Blue corn taco with shrimp
If you're going to do the same as everyone else, do it right. No, in fact, do it extraordinarily. Since you are... This is how the Cokima proposal, a new restaurant in the Arguelles area led by the Chef Daniel Esteban , stands out above the many others that also cling to the concept of traveling and street cuisine that is exposed so much in the current Madrid hospitality industry. Although it is more than seen (and tested), not everyone succeeds or elaborates it with good product, technique and allowing himself to play freely and without hesitation.
Places to see and be seen abound, but there are few where you can eat well. And at a good price. Therefore, Cokima brings together the three qualities that will soon attract a loyal clientele who enjoys exploring with the palate.
Bao of squid
"It's a concept that we have not invented and that takes time Madrid, but everyone ends up sticking with what is easy or what is widely accepted”, explains the chef of the details that differentiate Cokima from the others.
The project was born from the union of three partners –María, Enrique and Ángel– whose successful experience in the hospitality industry made them want to try their luck once again. "They knew they wanted to set up an informal place but with the very careful food . It was already together when we began to develop the idea of making a urban and street food, but with high quality and school", continues the chef whose career has spanned the kitchens of Mugaritz and Álbora.
"There are many places that offer sushi, raw fish, tuna tartare or ceviche... but what we are trying to do is to dare with dishes that are not yet very well known in Spain”, he continues.
"The tacos , for example, they are a booming proposal in Spain but in Mexico there are many varieties and many different ways of making them that are not yet known here”, explains the chef of how he plays with some governor tacos –so called in Mexico in the past because they contain shrimp, which made them expensive and only accessible to governors–, which he gives more than one turn with a blue corn tortilla, washed down with kimchi sauce and a crispy Parmesan.
Brioche stuffed with matured beef ribs
“In Cokema we mix the Mexican with the Asian, the Peruvian with the Arabic... Each one of these gastronomic cultures is known on its own, but we dare to elaborate them with different products and techniques”, he confesses.
“Technique is what sets us apart. In the kitchen there are many ways to do things, with attention to detail and taking care of each recipe. Ours are bulletproof and they come out yes or yes when they are followed to the letter... and our kitchen team never fails in that, in the cooking, the sauces, the points and the conservation".
Another of the dishes, which like most are available in portions and half portions, with which they are most successful is the matured cow rib brioche , cooked at low temperature for 18 hours and accompanied by pickled onion and green shiso leaf with soy mayonnaise. Or the sausage and octopus rossejat . "It seems like a big deal to me. intense sea and mountains of which I would eat five dishes", releases the chef.
The successes of classic traditional taverns They also stick out their chests with some semi-liquid Iberian ham croquettes or the fried squid, which makes its grand entrance inside a bao bread (whose origin lies in the Chinese gua bao and which was popularized by chef David Chang in the United States when he filled it with bacon at his Momofuku restaurant) with mint alioli.
Interior view of the restaurant
The torreznos They have little to do with what they are used to seeing in a traditional zinc bar, since here they come in Korean format with the saam , that is, wrapped in a lettuce leaf between pak choi, homemade teriyaki and aromatic leaves.
In addition to tacos, Mexico is once again present with a guacamole which they prepare in the same way that the Michelin-starred restaurant Punto MX set a trend, in a volcanic stone molcajete and at the table, in full view of the customer.
The project, whose name is an acronym for Cooking Kitchen Madness, is further proof that the madrilenian inn He is doing everything in his power to get ahead in such a difficult time. And that he does it successfully when it comes to projects with heart and soul. It does not matter if they do it with traditional dishes, with fusion or betting on fashions and trends, what is clear is that what matters is that the desire to feed well.