The Dish: Mayan Cafe to toast five years

In honor of its fifth anniversary, the Mayan Cafe (813 E. Market St.) will celebrate from Wednesday to Feb. 18 with a special selection of tequilas and ceviches, along with their “original” Tok-sel — a customer favorite made in a traditional way, with Great Northern beans instead of the usual limas and cooked with chives instead of green onions.

Mayan Cafe only recently added a liquor license to the beer and wine selection. “(Tequila) makes sense with our food,” says manager and co-owner Anne Shadle. “I wanted to do things that we’d never done before … There’s more of a trend now for a respectful appreciation of tequila than doing ridiculous shots. There is a lot more nuance to tequila, like bourbon.”

A flight of three tastings will feature Tequila Herradura Silver (which is aged 45 days), Reposado (aged 11 months) and Añejo (aged two years). “It’s something you sip on ... drink it slowly,” says Shadle. “I’m going to serve them with an orange slice with cinnamon to prime your palate. We’ve all done the lime, but we’re grown-ups now,” she says with a laugh.

To pair with the tequilas will be three ceviches: shrimp with spicy tomatillo for the blanco; tuna with coconut ginger habanero sauce and avocado with the reposado; and calamari with spiced hibiscus reduction and pomegranate with the añejo.

Though Mayan Cafe is 5 years old, the earlier incarnation, Mayan Gypsy, was a leader in the resurgence of NuLu, according to Shadle. “It’s good energy ... it’s good to be in a place with lots of good vibes. It’s been cool to be a part of that.”

More information: www.themayancafe.com or (502) 566-0651.

Taco Punk set to open; preview tonight

Taco Punk is at last set to make the move from mobile purveyor to brick-and-mortar, with an opening at 736 E. Market St. next week. The popular vendor sold tacos last year at the Douglass Loop farmers market.

Plans are to open Thursday, “if all goes well,” says owner Gabe Sowder. A preview tonight from 5:30 to 8 p.m. will benefit Slow Food Bluegrass.

A $10 ticket (purchase online at www.slowfoodbluegrass.org/site/events/join-sfbg-for-taco-punks-preview-night/) “gets you a couple tacos and a side, and chips and salsa and a soft drink,” says Sowder. A $25 ticket includes membership to Slow Food Bluegrass and a raffle entry for door prizes featuring products from local merchants and farmers.

Sowder is emphasizing local foods on his menu. “It is fast food, local food,” he says. “The protein is always going to be locally sourced, and as things come available we’ll use them seasonally. We’re making our own everything … tortillas, salsas.”

The menu will feature two vegetarian tacos, as well as a variety of meats, including pulled pork, chorizo, ground beef, grilled fish and grilled chicken breast. They will also offer a salsa bar.

More information: www.tacopunk.com.

‘CSM’ program launched

Timothy Tucker, who developed The Culinary Training Program at the Salvation Army Center of Hope, and was the Kentucky Restaurant Association manager of the year in 2010, has launched Good Food Gathering, a home meal delivery service.

Sold in five-week subscriptions, the plan includes seven dinners delivered weekly. “It’s inspired by CSAs — community supported agriculture,” says Tucker. “I call them CSMs — community supported meals. I’m looking to build relationships with farmers … I’m looking for meats that have been raised by farmers with ethical practices.”

The dinners are modeled on the “Paleo” diet, also known as the caveman diet, which “consists of meat and vegetables — no processed food, no cheese, very primitive,” says Tucker. “What we’re used to when we go out at a restaurant is we get a basket of bread or a starch. (This) is two vegetables instead of a starch and a veg.”

Tucker works with medical herbalist Myron Hardesty, who recommends this diet to his patients. Tucker had been preparing meals for those folks and decided to open the subscription to the public.

Dishes will vary according to what’s available and Tucker’s whim. A sample may be chicken leg (Stone Cross Farms) stuffed with sage and garlic (Girl Next Door), butternut squash (Facing West Farms) with pumpkin seeds and cumin, and oven-roasted spicy Brussels sprouts (Misty Meadows).

Tucker works out of the kitchen at United Crescent Hill Ministries, where he has plans to provide kitchen rental space to caterers or other food-service businesses that lack their own facilities.

A five-week plan is $1,000; $500 for a half-share.

More information: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Good-Food-Gathering/134580426652869 or email timothy.tucker@gmail.com.

News bites

Seviche, 1538 Bardstown Road, now offers a cheese plate served with chef Anthony Lamas’ house-made preserves and house-made breads. A variety of domestic artisanal cheeses change on a weekly basis. Guest are invited to enjoy the cheeses in the new lounge with a glass of wine or a cocktail. In other Seviche news, Lamas is a featured chef at the Charleston Wine and Food Festival on March 3. His sustainable seafood dinner has already sold out.

Varanese, 2106 Frankfort Ave., is bringing the Grgich Hills wine dinner back this year at guests’ request. Vineyard owner Mike Grgich is known for putting California wines on the map in a blind taste test in France in the 1970s, where he beat French wine (as seen in the film “Bottle Shock”). Vineyard manager David Bos will speak at the six-course dinners Jan. 18 and 19.

Menu and Hours, the restaurant information smart- phone app from Consuming Louisville’s Michelle Jones, met its Kickstarter fundraising goal so can begin development.

610 Magnolia’s Edward Lee reveals his favorite comfort-food recipe in the January issue of Southern Living magazine, along with nine other top Southern chefs. Lee chose open-faced meatloaf sandwiches.

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