20 Feb 29th–March 6th, 2024 phoenixnewtimes.com PHOENIX NEW TIMES | NEWS | FEATURE | FOOD & DRINK | ARTS & CULTURE | MUSIC | CONCERTS | CANNABIS | trying to get to a baseline place to get this business going.” A menu of childhood favorites, family recipes Despite the fits and starts, and regularly cooking out of different locations, Martinez says she’s been buoyed by the response to her food. “It’s a lot of jumping around,” she says, but “it’s also what keeps me going because there’s something here.” The menu for MB Foodhouse centers around taquitos inspired by Chico’s Tacos, an El Paso-based Mexican fast food spot, and handmade flour tortillas, which hold slow-cooked carnitas, vegan fried cauliflower and “weenie and egg” – a sliced beef hot dog with scrambled egg, cheese and salsa verde. “Everything I do I make mindfully, by hand,” Martinez says. She hopes to cultivate the breakfast taco culture in Arizona that’s pervasive in Texas. Martinez is likewise infusing smokehouse flavors in her dishes with sauces like a salsa macha barbecue and chicken wings that are brined and smoked before they’re finished in the fryer and tossed with a spicy, sticky tamarind sauce. “I’m mixing elements of Mexican culture and I’m also part Black, so I wanted to bridge that gap being from the Southwest,” she says. While Martinez concedes there’s no shortage of taquerias in the Valley, she wants to bring the perspective of El Paso and ingredients like Hatch red chiles. “I’m trying to reconnect with when I was a kid, between 4 and 5 years old, and those foods and bringing that food here,” she says. Where to find MB Foodhouse Since Martinez returned to the Valley, MB Foodhouse has popped up at breweries, in the kitchen at Gracie’s Tax Bar and at markets like Farm to Mesa. She posts her schedule on MB Foodhouse’s website and social media, but Phoenix Beer Co. is her trailer’s primary residence. In addition to the pop-up, Martinez sells tortillas, chips and salsas through her Moodie Box drops, generally announced online monthly. She says it’s been a lifeline as she navigated getting the trailer running in Arizona, and provides a way for further- flung fans to support her work. Martinez sees overlap with her pursuits in the music and culinary worlds. “It’s just working really hard and believing in what you do and then showing up every single day when no one’s looking,” she says, noting that she’s also been working on a new Moodie Black album. “I have so much more to offer than just tacos,” she says, explaining that she hopes to not only connect with people through food but also her music and her experi- ence as a trans woman. In the long term, Martinez hopes to have a brick-and-mortar restaurant again, somewhere where she can create a space for people who, like her younger self, may not always feel welcome or understood. “My ultimate goal is to have my own place so I can give back and be a part of the Phoenix community in a way that I haven’t been able to do yet,” Martinez says. Kristen Martinez adds guajillo sauce to a pile of just-fried taquitos stuffed with slow-braised beef and potatoes.(Photo by Sara Crocker) MB Foodhouse’s Vegan Death taco is packed with fried cauliflower and guacamole, topped with salsa macha, fried Brussels sprouts, garlic chips, slaw and a Hatch chile-dusted quinoa crumble. (Photo by Sara Crocker) Making Her Stage from p 19
