by Ken Tsui | It’s early in the afternoon at Commercial Drive’s La Mezcaleria and Chef Alexander Cruz is getting ready to feed his crew after hours of preparations for the coming dinner service. Today, he’s making chilaquiles. “It’s a Mexican lunch classic,” says excited co-owner Ignacio Arrieta, who can’t wait to dig in himself.
Cruz begins by putting a big pot of red guajillo pepper sauce on the stove. As it begins to heat up, he whisks a big bowl of eggs, pouring them into a satisfyingly sizzling hot pan before folding in a healthy dose of refried beans. Meanwhile, bar manager Pablo Schor is making fresh orange juice, Arrieta is setting the table, and the rest of the night’s staff begin to trickle in for the staff meal.
With the sauce now bubbling, Chef Cruz ladles it over each plate and nestles big spoonfuls of refried beans next to crispy totopos (corn tortillas) before garnishing them with sour cream, raw onion, cheese, and fried eggs.
Chef Cruz calls his duo of cooks out of the kitchen as everyone gathers around the table to eat and crack a few jokes. Once the crew mops the last of the guajillo pepper sauce from each of their their plates with bits of bread, they hop back to work preparing for the evening’s onslaught.