Eats & Beats: Kachina Cantina shares more on the traditional dish, Pozole!

As we head into the cooler months ahead, we can’t help but to start thinking about warmer, comfort dishes. With soup season in full swing, our “Eats & Beats” guest joined The Morning Set to talk all things pozole, the traditional Mexican soup with a history dating back to Mesoamerica pre-16th century! Kachina Cantina, located in the Dairy Block, takes its inspiration from the Four Corners region of Southwest America and Baja Mexico to take diners on an adventurous culinary road trip. From Mexican and Southwestern standards like pozole, quesabirria to a selection of salsas and tacos, Chef Carlos Fierro has brought these favorites to the table with a twist.

This week on Eats & Beats, The Morning Set’s Carlos Lando, Steve Chavis, and Abi Clark talked about the flavors of Mexico and Southwest America with Kachina Cantina’s executive Chef Carlos Fierro.

Steve Chavis: Good to have you with us, man. Thank you for coming by. We want to introduce you and your restaurant and your flow and your style to The Morning Set audience here at KUVO. How long have you been doing it over there at Kachina?

Chef Carlos Fierro: Well, I took over earlier this year in April, I became the executive chef there.

SC: Okay. Okay. Is it fun? Is it, that you’ve been through a summer in the dairy block, right? Summers in downtown can be kind of crazy.

CCF: Especially with the Rockies and concerts, we’ve been definitely seeing a huge flow of people coming.

SC: But now it’s seasonal and we’re going into some of this pozole that you’re talking about. It’s about the right time, nothing like a little snow on the ground.

CCF: Absolutely. With the snow last week, we definitely saw an uptake in sales on our pozole.

SC: Okay. So, what’s your culinary story? How did you get to where you are?

CCF: Sure. I was born and raised in Southern California. My parents and grandparents are from Mexico and so I always loved being in the kitchen when grandma was cooking and I fell in love with her recipes and the food and the techniques that we were making as a kid, and so I just fell into it and kept on going.

SC: Is there a thing that takes an aspiring chef and pushes them forward? Like, oh, this guy, his brisket, or you’ve got the sous chef thing. What moved you ahead to where you could become an executive chef?

CCF: I think it’s a combination of a few things. It’s passion. You have to definitely have passion drive and work ethic, because working in restaurants and kitchens, it takes a lot of time and work. You have to definitely, it’s a grind, I mean, and you have to love the grind and the effort. That’s what propels you to the next level.

Carlos Lando: So, all that stuff you see on TV is true?

CCF: Not all of it, but mostly the hard work and the hours. It definitely is.

CL: He’s looking at his watch too.

SC: We’ve set up an IV for this pozole that you brought in to get it right into our veins on this Wednesday morning and Carlos didn’t delay.

CL: I’m on it.

SC: What’s your pozole story? We started with the Noche Buena song. Is there a holiday? It’s that time of year.

CCF: Absolutely and exactly, that’s how I got introduced to pozole. It was something we would just make, or my grandmother would make, during the holidays, during Christmas – it was a special treat. It would be something we’d just see once a year and you’d have to wait until about..

SC: What!?

CCF: Christmas. I know! You don’t have to wait until Christmas to taste it and see it.

CL: That’s real traditional, right?

SC: It’s real traditional. It’s like, “No, you have to wait until Christmas to enjoy!”

Abi Clark: Is it like an all-day (event), like the pots on the stove?

CCF: Pots on the stove, it is, you just smell it throughout the house and you’re just like, “I can’t wait, have to try it!”

CL: And all of a sudden, all kinds of relatives you haven’t seen in a while show up.

CCF: Exactly, everybody shows up!

CL: Todo El Mundo viene a la casa.

CCF: Todo El Mundo viene a la casa, exacto! All of a sudden, it’s done and you turn around, and there’s like 20 people sitting down waiting for their bowl!

AC: It’s really good. I’m trying the chicken. Do you have a chicken and a vegetarian?

CCF: Yes.

AC: So, I see chicken and then is it noodles in there?

CCF: There’s hominy right? The corn.

AC: The corn! What is that? I am new to pozole.

CCF: Pozole, yeah, so it’s traditional, right? When we make pozole or even Menudo, there’s always hominy, the corn, which is a traditional piece of all Mexican food.

SC: It’s mashed a little bit?

CCF: No, it’s the whole hominy.

SC: The whole, okay. There’s a smokiness here. There is a weight to this pozole, man

CCF: To the vegetarian one? Yes, definitely some chilies and there are some different varieties that we put in there too.

SC: This is amazing, I feel better already. Like you, Carlos, just hook up the IV!

CL: You’re not going to hear much from Abi and me. Steve is running this show because I’m eating it.

SC: They know what it is. I’m like, well, tell me more. Okay. Chilies..?

CCF: So, there’s chilies, a few (different) varieties of chilies. There’s a New Mexico chili, there’s chili árbol, guajillo, there’s some onions, some carrots in there, which is not traditional, but it’s just kind of a little twist that we do at Kachina. We put a little carrot in there, just like a little bit of sweetness, and then we put a little mushroom in there too.

AC: I’m looking at your menu – You have eight different kinds of tacos, a selection of salsa, so can you share a little bit more of the highlights that people can find a Kachina?

CCF: Sure! We have different varieties of tacos. We have chicken tinga, we have fish, we have carne asada, we have carnitas, and we have a mushroom taco as well so we cater to all varieties! Our birria is a very popular dish as well right now and our short rib.

CL: What time is lunch? We’re just up the street, man.

CCF: We open at 11:00 AM, yeah, a couple of blocks – We’re not that far!

SC: He’s getting a late start to come by and hang out with us here on The Morning Set and thank you! People do a lot of things with restaurants. It’s not always just sit-down. When the pandemic (hit), people started doing carryout and I’m sure that’s a big part of it. And then holiday parties and stuff – I know you guys are doing that.

CCF: Yeah, we are. We have some holiday parties. We have a Thanksgiving menu, so we’ll be doing Thanksgiving all day and then we can do to-go orders as well for Thanksgiving. So, if you want your Turkey to go, you’ll want to pick it up a day or two days prior – you can place an order with us and we’ll have all kinds of turkey and fixings available as well.

SC: Ideas. I’m thinking, downtown people!

SC: Chef Carlos Fierro from Kachina Cantina on the Dairy Block in Denver and please tell the crew well done! Big thanks to you.

CCF: You’re welcome, thanks for having me on.

SC: I love the people that make us food, man. You guys are absolutely…it’s the Lord’s work. I’m just saying.

CCF: That’s what we do. That’s what we enjoy doing, meeting people.

Catch Eats & Beats every Wednesday at 8:30 a.m. MT on KUVO. Tune in to KUVO JAZZ 89.3 FM in Denver and listen to The Morning Set, weekdays from 7 – 10 a.m. MT. You can also stream online here at kuvo.org or listen on the KUVO App.

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