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'Legacy of my family': Herencia offers authentic Mexican cuisine made from recipes passed down through generations
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Herencia鈥檚 menu is made up of Mexican recipes passed down for generations.
鈥淗erencia in Spanish means 鈥榟eritage鈥� and this entire concept is based on the rich legacy of my family, the Valdovinos family,鈥� said Henrique Valdovinos, chef and owner of Herencia. 鈥淭he rich influence that my grandmother and mother had on my cooking style is displayed in every one of my dishes.鈥�
Valdovinos said he tried to capture the natural flavors of Mexico City.
'Legacy of my family': Herencia offers authentic Mexican cuisine made from recipes passed down through generations
鈥淚n my house, growing up, there were always certain flavors present,鈥� he explained. 鈥淕rowing up in a modest environment, I learned to appreciate the simplicity of our food from a very young age, many dishes my mother prepared for us have been converted to unique flavors and authentic Mexican delicacies here at Herencia. My training and experience as a chef for more than 50 years have been embellished by the traditions carried by my family.鈥�
Herencia is a vision that鈥檚 been years in the making for Valdovinos. The restaurant opened in September.
鈥淏eing present in the Northeast Heights corridor has always been my desire,鈥� he said.
The restaurant, which once housed a Greek restaurant, has been completely remodeled. It boasts murals by local artist, No茅 Barnett, that feature portraits of Valdovinos鈥� family intertwined with Mexican inspired art and flora.
鈥淚 hope we can provide a unique experience for everyone that comes here, not only with our flavors and presentations, but also with the level of service we offer,鈥� Valdovinos said.
Herencia鈥檚 menu showcases flavors passed down from generation to generation in the Valdovinos family. Valdovinos grew up in Mexico and moved to New Mexico in 1995.
鈥淚 have a couple of recipes that are over 100 years old, and they鈥檙e fantastic flavors,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 how I put the menu together.鈥�
Gluten-free diets are welcome here, with Herencia鈥檚 menu being almost 100% gluten-free. The only exception is its choco flan, which features chocolate cake.
鈥淭here are no major issues with (having a gluten-free menu) and that鈥檚 because of the products that we use,鈥� Valdovinos explained. 鈥淲e use our heirloom corn, that is the cleanest corn you can ever have. We make our tortillas from scratch and everything that is served at the restaurant is made at the restaurant, that includes chorizos, salsas, moles, our pickled jalape帽os, everything literally is created here. And that鈥檚 always been my intention.鈥�
He added, that as a chef, he wanted to create a restaurant that was not just standard Mexican or northern Mexican food, but rather upscale Mexican cuisine that incorporated the flavors of Mexico City, Guadalajara and Mazatl谩n, Mexico, where his grandmother was born.
Valdovinos said he loves how the menu has attracted a variety of different patrons.
鈥淚 think that the top of the line (are) the crab enchiladas and the lobster enchiladas,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hose are two that are very much requested, the crab, we serve it during lunch, lobster during dinner. Then we also have a tenderloin with a chipotle crema that is out of this world. It鈥檚 sensational, extremely tender. And then there is another one, Carne en su Jugo that has a very unique flavor native to Guadalajara ... Ours is a different level because of the type of meat that I use for this specific dish and that has a lot of requests.鈥�
The Carne en su Jugo is top round beef simmered in a tomatillo broth.
He added that Herencia鈥檚 rib-eye with mole sauce, chicken and mole, as well as the fish dishes snapper Veracruz and the Camarones de Ajillo, which consists of sauteed jumbo shrimp prepared in a roasted garlic butter and white wine sauce, also are popular requests.
Herencia鈥檚 taco options also continue to be a hit.
The mini street tacos are served on small corn tortillas that are made in house. There are four different meats in the taco sampler: Carne en su Jugo, Pollo a Las Brazas (grilled chicken with garlic, lime and pasilla butter), pork al pastor and carne asada. The taco tray is for sharing and larger appetites. It comes with two or three meats of your choice and all the trimmings including rice, beans, salsas, pickled jalape帽os and serranos toreados, which are serrano chiles blistered over a grill or on a smooth, flat griddle called a comal.
The evening menu offers seafood tacos that have octopus, crab meat, shrimp and scallops. Lobster tacos are also offered some nights.
鈥淭hose are large tacos that we do with either a lobster or a seafood mix with cilantro, onion, tomato and a little bit of jalape帽o, very light, because we don鈥檛 want to offend the seafood palette,鈥� Valdovinos said.
Each meal begins with Herencia鈥檚 version of chips and salsa. Warm triangles of housemade tortillas are served with three different salsas, including a salsa made with three dried chiles that serves as the base for the restaurant鈥檚 mole sauce. It is made with pasilla, guajillo and ancho chiles.
鈥淲e have several salsas and we only present three because those are our primaries for us,鈥� Valdovinos explained. 鈥淎nd there is a reason behind them, like the tomatillo salsa for example, that used to be on my mom鈥檚 table in my mom鈥檚 house, every single day of my entire life, she always had tomatillo salsa on her table. Then we have a roasted salsa that is made with roasted vegetables and we call it salsa ranchera. And we used to use that one every time we had carnitas and chicharrones (fried pork skins) with fresh tortillas and aguacate (avocado).鈥�
Other salsas that are available upon request have more heat.
鈥淲e also have a peanut sauce that has chile de arbol, so that one has a lot of bite to it,鈥� Valdovinos said. 鈥淚f they want heat, they鈥檙e gonna find it there. And then we also have an avocado lime salsa that we use on our different dishes.鈥�
The chips served are not fried and stem from northern Mexico.
鈥淭he flavor of the heirloom corn is spectacular, so that鈥檚 one of the reasons we don鈥檛 fry it,鈥� Valdovinos said. 鈥淚 wanted to make sure that people had the ability to just dip into the salsas and enjoy it the way I feel it should be done.鈥�
Herencia does not have guacamole on the menu, instead it offers avocado in a purer form.
鈥淲e have mashed avocados with lime and salt, which is basically the flavors that we used to have (growing up),鈥� Valdovinos said.
Patrons can end their meal with a smooth, creamy and flavorful flan. Valdovinos said he struggled with what kind of dessert to put on the menu and initially went with a cheese flan to see how it would fare with guests. The restaurant now has a variety of different flans on the menu. The flans are served with pecan caramel and fresh whipped cream, both made in-house.
鈥淲e have a cheese flan, we have a choco flan that has chocolate cake, and that鈥檚 the only item that we have on our menu that actually has gluten on it because of the chocolate cake,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd then we have a pecan flan, a coconut flan and an arroz con leche (rice pudding) flan. We鈥檙e working on adding one more. We鈥檙e going to do a mango flan.鈥�
