For his upcoming bar program, Elmer Mejicanos has created a menu of meticulously manufactured nostalgia.
An acclaimed mixologist, Mejicanos has helmed specialized drink menus in New York, Las Vegas, and San Francisco, and is known for his work at Tony’s Pizza Napoletena, where for over a decade he developed the rotating cocktail menu and helped launch other bars under the restaurant group.
Super Mensch, a Marina Jewish deli, is the latest — and maybe dearest — project of Mejicanos and his longtime business partner Adam Rosenblum. The duo, who also co-own Causwells, say the modern take on classic Jewish deli dishes accompanied by a bespoke cocktail program, is the first of its kind. Inspired by family recipes and the Jersey holes-in-the-wall of his youth, Rosenblum conceived the concept to fill the Harrold’s-size hole in San Francisco.
For Mejicanos, the creation of the menu has been an exercise in nostalgia-by-proxy. “I was building my own nostalgia for something that I've only experienced while I was already grown up,” he explained. “What are the popular dishes or beverages of this culture? And then I pulled them apart to see where those ingredients came from and why. Why the black and white cookie? Why the word ‘delicatessen’? I looked at the years when delis were really becoming a movement in New York and why that happened.”
A prime example of this is the egg cream, a frothy concoction of milk, chocolate or vanilla syrup, and seltzer that was the Jewish kids’ cocktail of choice in mid-century New York. “Elevated” is nowhere near a sufficient term to describe Mejicanos’ take on this deli counter staple, which uses every element of cacao — the nib, husk, and pulp — to spin a kosher gin fizz chocolatey. “It's such a geeky way of doing something that is so childlike,” he said.
Another deli classic to appear on the Super Mensch menu is the celery soda, a crisp companion of pastrami sandwiches. For this number, cold-pressed celeriac (celery root) juice is combined with a 50/50 mix of mezcal and tequila, monk-made herbal liquor Cloosterbitter, Persian lime, dill extra virgin olive oil, and a touch of green apple juice and topped with celery seeds. It makes for a savory, satiating sipper that your Zeyde might enjoy with a cigar and friends while their wives play Mahjong. Also on the menu — which, if Mejicanos had his way, would be 50-drinks long — are the Hummus Old Fashioned, the Borscht Spritz, and the Black and White Cookie Espresso Martini.
Mejicanos has worked on bar programs to accompany a broad range of cuisines, including Italian, Mexican, Japanese, Spanish, and French, where fusion often finds its rightful place on the menu. But for this particular program, adherence to traditional flavors was paramount.
For his Matzah Ball Soup Margarita, a seasoning blend he refers to as “soup dust” — parsley, black and white pepper, star anise, and cinnamon, plus fresh herbs — achieves the schmaltzy deliciousness of the chicken broth, minus the bird. Instead, a cracker molded into the shape of a chicken and a spherical ball of ice loaded with herbs are a reminder of your mother (whom you could call more often).
Much of Mejicanos’ work is inspired by pastry design, molecular gastronomy and fine dining techniques. But whereas a chef gets ten to 12 inches to convey a vision, Mejicanos’ canvas is a 3-inch glass. Beyond taste and texture, he considers elements like height and negative space to give the cocktail “a unique look and a unique experience.” It may not be a mile-high pastrami with a side of pickle, but you won’t have to unhinge your jaw to enjoy them.
Like a mad scientist, Mejicanos takes humble produce to its logical extreme, employing things like celery air, which he processes himself in a centrifuge in the kitchen. It seems almost contradictory to utilize scientific methods to emulate what was once considered shtetl food, but Mejicanos has the chutzpah to try it.
