▼ Café Mexican Gems Two under-the-radar spots that break the mold. BY CHRIS MALLOY I f you think Mexican food is supposed to be cheap, I have bad news for you: Pulque Fine Mexican Cuisine is serving a $35 ribeye with yellow mole. Chef Danny Medina is frying $14 piles of calamari breaded in blue corn. His servers shake a $16 Codigo Blanco margarita kissed with lavender, the glass paved with black lava salt. And each dish is worth every penny. Medina has cooked in some of the prici- est, fanciest restaurants in the Valley, places like Dominick’s Steakhouse and The Capital Grille. In the first days of 2021, he opened a one-room, 48-seater in Scotts- dale with white tablecloths, a modest bar stocked with agave spirits, a painting of Frida Kahlo on one wall, and a few plants. There hasn’t been an Instagram influ- encer bonanza. There hasn’t been press. Quietly, though, there has been quality eat- ing. But Medina’s food deserves some atten- THERE HASN’T BEEN AN INFLUENCER BONANZA. BUT QUIETLY, THERE’S BEEN QUALITY EATING. tion. It adds something to the Mexican dining scene north of Via Linda: a high- end restaurant that leads with sub- stance rather than lavish style. To begin, even the chips are pip- ing hot and have a telling sheen of oil. They are clearly fresh. Each brings a giant crunch, a wel- come opener. That $35 steak speaks volumes about the restaurant. No thicker than an inch, the buttery ribeye has grill marks so picturesque they might be out of a TV commercial. Though mine was cooked slightly past medium rare, the meat was rich and tender, a really solid steak. The steak sat in a yellow mole fiery with smoke and vegetal intensity of guajillo and chile de arbol, yet mild, mellow, and re- strained enough to let complex, dusky spic- ing come through. Medina also cooks many of his fine Mexican dishes with charming creativity. For instance, his fried calamari has a breading light and airy, almost tempura- like in its finesse. You dunk purplish rings showered with parsley and sliced chile into a tangy mixture of apricot and chamoy. It has to be one of the most unique calamari dishes in town. The menu at Pulque has range. If you stop by at lunch, you can grab tacos and tortas. The dinner menu abandons these entirely and moves into plate meals. These Jacob Tyler Dunn The burrito and interior at Testal. Jacob Tyler Dunn include soups, salads, ceviche, and a hand- ful of entrees, most of which are grilled and alive with yellow, red, or green mole. Me- dina, who is from Chihuahua and has lived in Arizona for 35 years, focuses on the foods of Puebla and Oaxaca. Mole stars. He studs an arc of jiggly grilled scallops in a smear of green mole. Composed of chiefly serrano, jalapeño, and poblano pep- pers, this mole has a sharp, clean heat and the freshness of many untraceable herbs yet also richness. The scallops are a touch sweet on bites undominated by mole and cooked without much of a hard sear, but nicely. I also enjoyed the flautas — hot, crunchy rolled tacos made of the same hot, oil-slick substance as the chips. These cigarillos are filled with juicy chicken, zagged with crema, and lifted with the same yellow mole as the steak. The drinks at Pulque are worth trying even though, in my experience, they are the handiwork of your server and not a dedicated drink specialist. No problem. (The margaritas were good enough to war- rant real estate in my recent story on the te- quila cocktail.) >> p 31 29 phoenixnewtimes.com | CONTENTS | FEEDBACK | OPINION | NEWS | FEATURE | NIGHT+DAY | CULTURE | FILM | CAFE | MUSIC | PHOENIX NEW TIMES SEPT 23RD – SEPT 29TH, 2021
