Mayan menu

Originally from Guatemala, chef Jorge Cardenas is perhaps most proud of the Mayan dishes on his menu at Ix Café, the all-day space he opened with his cousin Brenda Castellanos in 2015.

That includes a Guatemalan chicken and vegetable stew called pepian, rich with a mix that includes a pureed blend of breadcrumbs, sesame seeds, tomatillos, Guatemalan chiles, cinnamon and pepian, which are pumpkin seeds ($12). There’s also a $6 mole de plátano, where caramelized plantains are paired with a sweet-savory sauce built on chocolate, an ingredient first used by the Mayans in Guatemala.

But Cardenas, who formerly owned a “gourmet burger” restaurant in Berlin, also likes to mix things up. He serves a spaghetti special with zucchini in summer, roasts pork shoulder to make a cubano sandwich with pepperjack cheese (it’s $10 with a side salad), and even makes kimchi soup (photo) with help from the owner of the Korean produce stand around the corner. They make the kimchi together following her recipe, says Cardenas. By the way, Ix is the name for the jaguar on the Mayan zodiac, who also appears on the wall at Cafe Ix. Ix Café: 43 Lincoln Road, near Flatbush Ave., Brooklyn; (347) 533-6920