Reinvention and multiplicity are smart moves in times like these. As international travel remains a struggle, menus that tour us around a region are a gift. Enter 25 Lusk’s new Traveler concept, which kicked off September 1 inside the restaurant and will rotate every six months to a new place in the world, while their casual rooftop menu remains.
The first destination? Mexico. Which is no easy menu to create. Whether you seek Oaxacan or Pueblan moles, Yucatecan poc chuc or Baja fish tacos, no two Mexican states serve the same style of dishes. So they wisely journey across states.
I have a range of memories at 25 Lusk since it opened in 2010, from drinks at the half-underground bar, to brunch on that inviting rooftop.
25 Lusk chef Matthew Dolan says this is a cocktail-centric menu with food pairings, and backing that up, he partnered with none other than Elmer Mejicanos (historically helming the bars of Tony Gemignani’s incomparable North Beach restaurants; currently of Spanish newcomer Red Window). Elmer envisioned the Traveler concept pre-pandemic and his cocktails are a draw alone (more on that in a moment).
But Dolan and the team have assembled a menu of gourmet bar food (shareable, small plates, fun), representing a cross-section of Mexico’s endless edible delights.
I have a range of memories at 25 Lusk since it opened in 2010, from drinks at the half-underground bar, to brunch on that inviting rooftop. But I would posit this menu collab is the best I’ve yet tasted here. CIA-trained (the ultimate cooking school: Culinary Institute of America) Dolan has spent a lifetime cooking from Manhattan to New Orleans and around Europe. But here, he wisely partnered with two of his kitchen staff from Mexico — Eutimio Avila and Jesus Fernando Ake Chan — letting them lead the way in creating regional dishes. Dolan tells me of Lusk’s powerhouse dishwasher, an older woman who perfects their daily-made tortillas and masa like no one else. This is, indeed, a team effort.
Mejicanos works closely with 25 Lusk bar manager Natalie Lichtman to execute a cocktail menu that is exquisite as it is drinkable and, important in these short-staffed times, recreatable in a timely fashion. Wisely, he steers clear of the obvious agave-only spirits selection or margaritas and palomas to give us a fresh take on Mexican flavors. But take notice of A Clear Classic.
It is, in fact, a Paloma variation, without limiting itself in the name. It’s a blend of tequila, mezcal, clarified grapefruit and lime juices. Carbonated with salt, it drinks light, bright, luxurious, as if a Paloma morphed into a champagne cocktail.
I immediately felt the urge to down a few (but resisted). A light, savory Fruit Stand Margarita (tequila, radish, cucumber, lime, “spicy bits”) is the margarita you didn’t know you needed. Ditto house Tepache Con Ron, Mexico’s fermented pineapple rind drink classic — with the added bonus of rum.
Numerous standouts do not feature agave/Mexican spirits. Lichtman came up with the Zocalo Martini, working with Mejicanos on its unique cashew-washed gin base, showcasing caju — the fruit of the cashew tree — with blanc (white) and dry vermouths, plum bitters, and an apple slice garnish candied with an almost cashew-brittle-style candy. The cocktail is nutty, complex, boozy yet fruit-forward.
The Volcan de Maracuya cocktail proves how crushable a Scotch cocktail can be in the right hands. Its tropical-sweet-salty contrast of salted maracuja (passionfruit) foam with Scotch and ancho chile-infused Amaro Montenegro takes its place with some of the best refreshings, lighter whisky cocktails I’ve tasted at bars around the world — still too rare an occurrence.
Mexico is the only place I traveled a few times in the initial year of the pandemic (for work and nowhere near beaches, lest you think this was irresponsible vacationing).
Dolan’s menu does, indeed, support and make room for the cocktails to star, though the food is reason enough to visit. I adore elote (on the cob) or esquites (shaved off the cob) Mexican corn dishes. 25 Lusk’s elote asado keeps it classic: a toasted corn cob lightly doused in lime juice, queso fresco, chili powder and cilantro. Their tamal is as comforting as it gets, especially filled with cochinita pibil: the Yucatán Peninsula’s famed slow-cooked pork, marinated in citrus, vivid orange from annatto seeds, wrapped in a banana leaf so it stays tender.
My heart makes a happy leap when I see tlayuda on the menu, a top dish from my beloved Oaxaca, my favorite state to eat in all of Mexico (and as home of the majority of mezcal production, it’s double heaven). Dolan’s tlayuda is smaller and less thin and crispy than the dinner plate-sized, toasted tlayudas I ate around Oaxaca or in California’s best Oaxacan restaurants. But 25 Lusk’s version is elevated and a more approachable portion, topped with a traditional mix of Oaxacan cheese and beans, as well as radish, elote (corn) and tomatoes.
The most irresistible dish may be the taco transito de lujo, or pigs feet taco. The rich pork fat crunch of pigs feet contrasts with pickled fresno chilis, cabbage and refried black beans. On those dreamy housemade tortillas with killer house salsas, it’s a ridiculously gratifying taco. They also offer cochinita pibil and fried cod tacos, but take a risk and try the pigs feet (you’ll realize that almost all damn parts of the precious pig are delicious).
Cool off with a finish of paleta de Hielo de horchata, aka horchata (spiced rice milk) popsicles fortified with vodka to keep a creamy-yet-icy texture. The paletas (popsicles) are a case in point of just how fun the Traveler menu is.
We don’t yet know the next theme they’ll flip to in less than six months' time, but Dolan and Mejicanos are committed to working with a chef from each of the countries they “travel” through.
Mexico is the only place I traveled a few times in the initial year of the pandemic (for work and nowhere near beaches, lest you think this was irresponsible vacationing). But I miss the freedom of traveling Mexico’s vast regions. We are blessed to live in California, with its roots as part of Mexico and a Mexican population of millions going back to its inception. Authentic, regional Mexican food of every stripe — not to mention the deepest agave spirits selections — is in our blood.
25 Lusk offers a Modern Mexican menu that feels like a gourmet, playful road trip, where distances between states and flavors are blurred. The blurring is especially effective when drinking cocktails of this caliber and crushability.
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Much as I look forward to their next Traveler tour, I hope to experience their Mexican journey a few more times before it’s over.
