Florida Agenda

By DALE MADISON

Stephanie Lee, one of the owners of the new Wilton Drive eatery Pinché Taqueria, has enjoyed her share of twists and turns, both personally and professionally. Lee, along with business partner Jeff Chartier, has been a professional restaurateur for three years. She and Chartier met when both worked in the financial industry, he a broker and Lee a trader in the same brokerage.

Before becoming a broker, Chartier lived in Tijuana, Mexico, where he learned all facets of the food industry–from the “front of the house” to working the line and serving. Little did he think at the time that it would be something for which he would feel such passion.

While living in New York in 2009, with the mortgage business collapsing, both Chartier and Lee knew that something would have to change. Chartier opened his first Pinché Taqueria in the SoHo neighborhood of Lower Manhattan. Serving basic Mexican cuisine, the small restaurant could only seat about 10 people, but if you’ve ever been to New York City, many of the restaurants are small, basically with walk up service, allowing patrons to grab and go to get back to the office.

He had just opened his second store: “Are you ready to leave that desk job?” he asked. The rest is cliché, or history, as we say. Lee continued to work at her office day job, and at night learned the Mexican food business inside and out.

Both Lee and Chartier realized that they really didn’t want to spend winters in the New York cold. Besides, as Lee pointed out, “our business really slowed in the winter months.

Enter Lee’s hairstylist, Eric, who is friends with Wilton Manors Mayor Gary Resnick. When Lee mentioned that she and Chartier were thinking of opening a store in Florida, Eric’s immediate response was “Go to Wilton Manors.”

The pair packed their bags, boarded a plane, and flew to Greater Fort Lauderdale to search for a location. “We found this big white box building,” Lee described the Wilton Drive complex across from City Hall that now houses their restaurant. The two designed the architectural layout, and presented their ideas to the building’s owner, who loved the look, was excited about the plans, and approved it on the spot.

Lee and Chartier are hoping to make a splash in the Gayborhood, with their Grand Opening scheduled for Wednesday, March 28 at 6:30 p.m., an event that’s sponsored by Herradura Tequila. Lee says that food delivery service starts this week, with delivery from Commercial Blvd. to Las Olas Blvd., and from Powerline Rd. to Federal Highway. Curiosity got the best of me and I had to ask, “What is the meaning in Spanish of Pinché Taqueria?” Lee paused with a twinkle in her eye: “I don’t know if you can put this in your article but it is Mexican slang meaning ‘that f’ing Taqueria.’” I will let the editor make the call on this one.

I stopped by Pinché Taqueria for lunch later that afternoon, and I will say the food was great and the place a wonderful addition to the growing restaurant community on Wilton Drive.

As for co-owner Stephanie Lee, one look at her face is all you need to know about her feelings for her new venture and her new town: “I am having the time of my life and I will never go back to a desk job,” she said. When you visit Pinché, tell them Guy Magazine sent you.

By RICHARD DAVID CHAMBERLAIN

2045 Wilton Drive
Wilton Manors, FL 33305
954-990-6282

There’s something new happening on Wilton Drive in Wilton Manors. Already, we can hear you saying “Yea, yea, yea… isn’t there always?” And, of course, you’re right. In this case, however, we’re talking great food and plenty of it at the new Mexican joint Pinché Taqueria—which in Spanish means something like “kitchen boy’s taco bar.” The name came from the original Pinché, which was on a dusty side street in Tijuana, Mexico, where workers could pick up inexpensive tacos, burritos and quesadillas.

When owner Jeff Chartier packed the kitchen supplies, the groceries, and the Mexicans in the trunk of a bus and brought them across the border and up to his first two Taqueria’s in Manhattan, his goal was to make his taco bars the most authentic in town. Sweet Stephanie Lee continues the theme running the newest outlet of the Mexican chain, adding her own touch of Florida heat in the process.

The meats are butchered on the premises, the organic groceries still shipped in from South of the Border, the mesquite grill flame roasts meats, corns and peppers to perfection in an atmosphere that can best be described as “hold on to your stool seat; there’s a new game in town.”

As you might expect from a taqueria, there’s an array of tacos on the menu, including a seasoned chicken Taco de Pollo Asada ($2.95); a battered fried or grilled mahi-mahi Taco de Pescado ($3.95), served with shredded cabbage and a delicious cilantro dressing; spitgrilled pork Taco al Pastor ($2.95), or the even more tender braised grilled pork Taco de Carnitas ($2.95); and the traditional stand-by Taco de Carne Asada ($2.95), made with grilled steak.

The most popular items on the menu, as confirmed by our oh-so-personable waiter Johnny (we compared abs; mine won), were Carnitas Michoacanas ($12.95) and Arrachera Steak ($13.95). The carnitas platter was a healthy serving of tender pork arranged art-house perfect on several tortillas with rice and beans, topped with a mystery broth that was aromatic enough to bring neighborhood cats purring, and a delicious piece of corn-on-the-cob, labeled Elote on the side. It’s grilled on the fire and seasoned with salt, crumbly cotija anejo cheese, butter and mayo (so good that it’s sold by itself at $3.50). The steak is a masterwork of thinly sliced skirt steak that’s been marinated within an inch of its life in tequila and garlic. The moist and flavorful end result is far too delicious to be thought of as pure Mexican, but you’ll clean your plate and that of your neighbors.

Our favorite ensalada on the menu is a burst of freshness called Tortilla Lime Salad ($11.95) which normally comes on soft tortillas but we special ordered the dish in a crispy tortilla bowl. Overflowing with shrimp, beans, tomatoes, fresh sliced peppers, corn, onions, the entire entrée is topped with tortilla strips, making it more an event than a mere dish.

Though you can check it out now, the Grand Opening of Pinché Taqueria is on Wednesday, March 28 at which point the restaurant is certain to have its few rough edges smoothed to a spit-shine. The margaritas are too weak and too expensive in a town where the $3.00 margarita is standard. They have no chunky pico de gallo salsa for the delicious freshly made chips, preferring to use a flavorful but thin variation. And they have no option of crispy shell tacos—only soft tortillas, which may be authentic Mexican, but, hello, this is Florida.

But these are small issues compared with the main theme—filler-up food with fun, fun servers. The manager’s name is Josh. Tell him Florida Agenda sent you!