Tu Mole Madre looking to make a culinary mark in Sonoma County
Pedro Diaz is looking to make a mark among the Mexican restaurants in Sonoma County, with the opening of Tu Mole Madre, this February 14th in Windsor, his newest culinary adventure centered on the Oaxacan cuisine he inherited from his parents.
The space is an homage to his mother, Chela Ramirez and his father, don Pedro Diaz, who passed away in the summer of 2018, in Healdsburg and was later buried in his native village in Oaxaca, in Southern Mexico.
“Whoever visits Tu Mole Madre will have a unique experience”, says Diaz, who before the official opening, has been coordinating special banquets with mole, pozole, tamales, white and red meats, seafood, all coursed from appetizers to dessert, and paired with mezcal cocktails and local wines.
The concept of this new Mexican restaurant is different even from the access: it is only available via online or email reservations.
“We do this is to have a larger control over the quality of the ingredients that are going to be prepared” explained Diaz, “The idea isn’t to have quantity, but rather almost personalized dishes”.
These implementations to Tu Mole Madre demonstrate a distinguished difference from other restaurants, beginning with the entrance, with windows adorned with pyramid designs, the interior sprinkled with large wooden communal tables, a kitchen decorated with a variety of ceramic tiles, and later the presentation of the dishes, with elements of clay, in their plates, pots and cantaritos.
“We are not in Oaxaca, but we will make you feel the closest to being at an Oaxacan party, family- style, and at times feeling like if you were at a Quinceañera”, said Diaz.
Aside from the family-style dinners, which will be hosted on Fridays and Saturdays, with the capacity for 80 people per night, Tu Mole Madre will also open its door Monday through Thursday to couples and groups interested in learning more about preparing authentic Mexican and Oaxacan cuisine, directly from his mother Chela, with translation provided to those who don’t speak Spanish.
“This will be a traditional kitchen, in some sense of the word”, says Diaz, “If my mother says a broth is produced in a certain manner, it’s prepared in that manner, despite what I say or think”, pointed out the Chef and also owner of El Gallo Negro, in Windsor and El Farolito in Healdsburg.
Diaz sees this new space as “a sanctuary” for Oaxacan cuisine, with the preservation of various moles created by his mother, like mole negro, coloradito and mole verde, as well as recipes she has created over the years. “This is going to be more than mole, we will also have chefs creating dishes inspired by Oaxacan cuisine”, elaborated Diaz.
This year, Diaz will also launch, Don Ruco, a series of rimming salts for cocktails, named in honor of his late father. “This is for them, even though my father never saw this completed, I feel like, in a way, he is here”.
Reach La Prensa Sonoma’s Editor Ricardo Ibarra at 707-526-8501 or email ricardo.ibarra@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @ricardibarra.
