RED Quick Bite #73: A Chat with Marcos Valdes, Chef-Owner of Papi's Mexican Restaurant and Bar

Welcome to Quick Bite #73!

In this Quick Bite, Aimee gets a few minutes with Marcos Valdes, Chef-Owner of Papi's Mexican Restaurant and Bar.

While we ran the Bluegrass, Marcos was busy running around the restaurant, making drinks, checking on food quality, mentoring employees, and spending time with guests!  The restaurant, which is located in an upstairs spot just a few blocks off the UK campus has only been open for about 8 months but the food, much of which comes from family recipes, tastes like it's been perfected over many, many years.

We started with the house chips and salsa.  The chips were warm and the house salsa was fresh, with a slight heat and smokiness of chile d'arbol.  We had an appetizer which is a creation of Marcos', a crock filled with poblano pepper and onion, with a rich cream sauce and baked with queso fresco.  It's served with flour tortillas for dipping or making "messy tacos" and it is worth a trip back to Kentucky just for that!  Marcos said the Street Tacos were his most popular item, and after having them, we can see why! Soft, doubled-up corn tortillas topped with beef, chicken, pork, or...hibiscus?   Yep, Papi's has some amazing vegetarian and vegan options as well.  

If Papi's is this good just 8 months in, we can't wait to see what the future holds.  

Check them out online at www.papislex.com.  You can also find them on social media:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/papislex/

Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/papislex/

THAT'S A WRAP

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