The new Essex Street Market on the Lower East Side is home to a surprise for Mexican food lovers: the only tortilla shop in Manhattan.
Its owner, Fernando Ruiz, details how he received the invitation to put the first tortilla shop in this popular neighborhood of the Big Apple: “The nice thing was that this great project came looking for me. They went to Queens to look for me and they brought me… They entered the tortilla shop and said what you have here, we want it there. “
In Mexico, the dough used to make corn tortillas is called nixtamal. This word comes from the Nahuatl language: nextamalli, which means tamale in ashes.
And it was this name that Fernando Ruiz used for his business. This is his second tortilla shop. About 10 years ago it opened Nixtamal from Queens.
The Mexican-born businessman explains where the idea of starting the tortilla business in New York came from: “I always wondered why tacos in New York tasted horrible, right? And I already realized that it was the tortilla. And that none of the tortillas in New York were made of corn or nixtamal. “
The Nixtamal Tortilleria opened its doors on the Lower East Side earlier this year. And it has a staff of 8 employees for its two shifts and produces between 70 and 80 pounds of tortillas daily.
And its employees shared their enthusiasm for working in this business: “What pleases me is seeing people leave with joy. Bringing them a little bit of Mexico … That touch of Mexico is what we want,” said Fernando Pérez .
For his part, Willie Hernández explained: “With the nixtamalization process that we carry out, we are bringing a little more the authenticity of our Mexican product to New York City.”
The tortilleria Nixtamal in Manhattan it brings together people who are truly knowledgeable about Mexican cuisine.
Rosalba Ruiz, is the wife of the co-owner: “The people behind us are super experienced who know about Mexican recipes, they know about sauces, they know about preparation. It is a challenge to learn something new and that is what I try to do every day” .
In addition to selling tortillas by the pound, at the Essex Street Market, Nixtamal also offers a variety of tacos on its menu, including the ever-popular ‘al pastor’.
Nixtamal Tortilla is located on the lower level of the new Market Line on the Lower East Side, which is at the corner of Delancey and Essex streets in Manhattan.
For more information, visit the website: tortillerianixtamal.com
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