Bobby Flay - Bobby Flays Mesa Grill Cookbook: Explosive Flavors from the Southwestern Kitchen

ALSO BY BOBBY FLAY Bobby Flay Cooks American Bobby Flays Bold American Food Bobby Flays Boy Gets Grill Bobby Flays Boy Meets Grill Bobby Flays From My Kitchen to Your Table Bobby Flays Grilling for Life

OVER THE LAST DECADE AND A HALF, THOUSANDS OF HARDWORKING, DEDICATED EMPLOYEES HAVE BEEN A TREMENDOUS PART OF MESA GRILLS EXISTENCE. HERE ARE A FEW OF THOSE WHO HELPED SHAPE THE CUISINE AND ENVIRONMENT OF MESA GRILL:
Larry Manheim Neil Manacle Christopher Hewitt Katy Sparks Patricia Yeo Christine Sanchez Wayne Harley Brachman Vicki Wells Joe Antonishek Craig Petroff Rick Pitcher Daryl Swetz Manny Gatdula Bob Mundell Alfred Stephens Nicole Reisman Stephanie Banyas Tara Taylor Sally Jackson Monique McCall John Kushner Brian Ray Paul Delfavero Anthony Fusco Renee Forsberg Theresa Scala Mario Sanchez Billy Steele Giovanni Bonilla J. P. Francois Lucille Jaccarino Osiris Brito Fran Bernfeld Tara Keeler
A special thank-you to my amazing editor, Rica Allannic. And to the greatest partners in the world, Jerry Kretchmer, Jeff Bliss, and Laurence Kretchmer. And, of course, to my daughter, Sophie, and to my wife, Stephanie, who endures every menu change, restaurant opening, and manuscript deadline with open arms and a warm heart.

MESA GRILL WAS THE RESTAURANT I ALWAYS DREAMED OF ONE DAY OPENING WHEN I WAS A YOUNG LINE COOK CRANKING OUT COUNTLESS MEALS AT A RESTAURANT CALLED JOE ALLEN IN NEW YORKS THEATER DISTRICT. IT DIDNT TAKE ME LONG TO REALIZE, EVEN IN MY FIRST DAYS AS A DISHWASHER, THAT I HAD FOUND MY PLACE IN LIFEAND IT WAS IN THE KITCHEN.
As I continued to learn the ins and outs of my chosen craft in other restaurants, my father would always talk to me about setting goals for myself, my future. Little did he know that I had already designed my dream restaurant in my head. I imagined soaring ceilings, dramatic colors adorning the walls, a large bar on one side of the room but not separate from the dining room. I wanted a sense of energy. I wanted a restaurant that would take you to another place as soon as you walked in the front door. An experience that was unique unto itself. And, of course, my dream restaurant would be in New York City, my birthplace. But it was early in my career. It was all fine and good to dream big, but I needed the skills first. I had no culinary point of view of my own yet. I was cooking other chefs food to the best of my ability, but I had yet to formalize my own palette of flavors. My first experience with Southwestern ingredients was at a restaurant called Buds, which was located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Jonathan Waxman, the chef and owner, would become my culinary mentor. Buds was one of the most innovative restaurants in the country back in the mid-1980s and I was mesmerized by the ingredients, the presentations, and the combinations of flavors. Most important, it was an unbelievably fun place to go to work. Every day was an adventure. The food at Buds was California cuisine with some stops in the Southwest. It was my first head-on collision with blue corn, fresh and dried chiles by the dozen, fresh mesquite wood for grilling. We used ripe fruits to counter the heat of the chiles and roasted corn on the cob to create salsas, relishes, and sauces that were smoky, sweet, tart, and spicy. It was a whole new world for meand I loved it. After working for Jonathan for a few years, I made a few pit stops in other New York restaurants before I was offered the head chef job at a modest but fantastically popular East Village restaurant called Miracle Grill. It gave me a chance to experiment on my own, which I did for three years. But I knew I wanted to take the signature contemporary Southwestern cuisine I was developing to another level. NOW THAT I WAS BEGINNING TO GET MY ARMS AROUND A CUISINE I COULD CALL MY OWN, I WANTED THE RESTAURANT ID ALWAYS DREAMED OFI WANTED MESA GRILL!
In the fall of 1990, a man named Jerry Kretchmer walked into Miracle Grill for dinner with his wife, Dorothy. I knew of Jerry; he owned one of the most well thought of restaurants in America, Gotham Bar and Grill. I didnt give his presence a second thought, though I was, of course, happy to cook for him. It didnt cross my mind for a moment that he might be interested in partnering up with me for a restaurant someday. I didnt know that Jerry and Dorothy had just come back from an extensive trip through the American Southwest. Jerry is a hard-core native New Yorker, but he had always wanted to be a cowboy. Was it possible that two New Yorkers from different generationsone obsessed with the culture, the beauty, and the people of the Southwest, and the other fully entrenched in its ingredients, techniques, and flavorscould come together to create something that fulfilled both of their dreams? Mesa Grill was born on lower Fifth Avenue in the Flatiron District of New York on January 16, 1991. Although New York was in a deadly financial recession, opening night of Mesa Grill was raucous until the first bomb was dropped on Iraq, signaling the start of the First Gulf War. Half of the dining room got up from their tables to go home and watch the first-ever televised war. It was not an illustrious start. Over the next few weeks, customers started coming back to the restaurant, and Mesa Grill was under way. It was far from easy. Food critics were in every corner of the dining room to see if we could deliver what we had promised. But the reviews were upbeat and generous and the restaurant I had dreamed of had become a reality. AS I WRITE THIS, IT HAS BEEN SIXTEEN YEARS SINCE THE DOORS FIRST OPENED. THERE ARE NOW OUTPOSTS AT CAESARS PALACE IN LAS VEGAS AND AT ATLANTIS, PARADISE ISLAND, BAHAMAS.
The menu has changed and evolved over the years but has always stayed true to its Southwestern roots. In fact, two dishes remain today from that opening menuShrimp and Roasted Garlic Corn Tamales and BBQ-Duck-Filled Blue Corn Pancakes with Habanero Sauce. Temptation to integrate the hot and trendy ingredients or cuisines of the moment has been fended off by an allegiance to a cuisine that has helped shape my career. When people ask me to describe the food of Mesa Grill, I usually answer them in two words: Contemporary Southwestern. Its a simple description of a cuisine that to me is still as exciting as it was when I first got to know its flavorful ingredients a couple of decades ago: the roasted corn fresh from the cob; the cornmeals in a myriad of colors; the dried red chiles that are earthy, smoky, fruity, and spicy; the fresh chiles that are peppery, herbaceous, and mouthwatering; the ripe, creamy avocados; the sweet fruits like mango and papaya; pineapples hot off the grill, ready to be made into a salsa; the meats, fish, and vegetables that are gently rubbed with spices to accent their flavors and help create a crust that is savory and mouth-tingling; the glazes and barbecue sauces; the marinades and rubs; and dont forget the tequila. It all makes up the culture of Mesa Grill, which started as a New York City restaurant with colorful walls, energetic patrons, and soaring ceilings high enough for your cowboy hat.