Chris Malloy
Audio By Carbonatix
Editor’s note: This article has been updated from its original version.
As we reported well over a year ago, the owners of La Santisima Gourmet Taco Shop are set to open a Jalisco-style restaurant on 19th Street and McDowell Road in Phoenix. Well, the time has come – Felipe Guzman’s La Marquesa, 1915 East McDowell Road, is now open.
As we reported, “La Marquesa will serve birria made from goat and beef. Tacos – including lengua, carnitas, brain, cheek, and chamorro, a braised pork – will be made in the Jalisco spirit. There will be torta ahogado, drowned in sauce almost like an enchilada-style burrito, a torta style popular in Guadalajara, as well as marrow bones roasted in a mesquite-fired brick oven that will be the heart of the restaurant’s cooking.”
Guzman says they wanted to bring traditional dishes, like birria, to the community here in Phoenix. They have even ordered clay pots that have been shipped in from Jalisco, since there’s a big difference between making birria on stainless steel versus clay. “It’s not bad,” he says, “I just think it’s more authentic.”
And yes, there will be lots of tequila. Expect a wide range of margaritas and tequila drinks, as well as mixed cocktails using Jarritos – the iconic Mexican soda.
Guzman owns La Santisima on 16th Street (and a second location in Glendale) with his wife, Cristina, and his mother, Guadalupe. Guadalupe will provide most of La Marquesa’s Jalisco-inspired recipes. All three have studied cooking in Puebla, Mexico.
The new spot neighbors what will now be the original Tacos Chiwas location, as it just announced a second location coming in June to Chandler.
Guzman says the restaurant will try to be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., daily, for now. Also note, parking is in the back. For more information, see the La Marquesa Facebook page.
