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By Belle Crawford | Photos by Jennifer Cole<\/p>\n
En La Calle, which translates to \u201cin the street,\u201d began with a desire to offer Asheville, in a bar setting, the vibrant culture and traditional foods found in the streets of Mexico City. \u201cEn La Calle is designed to be less of a \u2018fine dining experience\u2019 and more of an \u2018eat, drink and be merry\u2019 sort of trip,\u201d says En La Calle manager Joaquin Gomez. \u201cWe\u2019re a kinetic place, a lively place. And although we hone in on crafting the best cocktails we can and cooking up the tastiest dishes we can muster, it\u2019s the atmosphere that takes center stage.\u201d<\/p>\n
En La Calle houses a 22-seat bar with a white, concrete top, overhung with orange and fuchsia candle-lit globes. \u201cWhen we bring the lights down, which we do gradually as the night goes on,\u201d says Gomez, \u201cit lends a nice, intimate warmth to the room.\u201d The walls of En La Calle are decorated with murals reminiscent of street art. \u201cPretense is our enemy,\u201d Gomez says, \u201cand it\u2019s the personality of the staff that brings our bar to life. We\u2019re an enthusiastic crew.\u201d<\/p>\n
En La Calle owners Hugo Ramirez and Amy Cavanaugh opened the bar next door to Limones, their restaurant featuring Mexican and Californian cuisine established in 2004. The inspiration for the bar came from Ramirez\u2019s trips to his hometown in Mexico City. \u201cHugo and Amy wanted a bar that featured the flavors that characterize Mexican culture,\u201d says Gomez, \u201cboth on the street and in the home. Street food and\/or peasant food, to use another terminology, is what Latin cuisine is about. Good, simple flavors, using simple ingredients, executed well; it\u2019s what the majority of the En La Calle staff grew up on.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Some of the most popular menu items include grilled street corn (known in Mexico as \u2018elote\u2019) with cotija cheese, lime, chile negro crema, and the Tlacoyo Campechano, an oval-shaped corn masa tortilla filled with beans and topped with brisket barbacoa adobo pork, Chihuahua cheese, crema, pickled onion and salsa verde.<\/p>\n
A few of En La Calle\u2019s more popular signature cocktails include Margarita Caliente: silver tequila, triple sec, fresh limejuice and a habanero and berry mix; Mil Noches (\u201ca thousand nights\u201d) made from jalapeno-infused tequila, muddled cilantro and cucumbers; and El Ladron (\u201cthe thief\u201d), a light, delicate cocktail featuring mezcal, pear, cardamom, vanilla, ginger and grapefruit bitters that Gomez says has cultivated \u201cquite the following.\u201d<\/p>\n
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When asked about exciting ideas in the pipeline for En La Calle, Gomez mentions developing a custom beer. \u201cWe would love to partner with one of the micro-brews in town and develop our own signature brew,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
In the meantime, \u201cIf you like tequila,\u201d says Gomez, \u201cif you like mescal and great, simple food with inventive cocktails and a place that\u2019s lively, exuberant and affordable, we\u2019re the bar for you. If there\u2019s such a thing as casual, cool dining, we\u2019re it.\u201d<\/p>\n