3 minute read
Culinary Ventures Spice Up St. Tammany
Chef/Entrepreneur Efrain Bermudez Brings the Flavors of the Caribbean and Central America to The Northshore.
BY JYL BENSON
WHEN EFRAIN BERMUDEZ FIRST MOVED TO NEW ORLEANS from Orlando, he met a local firefighter. “I told him I planned to move my family to the area. He lived on The Northshore and raved about the quality of life there. I fell in love with the area just as soon as I crossed the Causeway to check it out. That was 18 years ago. Food was an important part of my upbringing. I loved the environment on The Northshore, but no restaurants catered to the Hispanic community beyond Mexican restaurants.”
A yearning for the flavors of his childhood inspired him to open EmpaTaco in Madisonville nine years ago. “Though I grew up in Orlando, which has a large Puerto Rican community, my family is from Colombia and the Dominican Republic, and the foods of all those places are what I ate while growing up,” said the Cordon Bleu-trained chef and a graduate of Florida International University. “My wife is from Guatemala. When we opened EmpaTaco, we did so to feature the foods of the Caribbean—beans, rice and empanadas—as well as those of Guatemala— tacos.” Traditional Ropa Vieja (shredded beef) served with rice, black beans and sweet plantains; and Bandeja Paisa (a Colombian platter with steak, chorizo, deep-fried pork belly, rice, red beans, an over-easy egg, arepas and sweet plantains) are menu specialties.
Later he opened Valencia in downtown Covington, bringing an elevated approach to the culinary traditions of his paternal great-grandmothers' and grandfathers’ homeland. “My great-grandfather was the treasurer to the King of Spain. With that in my family, I wanted to focus on something more than street food and tapas." Open for lunch, dinner and weekend brunch, Valencia's specialties include ceviche, paella, Gambas al Ajillo (shrimp, olive oil, garlic, pimenton de la vera, white wine), Spanish Albondigas, Pan con Tomate (sofrito, smoked Manchego cheese, olive oil) and both grilled and charred octopus.
In a move that took him away from foods with which he was familiar, he opened Geaux Pizza & Wings in Folsom to satisfy the community’s demand for America’s favorite food. “I am an entrepreneur. I will try anything. You can make of yourself whatever you want. When I moved here, I kept seeing all these signs ‘Geaux Saints!’, and ‘Geaux Tigers!’ I asked a friend, ‘What does ‘Go-Ox!’ mean?” After a long laugh, Bermudez nabbed that bit of colloquial language to name his pizzeria, which also offers salads, calzones and desserts.
Bermudez will soon open a second EmpaTaco location in Lacombe. “The menu will be the same, but we will have a bar and more seating.”
Not one to rest, Bermudez will also be opening Fuego Chicken in Madisonville. “It will be fast-casual,” he said, “but with healthful Caribbean-style grilled chicken as the menu centerpiece.” Accompaniments to the seated, family-style menu will include yucca, beans and rice.
EFRAIN'S RESTAURANTS
EMPATACO: 101 Hwy 22 W., Madisonville - (985) 792-7157 / empataco.com
GEAUX PIZZA & WINGS: 82361 LA-25, Folsom - (985) 796-4207 / geauxpizza.com
VALENCIA: 315 N. Vermont St., Covington - (985) 900-2151 /thevalenciarestaurant.com
