A first look at upcoming Gateway Plaza concepts via a supergroup of Raleigh restaurant vets
As anyone in the restaurant industry will tell you, things never go exactly according to plan.
When Angela Salamanca and Marshall Davis opened Ex-Voto inside the Durham Food Hall, the intention had always been to nixtamalize their own corn. The time-intensive, traditional approach to prepping corn and turning it into masa was supposed to be the signature element of their joint project, allowing them to churn out high-quality tortillas, tamales and other products by hand in-house. Instead, their opening aligned with the onset of the pandemic, and Ex-Voto became known for its bounty of thick crunchwraps sealed with melted hoop cheese. It’s one of the single best dishes you can order anywhere in the Triangle, but this wasn’t what they’d set out to accomplish.
Mala Pata Molino & Cocina is their chance to fix that. The new venture planned for Raleigh’s Gateway Plaza—home to Union Special, Fine Folk and soon a relocated Fiction Kitchen—will incorporate corn all across the menu, including in its cocktail program.
“Some of what is going to happen at Mala Pata is a continuation of what we really wanted to do at Ex-Voto that we weren’t really ever able to do once we got in the space,” says Salamanca, who also owns Centro and Gallo Pelón in DTR and lives near Gateway. “There was this unfulfilled desire of, ‘This is something we really want to do.’”
The restaurant’s name is a nod to that journey. Mala Pata—or “bad luck” in Spanish—is a playful reference to the challenging start for Ex-Voto and food hall neighbor Locals Seafood. Two industry vets from Locals—Eric Montagne and Zack Gragg—are partnering on the venture too, ensuring a heavy dose of fresh seafood on the menu. The rest of Mala Pata’s name, molino & cocina, means “corn mill and kitchen.”
In addition to “really good fish tacos,” the menu will “take traditional methods and play with them a bit,” offering ingredients and dishes inspired by flavors from across Latin America, says Davis. The owners are optimistic they’ll open before the end of the year, but they know all too well nothing is a given.
In at least one aspect, Mala Pata will mirror Salamanca’s success at Centro and mezcaleria Gallo Pelón, pairing the restaurant with a neighboring bar. The partners are adding a “come-as-you-are” cantina next door called Peyote Mini-Mercado, which will function as a late-night mezcal bar and grab-and-go joint, in addition to serving as Mala Pata’s service bar. Down the road, Mala Pata’s back of house will also include a ghost kitchen for pop-ups and other fun stuff, but the owners are keeping its name under wraps for now.
It won’t be Ex-Voto though, and that’s partly because Salamanca and Davis are in the final stages of nailing down a spot “near Longleaf Swine” to bring the hit concept to Raleigh. Their target opening is next spring (!).
In the meantime, the business partners are still figuring out the exact vibe of Mala Pata and Peyote. In a group text, they send a jumbled range of inspirational ideas and styles. The strongest influences may be Austin’s Nixta Taqueria; Florida’s Taquiza; and a mélange of places in Oaxaca, Mexico, and market stalls in Mexico City ranging from “gluttonous street food to very traditional,” says Davis.
“At the end of the day, that’s what I think we are,” adds Salamanca: “gluttonous people with refined taste.” “We’re hedonists,” Davis throws in with a laugh. And we’re here for it.
@malapata.molino
Read the full article here