Alas de Frida Offers Deeper Dive Into Authentic Mexican Cuisine
Maricela Cortez, owner, stands next to the logo on the wall of her Manchester restaurant.
Since 2015, El Rincon Zacatecano, at 10 Lake Ave. in Manchester has been a hit for co-owners Mary and Isaac Sacramento of Bedford. But there was a little something missing.
“My wife, Mary, always loves making margaritas, but El Rincon has a small bar. When Alas de Frida had a bigger bar, that’s when we knew the endless opportunities and memories would happen,” says Isaac Sacramento, the restaurant’s chef.
Since opening in March, the couple have brought El Rincon’s lively atmosphere to Alas de Frida, and put a different spin on shared Mexican dishes.
“We always love the idea of sharing our traditional dishes with others, especially our successful business with El Rincon. We want to expand more and create new dishes, especially having our good customers always supporting us,” Sacramento says.
Before opening El Rincon, Sacramento worked at an Asian restaurant, gaining additional experience and skills needed to run his own restaurant. “El Rincon Zacatecano is the restaurant that started my passion for cooking traditional food. With Alas de Frida, we wanted to change the style of food but not lose the authentic taste.”
Alas de Frida translates to “Frida’s wings” and is named after famed Mexican artist Frida Kahlo, whose image proudly adorns the brick walls of the restaurant at 931 Elm St.
“I believe that we represent a different style. Our menu is different from other traditional Mexican restaurants,” Sacramento says. “My style of cooking is always fresh, making it special every day for customers.”
Sacramento explains some of the subtle differences between their two restaurants.
Tacos De Birria is a popular offering at Alas De Frida (Wings of Frida).
“In El Rincon, we have the most authentic food, such as pozole, menudo, handmade gorditas, and of course tacos. I feel like it is a more family-style restaurant. At Alas de Frida, we include quinoa, and we have many vegan dishes, but we also serve authentic Mexican cuisine,” he says.
Sacramento is originally from Puebla, Mexico, an area in the central part of the country known for its mole poblano (a thick, red sauce sometimes made with chili, fruit, nuts and chocolate). Mole has gained importance in Mexican culture and is often seen at birthday and wedding celebrations, holidays and parties.
Other foods known to Puebla are chiles en nogada (poblano chilis stuffed with meats and spices topped with nogada, a walnut-based cream sauce), chalupas (fried tortillas made of masa dough served with shredded meat, chipotles and/or salsa), cemitas (a torta, or sandwich, that originated in Puebla), tamales, and antojitos (street food including tacos, nachos, quesadillas, empanadas).
Sacramento says other ingredients vital to Mexican cuisine include dried chilies, tomatoes, jalapeños, cilantro and avocado. “That’s what makes our dishes very authentic and (ignites) our passion for cooking,” Sacramento says.
Some authentic and traditional Mexican dishes on the menu include carnitas tacos (seasoned pork that’s shredded and pan-fried), rice and quinoa bowls, steak tacos. Quesadillas and huevos con chorizo (eggs with sausage) are among the offerings at lunch.
Pastor Trompito is a popular offering at Alas De Frida (Wings of Frida).
A “trompito” sometimes translates to “spinning top,” but at Alas de Frida it’s just a different way to cook a meal. Their mini trompito tacos “al pastor” requires grilling skewered, seasoned and marinated pork vertically, a method similar to Lebanese shawarma.
“I think they are one of the most famous street foods in Mexico, because they are cooked from a trompito with a piece of pineapple that gives a unique flavor to the pastor tacos,” Sacramento says.
There’s also a large section of birria-centric dishes including, queso birria tacos and tacos de birria, which Sacramento says are essential to Mexican cuisine. Originating in Jalisco, birria is a barbecued Mexican dish of beef, herbs and spices that are slowly cooked to create a rich broth.
“This fun food is the ultimate street food,” he says of birria.
Appetizers include mini chimichangas that can be filled with chipotle chicken, shredded beef or chicken; fried calamari; chicken wings with house-made salsa of mango-pineapple-habanero, and queso fundido, a combination of melted, fresh cheeses with sausage, mushroom and peppers, plus flour tortillas.
Main dishes at Alas de Frida include creamy poblano chicken enchiladas, carnitas en chile verde, steak soup and fajitas. Creating authentic Mexican food is dear to Sacramento, who counts his mom as one of his first teachers, in cooking and in life.
“I enjoyed every morning seeing how she prepared each breakfast, the passion of how she used each product that was grown in our field,” says Sacramento through email.
As with Alas de Frida, organic and fresh food was the mainstay at home. The family grew their own corn to make homemade tortillas for countless meals.
“One of my favorite meals would be scrambled eggs with fresh salsa, refried beans and tortillas,” Sacramento says. To make the family’s guacamole and other dishes, she would often use avocado, tomato, cilantro, jalapenos, lime and an onion.
“I enjoyed being in the kitchen with my mother and watching every single fresh ingredient being used, and to see how mixed ingredients give flavor to our food. It always grabbed my attention — the aspect of cooking and using the resources that gave us energy throughout the day,” adds Sacramento.
“It will forever be part of my childhood memories,” he adds.
This article is featured in the winter 2023 issue of 603 Diversity.
603 Diversity’s mission is to educate readers of all backgrounds about the exciting accomplishments and cultural contributions of the state’s diverse communities, as well as the challenges faced and support needed by those communities to continue to grow and thrive in the Granite State.
