say yes to breakfast martinis
Montrose Mexican staple plans new breakfast joint with caviar, cocktails, and chilaquiles
“He brainwashed me.”
Ana Beaven isn’t one to mince words. The owner of Cuchara, the popular Montrose restaurant that serves dishes found in Mexico City, is explaining how her business partner Charlie McDaniel convinced her to open Cucharita, a new breakfast concept that’s scheduled to debut next month.
Originally, Beaven says she only planned to find a commercial kitchen space that could support Cuchara’s growing catering business. When the nearby Pepper Twins space became available, its proximity to Cuchara opened up the possibility of using the kitchen and its dining room as a space for private dinners, guest chefs, and other happenings, but McDaniel had a grander vision.
“Every time we go to Mexico City all he wants to do is eat breakfast,” Beaven explains. “He said, ‘let’s do a breakfast place.’ He brainwashed me. I said okay. That’s the whole idea of having a coffee shop with breakfast.”
Cucharita will be open six days a week with a menu that includes six varieties of pan dulce along with other pastries such as cakes and toasts. A range of egg dishes will include a weekly chilaquiles special. Beaven also plans to serve a weekly torta special, pozoles and other soups, and tamales. Critically, none of the dishes will overlap with any of Cuchara’s brunch menu.
Beyond those staples, she’s developed a special caviar service that pairs the delicacy with dishes such as mini corn cakes, macarons, and accompaniments like creme fraiche and chipotle cream. She notes that Centeōtl, the Aztec corn deity, would frequently be depicted with both corn and water elements, so the pairing has some historical roots.
“It’s my pride and joy,” she says. “It took us forever to find the right caviar, the right accoutrements, the right combinations of corn. We are sourcing corn from Mexico. For corn and caviar, we exported so many types of corn until we found the ones that are perfect.”
Beverage options will start with juices, agua frescas, and Cuchara’s own coffee blend. In addition, it will serve breakfast cocktails including a house margarita, paloma, and coffee cocktails with Mexican liqueurs. A breakfast martini will feature cheese-stuffed olives and pickled onions.
“Cocktails for breakfast is what has me the most excited. We developed this Bloody Mary mix that’s fantastic. It’s sweet, so we’re calling it a dulce Maria,” Beaven adds.
Cucharita will offer another surprise to its patrons. From time to time, it will operate as a speakeasy. When the neon spoon is lit, customers can stop by for cocktails and live music in a refined atmosphere.
“In Mexico, we have a lot of speakeasies, and I love it,” she says. “What I want to do with the speakeasy is advertise it to an extent but not really. So it becomes private. It’s mellow. It’s not going to become a scandal.”
