In 2004 we opened a sprawling restaurant in Coral Gables. I knew we needed to be quite a bit different than my original restaurant both in concept and price points. This would be a more casual, boisterous place with lunch and dinner as well as a market within the 10K foot place. The design team starred Michael Guthrie on overall design and Mark Stech-Novak on our kitchens. Yes plural in that a whole lot of it was open to the dining room while the back kitchen was for prep and cleanup and deliveries. I was extremely lucky to have such a place to showcase our menus.
I had been doing various themes with ‘tapas’ over the years. It is true that when my partner Proal Perry and I initially told folks we were going to do ‘tapas’ at the under utilized second floor at Louie’s Backyard they would often say something like, “Excuse me? You are going to do topless??!!”
Fortunately we have come a long way since then in American dining and we don’t have to explain the concept nor the word so much. But back in 2004 it was still dawning on the populace. This was the introductory part on top of the menu I wrote back then.
You ask, “What kind of restaurant is MUNDO? It’s a sharing, tasting, playing, experimenting, cooking right in front of you, “let’s taste these”, “let’s get that now” kind of restaurant. The birthplace of MUNDO comes in part from the traditions and innovations of Spain. There is a word that describes the happy celebration of flavors one can partake in by wandering from one little café or taberna to another. The word is Chiquiteo. The MUNDO style also comes from the myriad food stalls and markets of Asia where you can stroll and taste the magic that part of the world conjures. Of course MUNDO means “world”… so the influences are as global as we are.”
In this video I showcase one of the books we used to study for our journey.