Chicas Mexican Cafe Closing Monday
Junior Leaguers Kelsey Jennings, Leslie Kearns, Margo Ward, back; Marianne Sharpe and Eileen Everett, front, will have to find a new locale for their summer social as Chicas Mexican Cafe in Nichols Hills Plaza will close in a few days.
Chicas Mexican Cafe, 6482 Avondale Dr, in Nichols Hills Plaza will close at the end of business on Monday, Feb. 28, ending a nearly nine-year run in two locations.
Tricia Everest and Laurie Anderson were the founders of Chicas, opening originally at Classen Circle in the old Patio restaurant space.
The concept started in 2003, occupying the old Patio restaurant space which has since been The Sidecar Lounge and is presently The Drunken Fry. By 2006, the concept was sold to The Deep Fork Group and moved to its current home, which was once a sandwich shop called Scotti’s.
Chicas has long been one of my wife Lori’s favorite haunts, a frequent meeting place for she and her co-workers old and new. I went with her today for a farewell lunch and was glad to have some chicken tostadas and the same excellent queso they’ve always been known for.
Chicas unique vibe and modern Tex-Mex menu will be missed, but the next tenant will look to keep the tradition alive. Fear of the Jinx compels me to withhold who the next tenant will be, but I should be able to update this post on Tuesday to officially reveal the name. Here’s a couple hints: this concept will not be new to either the cuisine nor the area.
Will you be sad to see Chicas go? Any guesses as to whom the new tenant will be? (Sorry, if you get it right I will not be able to confirm until Tuesday.)
Congrats, Mr. Mondavi
Peter Mondavi Sr. is headed for the Vintner's Hall of Fame.
Peter Mondavi Sr. will be inducted into the Vintners Hall of Fame on February 20th at a festive celebration at the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone in Napa Valley.
You are welcome to post congratulations to Mr. Mondavi, and memories of his 70-plus at Charles Krug on the winery’s Facebook page.
We will present all comments to Mr. Mondavi in an oversized card after the induction.
From the Vintners Hall: For showing just how fresh and fruity California wine can be, few vintners have been as instructive as Peter Mondavi, Sr.
Studious and quiet, he often transformed theory into practice, establishing new standards for the wine trade. In 1937, while still a university student, he researched cold fermentation, and his subsequent use of the technique and of sterile filtration improved, virtually overnight, the cleanliness and crispness of California white wines. For 68 years he’s continued his experimental ways at Charles Krug Winery. He was among the first to use French oak barrels. He was the first to release Chenin Blanc as a varietal. He was the first to install glass-lined steel tanks, thereby better showcasing the state’s fruit, slowing maturation of wines and prolonging their lives. He was an early advocate of the centrifuge and of fermenting Chardonnay in oak barrels. Early in his tenure at Charles Krug, the industry’s first winery newsletter debuted. He began tastings for distributors, restaurateurs and consumers that became the model for the industry. And he was one of the early growers to see in the Carneros district an accommodating home for Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Merlot At 96, he’s still at it.
Peter Mondavi, whose late brother Robert was inducted in 2007, has since turned 97.
A Peck of Pickled Comedy
My new favorite comedy team, Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein of Portlandia, have supplied me with another gem. Where would my blog be without them? (Prolly back in perpetual hibernation with intermittent bursts of inspiration — like my life!)
But I digress. Feast your eyes on the Portlandia team’s lampoon of home-canning culture.
New “Portlandia” episodes pop Friday nights on the Independent Film Channel.
Empanada: Spanish for Super Bowl Snack
I love football, and I love food, so this is kind of a special week for me. I’ve written about clam chowder for those cooking for the big game, and New York-style pizza and Boston cream pie for those picking something up.
But just because New York and New England are playing doesn’t mean you have to eat their food. I stumbled upon this video, which combines my two favorite cooking show chefs, the PBS icons Christopher Kimball of “America’s Test Kitchen,” and Oklahoma City-native Rick Bayless of “Mexico: One Plate a Time.” Rick is showing Christopher how to make Mexican-style picadillo-stuffed empanadas. For me, this video was watching my two favorite teams play in the Super Bowl and share the Lombardi Trophy over Mexican Food at the end.
The recipe for these Minced Pork Empanadas is super simple, and I have no doubt the result is a game-winner. Check out the video, it’s the cooking show equivalent of Ron Swanson and Dwight Shrute stealing the same scene.
