Pick 3_Winter19_Ed-final.qxp_Road Trip_Cinci.qxd 11/29/19 11:42 AM Page 34
profile | israel’s delicias de mexico gourmet
a bed of rice and is buried beneath layers of black beans, chorizo, spinach, mushrooms and onions, sealed tight with melted mozzarella, studded with grilled shrimp and finally drenched with a rich brown Mayan-inspired sauce. Welcome to Israel’s Delicias de Mexico Gourmet in New Albany, where chef, owner and namesake Israel Landin merrily improvises on a theme of traditional Mexican cuisine, unafraid to reinterpret recipes and deconstruct preconceived notions. Landin’s back story is amazing, too. And for the record, Yolanda is his wife. Fifteen years ago, Israel Landin came to New Albany from Chicago, leaving behind a two-decade career as a food wholesaler rep. He 1515 E. Market St., New Albany, IN rented an unused corner space in a nondescript produce stand on the 812.725.9139 north side of town and debuted his very first taqueria, La Rosita. La Rosita was small, utilitarian and barely decorated, certainly not to mericans are accustomed to salesmanship, so a smidgen of skepbe confused with your grandad’s plasticized Chi’s Chi’s by the shopping ticism would be understandable when one menu-gazes at a mall. Landin, a native of Mexico City who’d been cooking since childMexican restaurant and confronts for the first time ever a dish hood, offered a basic menu of Mexican street food and promptly called Yolanda’s Amazing Chicken. found himself utterly baffled as one customer after another asked for Trust me, this chicken platter really is amazing, but you’ll have to do their food to be served “enchilada style.” some digging to reach the plump, juicy breast of chicken. It rests atop At first Landin had no idea what they meant, and he was surprised to learn that in Southern Indiana eatery dialect, “enchilada style” means “pour some red sauce over it.” This strange usage dates to the mid-1970s, when local entrepreneurs in New Albany created the first Tumbleweed, bringing us adapted Tex-Mex fare at a time when tacos still were crunchy school cafeteria food-fight ammunition and Corona was exported to America in brown bottles. Landin quickly realized he’d be teaching his patrons as much as cooking for them, and so one tasty bite at a time, folks like me began learning about the joys of torta lengua (beef tongue) and campechana (Mexico’s glorious take on the seafood cocktail). La Rosita was a delicious revelation, and by 2006 Landin had migrated his modest taqueria to larger digs in a 120year-old former neighborhood grocery on Market Street. The new La Rosita received rave reviews and was financially successful, so Landin expanded yet again with far bigger restaurant operations in New Albany and Louisville. Chef/Owner Israel Landin Unfortunately, those ventures turned out to be missteps that coincided with the Great Recession, and Landin lost it all, not to be seen in town for a while. Happily, in 2015 our prodigal adopted foodie son returned to the Market Street building uptown with a new name and a creative, chef-driven menu. I asked Landin to explain what has changed from his La Rosita days. “Just about everything,” he replied. “It’s completely different now. I’m working with gourmet techniques, more seafood and some Mayan dishes, and of course with my own touches. Day by day I come up with new dishes. Before we had mom-and-pop food, street food like Mexican homemade gorditas and pambazos. Now I want
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(far left) Ceviche Tropical. (left) Camarones a la Diabla (shrimp in a creamy “Diablo Sauce” with grilled vegetables and rice).