Chilte – Phoenix, Arizona
“Me Vale Madre.” If you grew up speaking Spanish–or maybe just being around Spanish-speaking people–you probably know it’s a derrogatory term. Essentially, even though the phrase inludes the Spanish term “madre” which means “mother,” it’s telling someone you don’t give a fu…fudge. “Me Vale Madre” is Chilte’s mantra. It’s the restaurant staff basically saying “we don’t care that we don’t meet your conceptions of what Mexican food should be. We’re going to do it our way.” How can you not love that? I asked our server to explain to my Kim what that mantra means and he gave us a polite, G-rated version that was as far from the truth as a political promise. Chilte’s website makes no bones about what it is and aspires to be: “Me vale is our mantra. Representing unapologetic authenticity to ourselves and our mission. Join us as we strive to inspire a new culture in the culinary industry by sourcing locally, cooking from the hert, mentoring one another and building a community through food.” The website also waxes nostalgic about Chilte’s humble beginnings: “Two kids, a grill and a tortilla press walk into a farmers market….Chilte! Starting in a 10X10 pop-up tent, we have…