By Reynaldo Mena
In a recent interview with Parriva, chef Jonathan Perez shared his passion and his desire to make his culinary offering something people wouldn’t forget. Of Guatemalan origin, Perez has not only established this proposal but the prestigious newspaper, The New York Times, has just named his restaurant Macheen as one of the top 25 in Los Angeles.
With his distinctive modesty and personality, Perez briefly reacted to this announcement. “Only as good or as efficient as the team and support around,” he told Parriva.
Here’s how the publication describes its experience at Macheen:
“One of the many joys of living in Los Angeles is that a quick breakfast around the corner might involve tacos — specifically soft, hot, housemade corn tortillas piled with daikon pickles and thinly sliced, grilled rib-eye, dripping with lime juice or sweet, smoky beets al pastor. Macheen, an energetic taco pop-up with a residency inside Milpa Grille in Lincoln Heights and regular appearances at Smorgasburg and Distrito Catorce, continues to expand on the form with equal parts finesse and playfulness (and isn’t above adding an egg to a taco, if that’s what your heart desires).”
Finesse and playfulness are what Chef Pérez seeks in his cuisine, something that takes him back to his childhood.
“One of the things he enjoyed most as a child was sitting at the table with his family and enjoying birria. Beans and rice were always present. ‘My mother always made sure we never lacked anything. We didn’t have much money; she cooked with parts of the cow that others didn’t want, but she made delicious dishes,’ he says nostalgically. ‘Many of my childhood friends loved coming to our house to eat; they said the food was delicious.'”
In 2016, he decided to try his luck with his own place. That’s how Macheen was born, specializing in what can be described as New Mexican Cuisine.
“I started experimenting with combinations between European style and traditional Mexican food. I followed my intuition,” he says. Pérez, of Guatemalan origins, learned his love for Mexican cuisine at home, from his mother. “We’re Guatemalan, I was born in Compton, but she migrated from Guatemala at a very young age and settled in Tj (referring to Tijuana). She learned what she needed to know about Mexican dishes there,” Pérez adds.
Without a doubt, we will see much more of Pérez in the coming years. From here to infinity.
