En tiempo Latino: Latin food, beverages and restaurants are booming. A report from the front

Cheers, July-August, 2003 by Aurora Gallagher

Latin music, food and drinks burn like a supernova in the cultural firmament. And why? "Oh, easy question," answers Anthony Lamas, owner of Jicama Grill in Louisville, Kentucky. "Latin music, food and drinks are bold, colorful, and fun. And did I mention full of flavor?"

Three forces have came together to produce the explosion: first, an interest in roots, in seeking out the authentic and original in ethnic music, food and drinks. Second, innovation. Chefs and bartenders began to riff on traditional ingredients. Pride and passion -- the third force -- drive the dynamo of Latin culture.

Ingredients used in Latin drinks range from flowers (hibiscus) to grains (corn, rice, wheat), through tubers (chufa) to a cornucopia of familiar and exotic fruits. The lime takes pride of place among tastes, providing the principal flavor in the most popular drinks of Mexico, Cuba, Peru, Chile and Brazil -- the Margarita, Mojito, Pisco Sour and Caipirinha. Lime also sharpens other tastes. "Limon" can mean "lemon" or "lime" in the western hemisphere, but its quintessence is the small, thin-skinned, very juicy and piquant lime.

Earlier recipes for Latin drinks often accepted substitutes for fresh ingredients, but the search for authentic taste, that burst of flavor, has sent chefs and bartenders back to basics.

TENDER IS THE NOCHE

New in New York City from the former owner of Windows on the World is Noche, getting !oles** and !opas** from the salsa/samba crowds and the press. The huge space near Times Square with three levels, three bars and a ceiling that changes color, generates the excitement of a theater set for dining, dancing to live salsa and merengue music, drinking and enjoying very late hours. What contributes most to drinks sales? "Pricing and atmosphere," proprietor David Emil answers. "Some restaurants are eating venues and some are drinking venues. This is a drinking venue."

Reports mention "roving mojito carts." Emil comments: "I had the idea of cocktail carts, and I had them made up for Noche, to bring the bar to the table. But the carts were too difficult to maneuver between the tables with everything else going on, and we needed many more bartenders out on the floor. I haven't given up yet. This has been a dream of mine for a long time. I want drinks served at the table to be as good as those served at the bar." Pie muses a moment.

"When a good bartender makes you a drink, there's just that moment when it's served -- a kind of shimmer goes across the top."

SABOR AND HOW TO GET IT

A classic way to drink tequila straight is with a sangrita chaser. Many sangrita recipes mix tomato juice, lime juice, salt and chile, but Miguel Ravago, chef and co-owner of Fonda San Miguel in Austin, Texas, prefers a more delicate version of orange juice, grenadine, salt and a pinch of chile pequin or cayenne (see recipe). For those who find this too sweet, add a dash of red wine vinegar.

Rick Bayless, of Frontera Grill and Topolobampo in Chicago, says, "I'm a traditionalist. We offer 'steeped Margaritas' here, letting the lime juice and sugar blend overnight with lime zest. The zest really brings out the flavor," he says. "I also like to use an orange liqueur from Spain, Gran Torres. Our Topolo Martini uses Sauza Conmemorativo anejo with these ingredients. We shake it at the table, and the result is very smooth. A Margarita we like combines an agave blanco tequila like El Tesoro Blanco with Cointreau and lime juice, also shaken at the table."

Winston Cole, director of catering and the drinks program for Zarela in New York City uses fresh lime juice, Colonial Club Triple Sec and Montezuma Tequila for the machine, and for straight-up Margaritas, fresh lime juice, Cointreau or Grand Marnier, and tequila of the customer's choice (or he selects a high-end one). "Sometimes I place a floater of triple sec on top," he says. And no doubt a shimmer goes across it when served.

Refreshing drinks called "aguas frescas" have been made for centuries by soaking or pulping fruits, infusing them with water and mixing in sugar. Lamas of Jicama Grill brings them to his customers' attention by filling bowl-shaped glasses with the three or so aguas he features daily, and setting them on the bar. "Kentucky grows a lot of melons," he explains, "and I think our most popular agua fresca must be the yellow watermelon. I also do kiwi and lime, pineapple, and passion fruit and lime. Any of these aguas can be given a shot of rum for a delicious mixed drink."

Other spirits are yielding popular cocktails. Bayless, for example, likes to mix a single-village mezcal from Oaxaca, such as Chichicapa with lime juice, a splash of brandy and dash of Angostura bitters.

When serving the new, what is needed, says Cole, "is time to explain the ingredients and flavors to the customer. I like to make a maguey Margarita, but I want the customer to know what it is and really sample it."

In Brazil, bars along the beach pulp fresh tropical fruits and mix them directly in the blender with ice for a batida. Brazilians who plan to be at the beach for awhile may ask the bartender to throw in a handful of vitamins. By night, the batida whips in a shot of cachaca (ka-SHA-sa), a spirit from sugar cane juice. Compared to rum, a product of molasses, cachaca delivers a more fiery sensation.