Gordo’s Cantina will bring its take on traditional Mexican street food to a brick-and-mortar store in Long Island City starting on Tuesday.
Started by Queens resident JR Savage in 2014, the pop-up restaurant started serving central Mexican cuisine at a bar in Hell’s Kitchen and moved to popular street fairs and festivals like Hester Street Fair, Full Moon festival and Electric Zoo.
Savage’s restaurant will be located at 24-11 Queens Plaza North starting Sept. 27.
Menu items will include the “Gobernador,” two grilled corn tortillas stuffed with tiger shrimp and pico de gallo in a Mexican cheese fondue, the “El chapo” danger dog, a bacon-wrapped hot dog with pico de gallo, open-faced quesadillas and entrees such as rabbit in salsa verde.
Gordo’s will also have menu items available only on certain days of the week like the Salpicon Tostada consisting of shredded short rib braised for four hours and served on a tostada with a bed of guajillo beans, topped with avocado and Oaxaca cheese. It’ll be served only on Tuesdays.
“As a Queens native seeing Long Island City develop and expand as such an accelerated rate, I felt this was the perfect opportunity to open our first brick-and-mortar location,” Savage said. “Queens felt like home. Gordo’s will continue to participate in these fairs and festivals, we will just have a home base for everyone to experience our food and try the full menu we have to offer.”
The restaurant’s decor will include items collected from Mexican flea markets and will have red tile floors, wooden counters, copper tone ceiling tiles, mismatched vintage metal chairs and industrial green light fixtures, according to a press release.
The main room will feature a large communal table and small wrought-iron bottom tables with wooden tops. The bathroom walls are covered in Central Mexico’s newspapers. Cactus and succulents, shelves with candles, vintage beer cans, family portraits and other personal items will adorn the walls.
“I am immersed in a culture that is very close to me, as my wife is Mexican,” Savage said. “I am passionate about sharing the best of the culture through the regional dishes that these small towns are known for.”
Gordo’s Cantina will be open Monday through Wednesday from noon to 11 p.m., Thursday through Saturday from noon to midnight and Sunday from noon to 10 p.m.
For more information, visit the Gordo’s Cantina website.
