El Jeffe
Onishka Camarena, owner of El Jeffe Modern Mexican Grill, doesn’t mind when people describe her fast-casual restaurant as serving tacos infused with Caribbean flavors — but it’s not exactly her culinary point of view. “I love Mexican food and wanted to add the seasonings that we use in Panama,” says Camarena, who is Panamanian-born and Brooklyn-raised, of El Jeffe’s concept. “We’re not Caribbean-based; we’re in Central America. But we do use a lot of similar spices and seasonings in our food.”
The resulting Mexican-Panamanian fusion — including jerk pork tacos, and black beans with fragrant coconut rice (“We call it arroz con coco,” says Camarena) — is concurrently familiar, surprising and, most importantly, crazy delicious.
Camarena, 34, was an 8th grade teacher for before opening her restaurant nearly two years ago, a long-held dream. “What was missing from the neighborhood was a modern Mexican grill,” she says of the niche El Jeffe fills on a stretch of Fulton Ave. in Bed-Stuy, with its contemporary raw wood and stainless steel interior. “We had Chinese food, bacon egg and cheese from the deli, soul food. I told myself, ‘I’m going to work really hard. I’m going to open a modern Mexican restaurant, and I’m going to put it in a neighborhood where Chipotle won’t go.”
BUT LET’S BE CLEAR: El Jeffe is not like Chipotle. Everything is made from scratch and in-house, from the tortillas to the sangria. When you order a grilled shrimp taco (topped with red cabbage slaw, pickled onions, spicy mayo and cojita cheese), for example, there’s no assembly line of prepared ingredients — it’s made to order in an open kitchen.
“ I told myself, ‘I’m going to work really hard. I’m going to open a modern Mexican restaurant, and I’m going to put it in a neighborhood where Chipotle won’t go.”
El Jeffe brings layers of big flavor through four main vehicles: tacos, quesadillas, rice bowls and “Boss Nachos.” (There’s a salad option too, but live a little.) We got into a few of the tacos (jerk pork, fried chicken and steak) and mazorca (fresh roasted corn with spices and cojita cheese), and sipped on the strong frozen margarita and “El Jeffe”— swirled frozen sangria and margarita with a shot of Patrón. “The most important part of El Jeffe is that, when you walk through these doors, you feel like family,” says Camarena. “We take care of you.”
1483 Fulton Street, 347-365-8919, El Jeffe on Instagram
