14 May 2nd-May 8th, 2024 phoenixnewtimes.com PHOENIX NEW TIMES | NEWS | FEATURE | FOOD & DRINK | ARTS & CULTURE | MUSIC | CONCERTS | CANNABIS | drums, or some customers want both.” The pipian verde is a nutty and herba- ceous pumpkin seed-based mole. Felipe says when his mom makes pipian, she tells them the story of growing up in Mexico. During lean times, her family would eat the sauce without any meat. “We try to show our customer base that this can be tasty and that it’s also a dish that comes from us and comes from the heart,” Felipe says. Another of those heartfelt bites is the cemita poblana, which Guillermo Agustin describes as “a dish in a sandwich.” The sesame-seed bun is light but crisp — toasted before it’s loaded with meat, Oaxacan cheese, avocado, onion and housemade chile condiments. The sand- wich is historically made with a breaded, fried beef cutlet, but options at El Rincon Poblano include breaded chicken, al pastor and longaniza, a sausage crafted at the restaurant that is similar to chorizo. Another dish, the taco arabe, is a precursor to tacos al pastor. Both tacos arabes and al pastor are influenced by Lebanese emigres who brought shawarma to the area. For El Rincon Poblano’s tacos arabe, lamb is replaced with pork, which is marinated and grilled, served in a large flour tortilla and rolled tight like a burrito. It is served with cucumber and a morita chile salsa that is “more of a sweet-sour” sauce, Agustin says. Other dishes go back further to Puebla’s indigenous peoples. For mixiote, the chefs at El Rincon Poblano marinate chicken or lamb with mild red chiles and spices, wrapping them in neat parcels with an agave-based parchment and steaming the contents for hours before serving with rice, beans and corn tortillas. Though mixiote was a lesser-known dish when El Rincon first opened, diners enjoyed the experience of having the parcel arrive in a tall bowl and watching the steam release as the parchment is opened. Interest in the dish spread, and it is now one of the restau- rant’s signatures, Felipe says. People will drive from across the state, or further, to get a plate of El Rincon Poblano’s Pueblan fare, the brothers say. “We have a lot of customers that come by from Tucson, Flagstaff,” Agustin says. “They just come for a cemita because it’s the closest food they can get to home.” El Rincon Poblano 3302 W. Thomas Road, #1 Guadalupe Jimenez shows a finished cemita. The Puebla-style torta features a lighter, toasted bun, which the breaded and fried chicken cutlet overhangs. (Photo by Rebecca Rhoades) A Memela served bandera style with nopales at El Rincon Poblano. Memelas are fried tortillas stuffed with black beans. (Photo by Rebecca Rhoades) Food ‘From the Heart’ from p 12