Charles Street's restaurant offerings will soon include fish tacos and one-and-a-half-pound burritos. Ken Diaz will open Gordito's Café at 336 N. Charles Street, replacing Milton's Grill, by October. A former restaurant consultant who has worked for Edo Sushi, Mari Luna Mexican Grill and Lebanese Taverna, Diaz is spending $250,000 of his own money to start the 85-seat eatery.
Gordito's offerings will include traditional Mexican dishes, including a gordita, a corn cake stuffed with meat, and a torta, a sandwich with thinly sliced steak or chicken. Flour and corn tortillas will be homemade.
Smaller items will cost between $6 and $10 while the king-size burrito that can feed two will cost $14. Lunch and dinner entrees will average around $15.
Authentic Mexican drinks will be on the menu as well at the 2,500-square-foot restaurant. Those include Mexican Bloody Marys, a Mexican black and tan (beer and brand) and, of course, margaritas.
Using the tagline
cocina, cultura, historia for his new concept, Diaz wants to give diners a taste of Mexican culture and history and not just its flavorful spices. Gordito's will feature Mexican bingo and Mariachi bands every week and display photos of Aztec warriors and cinema stars.
Though some restaurants are struggling now in a down economy, Diaz isn't worried. With no other Mexican restaurants in the downtown area, he has little competition and hopes that if you offer good food and service at a reasonable price, the people will come.
In fact, if things go well, Diaz hopes to open five to seven additional locations in Greater Baltimore within a few years.
Diaz chose the Downtown area because he admired the neighborhood's eclectic mix of people and historic architecture. His own building includes an entire wall with exposed brick.
"I fell in love with the space," he says.
To read more about downtown, go
here.
Source: Ken Diaz, Gordito's
Writer: Julekha Dash