HELL’S KITCHEN — The celebrity chef behind a host of popular Latin restaurants throughout the city is opening a Mexican cantina on Ninth Avenue that will dish up everything from chile relleno to grasshopper omelets.
Former Iron Chef America challenger Julian Medina — who along with two restaurateurs operates Tacuba Cantina Mexicana in Astoria, Cuban diner Coppelia in Chelsea, three Toloache Mexican Bistro outposts and two Yerba Buena locations in Manhattan — will open a second Tacuba outpost in Hell’s Kitchen on April 11, a release said.
The cantina at 802 Ninth Ave., between West 53rd and West 54th streets, will serve classics like carne asada and chile relleno, but will expand upon the Astoria outpost’s menu with new starters, ceviches, tacos and main dishes.
The new additions include “Tostada de Pulpo” with octopus chipotle butter, avocado and sal de gusano; an “Omelette de Chapulin,” or Oaxacan grasshopper omelet with Oaxaca cheese, chorizo — and insects; and “Langosta Puerto Nuevo,” spicy lobster with chipotle butter, heart of palm, green beans and sesame ginger dressing.
An expanded drink menu will include the “La Refrescante” margarita, with Maestro Dobel Blanco tequila, muddled cucumber, ginger, grapefruit Jarrito, agave nectar and fresh lime; and a “Dare Devil” cocktail with Fidencio Mezcal, Agavero liqueur and Campari.
Prices for dinner at the Astoria restaurant range from $9 to $15 for three tacos to $16 to $24 for main courses.
Medina, who grew up in Mexico City, first learned to cook by watching his father and grandfather, the statement said.
After training professionally, he eventually helmed the kitchens at restaurants including SushiSamba and Pampano before launching the first Toloache in 2007.
The cantina will only serve dinner when it opens on Monday, but will expand into lunch, brunch and delivery after a few weeks, the statement said.
Its interior “plays well the good-times feeling of an old-timey saloon, and captures the wonder and warmth of nostalgia," the statement added.
