Soledad Puts Celeb Chef's Grandma's Dishes On The Menu At New UES Spot

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — Chef Julian Medina has been looking for a home for his grandmother for a long time.

Well, not for her, but for her recipes.

And finally, Medina has found what he's been looking for in his new venture, Soledad.

The restaurant is named after his grandma, and inside the intimate and colorfully-designed space, diners will find a menu that is largely based off of Medina's grandmother's 1950's recipe book.

"I had this on my mind for many years," Medina said, "but I just didn't have the opportunity to add in another spot."

Medina currently owns and operates several restaurants, including the Upper East Side's Toloache, El Fish Marisqueria in Lincoln Square, Coppelia in Chelsea and more, including three locations of La Chula, which he runs with business partner Meghan Manzi.

And while this 1,700-square-foot spot with roughly 50 seats is smaller than many of his other ventures, Medina says it's perfect.

"It's just intimate, intimate, intimate," Medina said.

Soledad is at 1825 Second Ave., between East 94th and 95th streets, in the former home of the painted lady.

"I think this place is very small and intimate and it's just not such a big restaurant where I can focus on putting out the foods that I want and focus her recipes as well," Medina said.

His grandmother's recipes, passed down through his mother, make up most of the menu inside the contemporary Mexican space.

"It's about 80 percent of the menu," Medina told Patch of the family recipes. "I took her recipes and made them my own."

Medina grew up in Mexico City, but his grandmother grew up in Michoacán, and many of his memories of her dishes are now being reinterpreted for the Upper East Side.

Like Corunda, a Michoacán corn tamale and one of Medina's favorite dishes his grandmother made, is made his own by filling it with mushrooms and serving with with a black bean puree and a habanero tomato salsa. His grandmother's Albondigas — pork meatballs — are made with spicy tomato-almond salsa and crispy potatoes.

"My mom always made for us like some kipe, which is a Middle Eastern dish," Medina said, "but we make tacos out of them."

Technically they're taquitos, made with beef short ribs kipe, roasted poblano pepper, yerba buena, cilantro, green onion, avocado salsa verde, and homemade pan arabe.

One highlight for Medina is his grandmother's mole, paired with duck carnitas, sweet plantains and a sunny side up duck egg.

"The Carnitas Estilo Michoacan are very traditional from where she's from," Medina said.

While the menu and cocktails are all inventive twists on traditional recipes, Medina said his aim is not to make a space that is inaccessible.

"It's for the neighborhood, so that whether you come for lunch and have a couple of tacos or the meatballs or you can come in, sit down, grab a great meal for dinner or with your family," Medina said, "it's for everyone."

The restaurant will start with just dinner service, but will soon move to brunch and lunch.

And one other late addition: his actual handwritten grandmother's recipes, currently being framed, will hang from the walls of the restaurant bearing her name.