Oaxacan inspiration guiding new venture Xochi
When the H Town Restaurant Group, headed by award-winning chef Hugo Ortega and restaurateur Tracy Vaught, announced in July that it would open a restaurant in downtown’s Marriott Marquis Houston, nothing was known about the theme of the venture occupying a marquee spot at the mega-hotel.
And throughout its construction, the principals have remained mum about the project called Xochi. Until now.
Ortega and Vaught told the Chronicle on Thursday that Xochi, set to open in January, will celebrate the food and drink of the Mexican state of Oaxaca. Whereas the original Hugo’s was inspired by authentic regional Mexican cuisine and the heralded Caracol was conceived as a coastal Mexican restaurant, Xochi taps the indigenous flavors of the state that Ortega suggests is Mexico’s culinary glory.
“Oaxaca is timeless. The bounty of native ingredients is almost overwhelming,” Mexico City-born Ortega said. “There are 15 to 18 dialects spoken through Oaxaca. In some villages, Spanish is not the first language. That lets you know how remote these areas are.”
Those remote pockets, coupled with the state’s varied, rugged terrain, fascinate chef Ortega, who has been nominated five times for the James Beard Award as Best Chef Southwest. Those qualities also inspired him to choose Oaxaca as the inspiration for Xochi — from Xochitl, the Aztec-Nahuatl word for flower.
“Oaxaca is so rich with culinary diversity and traditions and is a place I never tire of visiting,” he said.
Oaxaca is the region most often associated with mole, the paste made from dried chile, nuts, seeds and spices used to create glorious sauces that vary wildly throughout Mexico. And yes, Xochi will offer mole dishes. And much more.
Though the completed menu remains under wraps, Ortega said the kitchen will endeavor to make almost everything from scratch: tortillas from freshly ground corn; cheeses, including queso fresco; a daily variety of moles (the menu will offer a mole sampler in addition to mole dishes); and houseroasted and -ground cacao beans for Mexican chocolate. He plans to import special herbs and flowers to be used in his dishes.
The Xochi menu also will include meat and seafood dishes prepared in a wood-fired oven, such as tlayudas, Oaxacan street snacks built on large corn tortillas that resemble pizzas or flatbreads.
There will be barbacoa, grilled ribeye with black bean tamale and mole, slow-cooked suckling pig and a traditional fish-and-shrimp soup heated with hot river rocks baked in the horno (wood-fired oven).
Ortega said foods such as tacos, tamales, memelas (toasted masa pancakes with roasted pork), tetelas (masa triangles filled with cheese) and other classic street foods will transport diners to promenades of Oaxaca. He even promises that edible insects (ants, grasshoppers) and worms will be on the menu.
It’s not just Ortega who has found inspiration in Oaxaca. The culinary team, which includes his brother, pastry chef Ruben Ortega, and beverage director Sean Beck have been hard at work creating their own Oaxacanization of the Xochi menu.
Ruben Ortega is set to wow diners with house-made chocolate creations (there will be a special part of the dessert menu dedicated to Mexican chocolate). He plans to employ Oaxacan fruit, nuts and herbs in his meal finales. Beck, meanwhile, has been busy creating a mezcal program and a cocktail menu. He also plans to bring local emerging spirits to the bar as well as craft beers produced in Oaxaca.
“For Xochi, the team is spreading its wings and letting their amazing creativity guide the food and drink,” Vaught said. “In Mexico, the phrase they use is, ‘by author,’ and we are excited for our team to create this new concept and new chapter for our restaurant family.”
Xochi’s opening expands H Town Restaurant Group, which includes Hugo’s, Backstreet Café, Caracol, Origen (a restaurant the group co-owns in Mexico), and sister restaurants Prego and Third Coast. Xochi will occupy prime real estate in the Marriott Marquis, 1777 Walker; the hotel is set to open at the end of December, and the restaurant will follow in January.