Mestizo

Interesting apps straight from Oaxaca to your mouth.

“Tetelas taste like Heaven. They're awesome.”

Tacos so tasty, you’ll want them all week long.

“I could eat tacos every day, all day.  They're so good.”

And ooey gooey queso fundido.

“Grab your tortillas, make your little taco, and voila.”

For Mexican authenticity in the city, you must go to Mestizo.

Located in Kendall Square, Cambridge, Mestizo is a festive spot from hospitality hot shots Emily and Lorenzo Tenreiro, who brought us both La Qchara and Tahpas 529 in Melrose. In their latest concept, the couple took inspiration home from their trips to the city of Oaxaca in Mexico.

“Oaxaca is one of the gastronomy centers of Mexico, and they have just wonderful fresh ingredients. And we wanted to bring that experience here.”

And when naming the place, Lorenzo and Emily decided to use a Mexican Term near and dear to their family.

“Mestizo is a blend of cultures, specifically in relation to Mexico. It's specific to my family, my husband, being from Venezuela, and I being from the United States. We kind of take the name to heart.”

And not only is the menu inspired by the city of Oaxaca, the atmosphere is as well.

“When you walk into Mestizo, the first thing you see is we see our wonderful mural.  We have a wonderful bar with a large collection of specialty tequilas. It's just a very warm, open atmosphere, which is trying to resemble being out and about in the city of Oaxaca.”

No experience at Mestizo is complete without The Salsa Experience.

“So we make our tortillas every day, for our tacos and our guacamole, but most importantly, for our salsa fresca experience.  It's fun for the table. I think it's fun for the server and then people love it.”

“The experience itself, it's amazing. We come to your table. We have all the fresh ingredients. We have a roasted tomatillo, the roasted tomato, the garlic.  We add the heat to your liking, and we make it all right then and there…It’s just one of a kind experience that you will not find around this area, but we bring in directly from Oaxaca here to you.”

Other apps straight outta Oaxaca include the Picadillo Molotes Mexico’s take on empanadas, filled with a flavorful blend of ground beef, veggies, raisins and almonds. served with a chipotle aioli.  Or Mestizo’s housemade Tetelas.

“Think about a quesadilla that is folded in three; that's what a tetelas is.  We stuff it with poblano peppers. We stuffed with cheese and then we top it off with some avocado mousse.  It’s really is a staple to the Oaxacan cuisine. So that's one of those things that you have to come in and really. It's really delicious."

There’s indulgent queso fundido served with fresh tortillas and poblano peppers.

“Queso Fundido comes in a cast iron skillet, so it comes out nice and piping hot.   We take the Oaxacan cheese.   We melt it down. Then we put some poblano peppers in there and then we serve it with you, with tortillas. It's nice, stringy. I mean, you take it, it comes out, it extends up. It's really delicious.”

And then there’s the Ceviche Marinero- a dish that’s both stunning and satisfying.

“We made our ceviche with cod loin, our leche de Tigre, and we decorate with sweet potato mousse, some tomatoes, onions and then corn that we crisp up.  It adds a little bit of crunchiness.  You have the softness of the cheese.  So it's really a great combination of flavors, one of our top sellers.”

Since they make the tortillas on site, tacos are a must.  And with the Gallitos, you get a do-it-yourself set up to customize your tacos the way you like ‘em.

“We serve the tortillas, the cilantro, the onions, the radishes.  And then you kind of make your own taco. So it's kind of like a very interactive sort of experience.  It's amazing.”

But if you’re looking for the experts back in the kitchen to put your taco together for you, there are a variety of composed options like the Camarones topped with a mango salsa and garlic cilantro sauce.

“You get the crunchiness of the shrimp. You get the sweetness of the mango. There is a red pepper. You know, all that brightness, all that color comes in there, the creaminess of the cilantro garlic sauce. So it's a great combination. It's a mouth feel that I think that nobody can imitate.”

“It's like fireworks. You want to go for another bite. So you, you just keep going. You know, you could just eat them all day. They're delicious.”

For something more filling, order the busted.

“That's a ribeye smothered with onions.  Very hearty, very flavorful. Definitely something that will fill you up.  Tacos are great. But if you want something with more substance, get the bistec.”

For substance and flavor, there’s the pollo con mole.

“We have a half a chicken that we roast to perfection, covered up with our homemade mole sauce and then we serve it with a plantain cake, which is layers of sweet plantains with Oaxaca cheese and a little bit of panella in it.  So that combination between the mole, the chicken and the plantains, it really what a really good Mexican dish should be all about.”

And for some Mexican flavors made with Asian techniques, try the Barry Ramen.

“Birria Ramen is just delicious. We have a braised short rib and the chili crunch, and the pickled onions, and then we grilled some tortillas that we put all around it.  Probably one of our most desired dishes.  You gotta try it.”

And if you ask Lorenzo, you have to try Emily’s version of tres leches for dessert.     

“He kept bugging me and bugging me to make it happen so we went with passion fruit. And it's a winner.”

“That one is so delicious. It is the moist from the cake with the milks, the passion fruit the tartness, then the cream bread on it, finish up with some cinnamon in it. That makes it so desirable. It's really the best way to finish your meal here at Mestizo.”

And with food and drinks this tasty, and a warm atmosphere to match, you’ll never want your meal to end at Mestizo.