Our story
When asked “About Bodega”, we have to make a quick decision— do we go with the sound bite or with the story? Since the question is usually asked in the restaurant when margarita shaking is at double time, a quick "modern Mexican with an urban beach vibe" works best.
Now, here’s the story. We signed our lease with no real idea what it was going to be (this is not as uncommon as you might think). We had collaborated on restaurants before, a trendy Cuban night spot and a beachy oyster bar on steroids. Obviously, we were into this escapism thing and wanted to keep the ball rolling. So off we went eating and drinking our way across the food capital of the world– Brooklyn.
The mission: to find our next great foodie concept that we could put our signature Connecticut twist on and, hopefully, sell by the pound to investment bankers. What we saw was handcrafted everything – from the furniture to the bartender’s whiskers to the ipod playlist to the smoked radish martini. These were no "concepts", they were just restaurant people doing their own thing. Now, that was something we could get behind. After all, breaking rules and blurring boundaries was what we did best. Then, tacos came into the picture…
We love farm to table as much as the next guy, but after 4 or 5 artisan cocktails, a single bay scallop on burning hay does not get you home. With the I-95 staring us down, we made one last stop at a Taqueria.
What started out as a late night snack turned into an inexpensive second meal that triumphed the main event. After that, we couldn’t get enough— we took to the tri-state area like guacamole bandits, hitting the brakes for any Calexico truck or Taco Mix drive-by in our path.
So that's the long answer to the "About Bodega" question. No multi-continental quests, no focus groups, no "I grew up in San Diego" childhood memories of long lost fish taco heaven. Just a realization that doing your own thing is how we roll and that everything tastes better in a tortilla.
Tequila Bar
Having 80+ Tequilas on the bar presents a personal challenge - how to try them all. After all - owning a Tequila bar comes with a responsibility. We should be able to speak with intelligence about each and every bottle. We are professionals, industry veterans and "tasting" goes with the job description. Food, Cocktails, Beer - it's all in a day's work. Ever go to a wine tasting? Now, try it with Tequila. Intelligence makes a hasty exit.
The process always begins innocently enough. How to begin? Blanco? Reposado? Anejo? Or, perhaps by family; Don Julio, Gran Centanario, Herradura? Now, let's try finish; Soft, Balanced or Angry? At least we don't have to worry about origin - luckily it all comes from the same damn place. Anyway, we never seem to get very far -usually succumbing to our default method - the bottom shelf closest to the right.
So when we say "Please ask your server for a recommendation" what we are really saying is "Please don't ask me". And don't get us started on the Mezcal...that's a whole other story altogether.