MOJO
Food
jmorrell@mountainx.com
Taqueria with a twist
KITCHEN & LOUNGE
Eat well. Be Happy.
by Jane Morrell
Chef Patrick Abernathy talks about Chupacabra Latin Café
Open for Lunch! Noon-4 PM, Tue-Fri
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full menu online at
mojokitchen.biz 55 College St, Downtown Asheville
828-255-7767
parking at the rankin ramp
Latin LeSSonS: Chef Patrick Abernathy, left, and his sous-chef, James Simonoff, stand in front of the menu board for Abernathy’s new restaurant, the Chupacabra Latin Café, which opened last week. Photo by Jane Morrell
#1 Bakery (Bread) #3 Bagel #3 Breakfast Restaurant: Waynesville #2 Coffee & Sweets: Waynesville
ASHEVILLE: 60 Biltmore Avenue // 252.4426 88 Charlotte Street // 254.4289 WAYNESVILLE 18 North Main Street // 452.3881 34
auGuSt 5 - auGuSt 11, 2015
Not one for splashy grand openings, chef patrick abernathy hopes folks hear about his new restaurant, the Chupacabra Latin Café in Reynolds Village, via word-of-mouth and come by to try his Latin entrees or enjoy a cup of joe. At age 16, Abernathy took a summer job washing dishes; later he learned how to be a prep cook. He attended culinary school at the Colorado Institute of Art in Denver, and he’s been cooking ever since. Abernathy has been in Asheville since 2000, working at Noi’s Thai Kitchen, Chestnut, Trillium bistro and other local eateries. In 2013, he was part of chef adam hayes’ team from Red Stag Grill that won the Got
mountainx.com
To Be NC Competition Dining Series. Now, however, Abernathy’s focus is on running his own restaurant, which he says is completely chef-driven. Mountain Xpress: What inspired you to start Chupacabra? patrick abernathy: I just wanted to be my own boss and do what I wanted to do. My last job was corporate; there was a lot of working on holidays and being away from family. Of course, I’m away from family right now, but hopefully it won’t be like that forever. I know it will be challenging for probably the first year, but eventually if staff can run the place, I’ll be able to have more time with my family. what are some of chupacabra’s signature dishes?
The Cuban sandwich has been a huge hit. We’re using local torta bread from up the road and making our own pulled pork that has manchego cheese on it. We’re making our own chorizo in-house, and we’re doing a chorizo burger instead of a regular beef burger. But I would say the mussels (which have chorizo in them, too) would be everyone’s favorite so far. We’ve also started playing around: We ran an ahi tuna taco special recently that everyone seemed to love. I’m just now starting to get where I can focus on the food and not the restaurant logistics, and that’s a good thing, considering it’s our first real week.