When he’s not practicing jujitsu or scarfing Frosted Flakes with his kids, Carlos Raba is making Baltimore a destination for killer tacos and mezcal at Clavel, a taqueria in Baltimore, Maryland.
Where Top Chefs Go for the Best Late-Night Bites and Booze
Read article
Here are some of the cooking essentials the chef can’t live without. — As told to Adam Erace
Hibiscus Illustration by Danilo Agutoli Flower Power Hibiscus Jamaica, what we call hibiscus in Spanish, has many uses. I take the dried flowers and grind them with rock salt to make a beautiful pink salt. You can boil them into a tea, then use the rehydrated flowers in stir-fry. I fry them up with poblano peppers, tomatoes, and onions—it’s delicious, man.
Illustration by Danilo Agutoli Essential Kitchen Tool
Molcajete A molcajete is a Mexican mortar and pestle that is made of volcanic stone. You can make everything in it: guacamole, pesto, salsa. You can use it to smash nuts, seeds, and spices. I like to grill tomatoes and peppers, put them in the molcajete, and smash into a salsa.
Frosted Flakes Courtesy Image
Best Breakfast Frosted Flakes Zucaritas is what we called Frosted Flakes in Mexico. When I used to come to the United States as a tourist, we would bring boxes and boxes of cereal back home, especially Trix and Lucky Charms, because those weren’t available in Mexico. I have two kids and I love to eat cereal with them. It’s our own Mexican-American tradition.
Larisa Linova / Getty Images Recipe Every Man Should Master Ceviche Sinaloa, the state I’m from in Mexico, is on the water, so we eat lots of ceviche. The traditional ceviche Sinaloense starts with 1 pound of shrimp—use wild-caught, never farmed-raised—that you peel, devein, and chop. Submerge the shrimp in 3 cups of lime juice for 15 minutes in the fridge. Then add a cup of tomato juice, 1⁄2 cup clam juice, 3 diced plum tomatoes, 1 diced serrano pepper, 1 diced white onion, 1 diced cucumber, 1 chopped bunch of cilantro, salt, and pepper. Stir it and chill for 30 more minutes. To serve, lay a tostada with sliced avocado on a plate, smear it with a little mayonnaise, and spoon the ceviche on top.
White Corn Tortilla 4kodiak / Getty Images The Right Wrap Flour Tortillas Asking me to choose between flour and corn tortillas is like asking a baker to choose sourdough or rye. My grandmother made flour tortillas. My aunts make flour tortillas, my cousins make them…we all make them. They make the best quesadillas. I also like them with beans—the lard in the tortilla makes them almost fatty.
Vago Ensamble en Barro Courtesy Image Go-to Drink Mezcal Mezcal is hot right now, but it’s an ancient, artisanal spirit. We have about 70 at Clavel, and my favorite for special occasions is Vago Ensamble en Barro. It’s my Dom Perignon. My drink of choice is a shot of El Buho mezcal and a beer, either Pacifico or Negro Modelo. I sip the mezcal and chug the beer.
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When he’s not practicing jujitsu or scarfing Frosted Flakes with his kids, Carlos Raba is making Baltimore a destination for killer tacos and mezcal at Clavel, a taqueria in Baltimore, Maryland.
Where Top Chefs Go for the Best Late-Night Bites and Booze
Read article
Here are some of the cooking essentials the chef can’t live without. — As told to Adam Erace
Where Top Chefs Go for the Best Late-Night Bites and Booze
Read article
Where Top Chefs Go for the Best Late-Night Bites and Booze
Flower Power
Hibiscus
Jamaica, what we call hibiscus in Spanish, has many uses. I take the dried flowers and grind them with rock salt to make a beautiful pink salt. You can boil them into a tea, then use the rehydrated flowers in stir-fry. I fry them up with poblano peppers, tomatoes, and onions—it’s delicious, man.
Essential Kitchen Tool
Molcajete A molcajete is a Mexican mortar and pestle that is made of volcanic stone. You can make everything in it: guacamole, pesto, salsa. You can use it to smash nuts, seeds, and spices. I like to grill tomatoes and peppers, put them in the molcajete, and smash into a salsa.
Frosted Flakes Courtesy Image
Best Breakfast
Frosted Flakes
Molcajete A molcajete is a Mexican mortar and pestle that is made of volcanic stone. You can make everything in it: guacamole, pesto, salsa. You can use it to smash nuts, seeds, and spices. I like to grill tomatoes and peppers, put them in the molcajete, and smash into a salsa.
