Already with 12 restaurants under his belt, since he opened the first in 1999, acclaimed Mexican chef Julián Medina has no desire to slow down his culinary creativity and has just put his stamp and flavor on two new places: Soledad and Amarena.
“Soledad is my family’s food, which I am introducing to New York, it is my roots, and Amarena is where Italian food shines,” Medina tells us about the newly released gastronomic concepts.
The talent behind some of the city’s most prominent casual and modern Mexican concepts, such as Toloache, Coppelia, Tacuba Mexican Cantina, La Chula Taquería, El Fish Marisquería and El Verano, ensures that the key to their success in the competitive world of restaurants is having a good team that you can trust.
“It is necessary to be surrounded by capable, intelligent, hard-working people who have the same goals as us. You have to have trustworthy people, managers and chefs who can support you at all times and, of course, have good administration,” he explains.
Medina ensures that in each of his projects he is involved from the beginning and participates in the entire process, from finding the premises, signing the contract, seeing the area, the concept, the menu, the decoration, setting up the kitchen, hiring the staff. , etc.
Soledad, in honor of her grandmother
Chef Medina says that for a while he wanted to open another Mexican restaurant on the Upper East Side, where he has lived for more than two decades, so together with his partner Meghan Manzi (La Chula, El Verano), he decided to make this wish come true. reality a few weeks ago.
The concept of “Soledad,” like the name, is a tribute to the matriarch of her family and the dishes she began cooking while growing up in Michoacán. She passed on these culinary traditions to her seven children, including Medina’s mother, Bertha.
“While at my parents’ house in Mexico, talking with them, I remembered that my mother has a recipe book that was passed down from my grandmother to her, and from her to me. I was looking at the recipes and it occurred to me to use the dishes that my mother grew up with, those that my grandmother made,” she says.
From that recipe book came the dishes for the menu, to which Medina gave his personal stamp.
“I put my touch on my grandmother’s meatballs, and instead of making them only with beef I make them with Iberian pork and the sauce is tomato, with chipotle and Spanish Marcona almonds, which make it creamier. It is served with some finely cut and fried potatoes,” he says about one of the dishes.
The place also offers a traditional Michoacán dish called Corunda, which is a type of tamale, to which the chef adds duck fat and bacon. There are also green enchiladas, duck with mole, mortadella quesadillas, carnitas and a guacamole made with avocados brought from their grandparents’ town.
“The reception has been very good because it is not the Mexican food that everyone has here in New York, but rather it is a little different dishes,” he says.
The 1,700-square-foot space reflects contemporary Mexican culture, with the colors and architecture of Mexico City’s urban landscape. The bar is framed by arches, similar to those seen in traditional haciendas, and occupies a central location, anchoring the space like the internal garden of a hacienda.
Soledad is located at 1825 Second Avenue, between 94th and 95th Streets, in Manhattan. For more information, visit www.soledadnyc.com
Amarena, an Italian adventure
As for “Amarena”, together with his partner Louis Skibar (Toloache, El Fish Marisquería), Chef Medina wanted to create his own concept of Italian food.
“I’ve been cooking Italian food for years, not professionally, but I get it easily. I started traveling around Italy to get inspiration and that’s where the project came from,” she says.
Named after the classic Italian cherry, Amarena is heavily influenced by traditional Roman cuisine, with creative twists from Chef Medina.
“For example, we break the burrata, season it, add a little oil and serve it spread out on a plate with the garnishes on top,” he explains. “The octopus is accompanied by a warm Russian salad, with mortadella and an Italian green sauce made with capers, olives, parsley and lemon zest.”
The pastas are homemade and the best seller, Medina highlights, is the cavatelli with crab prepared with chilli peppers, lemon and crab broth. As well as the carbonara, which has duck guanciale, a type of prosciutto, and is finished with the yolk of the duck egg, which makes it creamier because it is larger than the chicken egg, as she explains.
“I wanted to give a change to Italian food,” he concludes.
The menu also offers suppli, which are fried rice balls originally from Rome, similar to Arancini, and polpo (bucatini, octopus, bone marrow, Calabrian chili, grana padano). Antipasti dishes are also available, such as Carciofi alla Giudea (crispy artichokes served with Calabrian chili and Meyer lemon aioli); Polipo, grilled octopus with Olivye salad and crispy mortadella, served with green sauce; and Vongole al Forno (Baked Clams) with green sauce, lardo and spiced breadcrumbs.
And since the pizzas cannot be missing, there is the Tartufata topped with truffle burrata, Tuscan pecorino, parmigiano and fresh black truffles; the Soppressata Picante with peaches and Calabrian chili honey; and the Amarena with mortadella, burrata and pistachio cream, gorgonzola dolce and arugula.
The 3,600-square-foot space spans two floors and transports guests to the Italian coast while incorporating classic Roman grand style. The bar is inspired by Italian summers, with white, green and gold marble from Vermont. While on the second floor the red color stands out, reminiscent of the opulent palaces that dominate the Amalfi coast.
Amarena is located at 151 East 82nd Street, between Third and Lexington Avenues, in Manhattan. https://www.amarenanyc.com/menu