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Coming Soon no more: Lucha opened this week at 515 N. Grand Ave in Grand Center.
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Then: a door to an old walk-in cooler. Now: a conversation starter.
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The space includes several, conversation-friendly round tables
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A birria and a pescado taco, both recommended
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The inaugural lunch menu at Lucha. Expect it to expand and morph.
Mexican Soul Food...
There’s a new tag line for you.
Find it at Lücha, now open at 515 N. Grand (the former Kota Wood Fire Grill).
Regarding the tag line, partner Brian Schmitz explained it this way: “Other food terms have been stripped of their meaning. Terms like contemporary, modern, and traditional have all been turned inside out…none of them mean much anymore. To me, a chef that uses a tag line like Contemporary American means “just leave me alone.” Mexican Soul Food just sounded fresh and different.
Regarding the name, Schmitz said Lücha (pronounced with a hard "ch") is a woman’s name and also means "struggle," as well as being a tongue and cheek play on another struggle--Lucha Libre--the popular and theatric form of Mexican wrestling. In addition, Schmitz said “we liked the name because it was short, soft, and easy to remember.”
The “we” he’s referring to are principal owner Hugo Perez (founder and former operator of the much loved Grind Coffee Houses, as well as the former Sol in the CWE) as well as his brother Armando, who both run Lücha's kitchen. (Schmitz co-owned Sol along with Perez.)
So what exactly is Mexican Soul Food? “It’s food that encompasses Mexico’s 2000 years of culinary history,” Schmitz explained. One of Lücha’s servers described it as “back to basics Mexican food—what grandma, or even great grandma, might make.” So meat is fair game, as is seafood and vegetables.
The inaugural menu—nearly a dozen tacos, a few burritos and tortas, a scatter of salads, soups, and sides--is abbreviated, on purpose, designed to grow to reflect the tastes of the clientele.
One soup of the day was habas, rich and hearty with lima beans, dried tomatoes, and nopalitos, for added color and texture.
Meats are cooked sous vide, meaning there’s no issues with the tenderness of the lamb, lengua, or birria. Highly recommended is the pescado taco, in this case a healthy portion of tempura-battered catfish topped with vinaigrette coleslaw and salsa verde.
Lücha turns tradition on its ear again by not offering traditional complimentary chips and salsa. Fresh fried tortilla chips and a salsa of the day are a nominal $3. Down the line, the trio plans to experiment with different types of chips--like broken up thayudas (the Oaxican flatbread). The intent is that it becomes a signature item, a unique identifier, a must-have, something that's worth a few bucks. And we'd bet there's another reason: anyone familiar with Mexican food knows chips and salsa kill post-meal goodies like flan, sopapillas, and churros.
The decor has several interesting stories to tell: several stray, solid-wood doors from Habitat for Humanity were stained and converted into tables; cabinets were cobbled from different sources—including Craigslist; and a big, red door was salvaged from a walk-in cooler at the recently opened Ferring Jazz Bistro next door. “It opens but goes nowhere,” Schmitz said. “We may just put a funky mirror inside.”
At the present time, Lücha is open for lunch only, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday - Sunday. Dinner service will most likely commence next week with the issuance of a liquor license, well in time to capture the busy holiday calendar at the Fox Theater just across the street. At that time, there will be a full bar plus tap handles for 18 draft beers.
Lücha
515 N. Grand
Grand Center
314-833-9993
