Newest vendor brings experience, passion for authentic Mexican food to The Commons
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John Chalstrom/Steamboat Pilot & Today
The Commons Food Hall and Bar will expand its offerings this Sunday as the owners of La Cocina Mexican Delights by Ivan and Omar bring their brand of Mexican street food to the downtown landscape.
“We met with Errik Hill (manager at The Commons Food Hall and Bar) at our breakfast,” said Omar Bautista, who also operates Desayuno by Omar inside La Fiesta Grill and Cantina. “We met a couple times, and we came up with this menu where everything will be fresh, homemade and with a street style.”
Bautista is a veteran chef who has worked in the kitchens across Steamboat Springs including the Cantina, E3 Chophouse, and La Fiesta Grill and Cantina, where he has worked for more than nine years. He added that La Cocina is a partnership with his nephew, Ivan Jaimes, and the Commons Food Hall and Bar offers both men a chance to venture out on their own.
“It’s been very hard for us to find a spot because this is an expensive town,” Bautista said. “We have been looking for a place for years and years, and I’m thankful that Errik came in a try our breakfast.”
The specialties at La Cocina Mexican Delights by Ivan and Omar range in price from $11 for the Mexican salad to $16 for the fajitas. Customers can also choose to have three street tacos for $15; burritos for $12; tortas for $13 or gringas for $14.
“We pretty much want this to be a locals’ spot,” Bautista said. “We want to offer good prices for locals. … We offer the tacos dorados, quesabirria, enchiladas, las fajitas, and we offer one salad for now.”
There is also a children’s menu for those under 12 years old that offers smaller potions as well as desserts including flan and Mexican gelatina. The menu will also offer Mexican drinks including horchatas, soft drinks and aguas frescas. The owners also hope to add licuados, a type of Mexican milkshake, to the menu.
Bautista said his partnership at La Fiesta Grill and Cantina at 1755 Central Park Drive will continue to offer traditional Mexican breakfast through Desayuno by Omar.
Meanwhile, downtown, he will share responsibilities with his nephew at his latest venture La Cocina Mexican Delights by Ivan and Omar, which will be open from 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Sunday-Thursday and from 11 a.m.-9:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday at the Commons Food Hall and Bar at 56 Seventh St.
He will continue to offer breakfast at La Fiesta Grill, but the new location at the Commons will serve both lunch and dinner. His hope is that he will be able to start opening La Cocina Mexican Delights by Ivan and Omar in the Commons Food Hall as early as 8 a.m. for breakfast when things pick up in December.
“We want to trying opening earlier and the owners will agree with that,” Bautista said. “La Cocina will open early and offer some healthy Mexican drinks, and maybe a couple breakfast items.”
La Cocina Mexican Delights by Ivan and Omar becomes the sixth restaurant inside the Commons Food Hall and Bar, joining Clyde’s Pies Wood-fired Pizza, Poke The Bear, Sizzlin Jamaican Cuisine, Yield, and Lasa Filipino Kitchen. The Commons also features the Common Bar with a diverse menu of cocktails, beer, wine and spirits to complement the meals offered by the various vendors.
“The Commons is like a small business incubator,” Hill said. “We do the marketing, we have a building and we have a nice spot downtown for everyone to come and try something out. Each one of these guys is a small, locally owned business, and a great place to enjoy really good food.”
John F. Russell is the business reporter at the Steamboat Pilot & Today. To reach him, call 970-871-4209, email jrussell@SteamboatPilot.com or follow him on Twitter @Framp1966.
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