Vancouver’s best-known experimental chef Jefferson Alvarez has opened a new restaurant called Cacao Progressive Latin. After opening Secret Location and a series of pop-ups, Alvarez was ready to move to Amsterdam in the fall of 2016, until he met Marcela Ramirez, whom Alvarez dubs the Martha Stewart of Mexico. Ramirez — a former celebrity chef and cookbook author — approached Alvarez through a mutual friend, requesting that he become a consultant for the Epicurrean Caffee in Kitsilano, which Ramirez and her daughter had recently taken over. Cosultancy soon blossomed into a partnership and with a simple renovation, which added an open kitchen, and revamp of the menu, the aging breakfast joint was turned into a progressive pan-Latin eatery with modern and local influences. The lunch menu consists of an assortment of quinoa bowls with a few Latin-inspired twists such as arepas; masa-dumpling chile-chicken soup; and a two-tiered chocolate flan cake — all made by Ramirez. When it comes to the dinner menu, Alvarez’s experimentalisms shine in dishes such as the sturgeon chicharron — sturgeon meat coated in activated charcoal and ash made from burnt lemon rinds, covered in a mousse of whipped sturgeon spinal marrow and liver ($14). Cacao also offers a selection of classic Latin street food such as the mushroom chorizo style ($8); chicken avocado ($8); shredded beef ($9); and Cubano sandwich featuring pork shoulder, Swiss cheese, mustard and pickles ($12).
1891 W. 1st Ave., Vancouver
