"The people here have such a great sense of community, and are very proud of where they come from," York says. Roughly a month since opening their doors to plenty of social media buzz, the couple are feeling even more excited to be in Hillyard. And the braised pork cheeks are influenced by Hispanic and Latin flavors, but done very fresh."Ĭhef Gonzalez's culinary influences come together in his arepa con cerdo dish.īrunch, Gonzalez says, will be different than your standard fare - less waffles and more Latin ingredients, flavors and traditional dishes. The arepa is very Spanish - it's very light and fluffy and cheesy, and then the mole is very, very Jalisco, which is where is from.
"It took a lot of trial and error, and combines both cultures I'm from. "That dish, for me, brings the essence of what we're trying to accomplish here," he says.
Kismet's arepas con cerdo cakes (Spanish for pork, $13), meanwhile, took Gonzalez some time to refine, relying on his professional culinary training.
So Gonzalez decided to name his version tacos whettos whettos being Mexican slang for "White boys."
They were not like real tacos, they were crispy taco with all these Mexican meats my grandmother made, and we called them 'White boy tacos.'" "My grandmothers were very, very amazing cooks, but my mother, unfortunately - bless her heart - was not the best cook growing up," Gonzalez says, laughing. "I was always learning stuff from both of my grandmothers," he says, noting that Kismet's tamales ($15 offered with pork or veggie filling) and mole sauce are both close adaptations of their recipes.Īnother homage to family is the tacos "whettos" ($14) of beef cheek barbacoa, manchego cheese, salsa and hot sauce on corn tortillas. On the family side, Gonzalez credits his grandmothers, and recalls spending time in the kitchen with both as they made tamales while watching Mexican soap operas. If the food is good, people will always eat it. "I got to work with Adam, and a lot of the stuff he does with gastronomy and putting these flavors together - just because something is different or weird doesn't mean we can't put it on the menu. "I am very passionate about Latin-inspired stuff," Gonzalez says. Before branching out to open his own spot, the chef was in the kitchens of Adam Hegsted's Eat Good Group, starting with Wandering Table. Focusing on Latin and Spanish-influenced cuisine, Kismet's menu is a combination of Gonzalez's Mexican and Spanish heritage and his affinity for classic French and Italian cooking techniques.