Frosted Flakes Courtesy Image
Molcajete A molcajete is a Mexican mortar and pestle that is made of volcanic stone. You can make everything in it: guacamole, pesto, salsa. You can use it to smash nuts, seeds, and spices. I like to grill tomatoes and peppers, put them in the molcajete, and smash into a salsa.
Frosted Flakes Courtesy Image
Molcajete A molcajete is a Mexican mortar and pestle that is made of volcanic stone. You can make everything in it: guacamole, pesto, salsa. You can use it to smash nuts, seeds, and spices. I like to grill tomatoes and peppers, put them in the molcajete, and smash into a salsa.
Frosted Flakes Courtesy Image
Molcajete
A molcajete is a Mexican mortar and pestle that is made of volcanic stone. You can make everything in it: guacamole, pesto, salsa. You can use it to smash nuts, seeds, and spices. I like to grill tomatoes and peppers, put them in the molcajete, and smash into a salsa.
Zucaritas is what we called Frosted Flakes in Mexico. When I used to come to the United States as a tourist, we would bring boxes and boxes of cereal back home, especially Trix and Lucky Charms, because those weren’t available in Mexico. I have two kids and I love to eat cereal with them. It’s our own Mexican-American tradition.
Recipe Every Man Should Master
Ceviche
Sinaloa, the state I’m from in Mexico, is on the water, so we eat lots of ceviche. The traditional ceviche Sinaloense starts with 1 pound of shrimp—use wild-caught, never farmed-raised—that you peel, devein, and chop. Submerge the shrimp in 3 cups of lime juice for 15 minutes in the fridge. Then add a cup of tomato juice, 1⁄2 cup clam juice, 3 diced plum tomatoes, 1 diced serrano pepper, 1 diced white onion, 1 diced cucumber, 1 chopped bunch of cilantro, salt, and pepper. Stir it and chill for 30 more minutes. To serve, lay a tostada with sliced avocado on a plate, smear it with a little mayonnaise, and spoon the ceviche on top.
The Right Wrap
Flour Tortillas
Asking me to choose between flour and corn tortillas is like asking a baker to choose sourdough or rye. My grandmother made flour tortillas. My aunts make flour tortillas, my cousins make them…we all make them. They make the best quesadillas. I also like them with beans—the lard in the tortilla makes them almost fatty.
Go-to Drink
Mezcal
Mezcal is hot right now, but it’s an ancient, artisanal spirit. We have about 70 at Clavel, and my favorite for special occasions is Vago Ensamble en Barro. It’s my Dom Perignon. My drink of choice is a shot of El Buho mezcal and a beer, either Pacifico or Negro Modelo. I sip the mezcal and chug the beer.
For access to exclusive gear videos, celebrity interviews, and more, subscribe on YouTube!
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Highland Park 54 Year Old Is Among Best Scotch Releases of 2023
The Rambler 10 Oz Lowball From YETI is a Must Own
Best Bars in Mexico City for Low-key Cocktail Lounges and Mezcal Shrines
Class It Up With The International Mountains Whiskey Glasses
Best Beers You Should Be Drinking Now
Uncle Nearest Whiskey Lineup Is Rapidly Expanding
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The MJ5: Tony Hawk on His Favorite Gear, Why He Always Carries His Board, and More
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More News
Highland Park 54 Year Old Is Among Best Scotch Releases of 2023
The Rambler 10 Oz Lowball From YETI is a Must Own
Best Bars in Mexico City for Low-key Cocktail Lounges and Mezcal Shrines
Class It Up With The International Mountains Whiskey Glasses
Best Beers You Should Be Drinking Now
Uncle Nearest Whiskey Lineup Is Rapidly Expanding
All Stories
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The MJ5: Tony Hawk on His Favorite Gear, Why He Always Carries His Board, and More
Here's the Difference Between Bourbon and Whiskey
Young Guns and a Supercharged Catamaran: U.S. SailGP Team Takes on New York City
More Videos
The MJ5: Tony Hawk on His Favorite Gear, Why He Always Carries His Board, and More
Here's the Difference Between Bourbon and Whiskey
Young Guns and a Supercharged Catamaran: U.S. SailGP Team Takes on New York City
More Videos
The MJ5: Tony Hawk on His Favorite Gear, Why He Always Carries His Board, and More
Here's the Difference Between Bourbon and Whiskey
Young Guns and a Supercharged Catamaran: U.S. SailGP Team Takes on New York City
