 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 unimaginable match.
I refuel with one other iced latte at Cafe Integral, one in every of 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. Probably the most 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 photographs all over the place on-line and on social media, there’s not any thriller round what the precise eating expertise might 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 present is a lighter consuming day — extra of a snacking day — as I flit between appointments for my guide tour. I head to Food52’s places of work to exhibit a beef flauta from the cookbook, and I snack on among 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’ve got 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 folks and the meals.
Quite a lot of younger folks 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 someday. At present, it’s principally salsa.
The Cosme menu is “New York Mexican” — Mexican method with New York components. We use East Coast fish, and likewise plenty 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 regularly get in Mexico.
Tonight, Gustavo Garnica, the pinnacle chef, is making an attempt 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 finished in collaboration between Gustavo and the cooks. Sometimes, I’d give an unique concept 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 strategy of growing a melon aguachile. And we’re additionally pondering of some sizzling 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.
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