Adrian Maldonado - Chico Bueno

Adrian Maldonado (0:00)

You're literally allowing strangers to, like, strangers are allowing you to cook for them. And like, if you were to do that just on the street, that'd be weird. Yeah. But, you know, the fact that you're in a restaurant, people are like, you know, I trust these people to cook for me. It's an odd concept to think about when you really break it down.

Lauren Healey (0:17)

Big thanks to our partner SWADE Dispensary for sponsoring The Sauce Podcast. With 12 locations across Missouri, SWADE is more than a business. They're neighbors, vibe-setters, and a real part of the St. Louis community. They're all about celebrating, collaborating, and elevating their neighborhoods, SWADE style. We've loved being partners with this team for years now.

Hello, welcome to The Sauce Podcast. I'm your host Lauren, and I am here with Adrian Maldonado, and he is the executive chef over at Malo and Chico Bueno, which just opened over in the Grove. Super cool concepts. Why don't you tell us what you're all about over there?

Adrian Maldonado (0:59)

Yeah, so Chico Bueno, our idea is to make it our casual taqueria.

Come in, grab lunch, grab dinner, fill up on a few tacos, our sides. We just kind of revamped the menu as well, so we kind of consolidate it and just making it as efficient, as straightforward as possible. Tacos, tortas and bowls.

Lauren Healey (1:22)

Okay.

Adrian Maldonado (1:22)

So we make our own bread, we make burrotas for our tortas. You can get a hearty bowl or just come in, grab a few tacos. You kind of get to experience the whole or majority of the menu while eating tacos. You can eat like four to five, get filled up that way.

Malo, on the other hand, is our refined, our polished, fine dining spot. Mexican influence as well.

We offer a tasting menu, a couple of seatings per night. But we're also running an extensive a la carte now too, as opposed to just one whole seating and a la carte being up front. We're just trying to get people in the doors and offer them a great, great experience, not food-wise, not just food-wise, not just dining or hospitality in general, but the whole thing. Once you walk behind those curtains, it's a totally different vibe.

Lauren Healey (2:18)

Yeah, I can attest to that because I had the full 10-course experience when you guys opened, and I mean, that is where the magic happens. That was one of the best dining experiences I've had, and I don't even know how long. It's been a long time, so great job. Thank you, thank you. Can you tell me what your ethos is there, behind your cooking?

Adrian Maldonado (2:40)

A lot of it is driven from just upbringing.

My mother and my grandmother, they always made sure we had a home-cooked meal. We rarely ever ate out. It's a lot of that. Just a lot of stuff doesn't have to be overwhelmingly complicated. It's just putting out a great product. That sticks with me.

Especially with Malo, trying to present homey food, but how do we tweak it? How do we just present it in an upscale fashion? Especially right now, we just switched our tasting menu.

Lauren Healey (3:17)

Oh, did you?

Adrian Maldonado (3:18)

Right now, we have a dish that has anilote on it, which is a switch up when it's Mexican food. But the idea is sopa de conchas. It's a shell pasta and tomato broth. It's super hearty, growing up.

My brother and I, we would throw beans in there, crema, all that jazz. So the idea is anulotes, but we're presenting it in the style of a consomme royale. So tomato consomme, white onion custard, anulotes, and then some stewed lentils in a bowl.

And it's like four components, but it's there to be that wow factor with flavor, technique.

Lauren Healey (3:56)

That sounds awesome.

Adrian Maldonado (3:58)

So that's how we approach it. We also just want to be fun.

Lauren Healey (4:02)

You are.

Adrian Maldonado (4:02)

Yeah.

Cooking wise, prepping and everything, service for the diners. We try and make it as fun as possible because if you're uptight, well, doing this, it's not going to be a joyful experience. We're not going to be putting out a good product. Our mindset is coming to work every day and enjoying what we're doing. Yeah. Taking it seriously, but really leaning into a certain culture that we're trying to provide with our food as well.

Lauren Healey (4:27)

I think that really shows because when I was there, I mean everyone was just in such good spirits. It's such a fun communal atmosphere.