By Rachel Hergett EBS COLUMNIST
Little Star Diner in Bozeman was packed on Sunday night for the latest appearance of chef Kenan Anderson’s pop-up restaurant, Provecho. Every table and every bar stool was filled, and open seats were claimed almost before they were vacated. People milled around the entrance, drinks in hand, or found spots on the staircase to wait on pick-up meals. A line snaked toward the open kitchen where a hostess took orders.
This is the second time I’ve eaten Anderson’s rustic Mexican cuisine and certainly not the last.
While waiting for things to wind down so I can beg for a moment of the chef’s time, I’m stopped by diner Graham Austin. She and her dining partner are finishing the birria de chivo, described on the menu as “goat shank braised with garlic and guajillo chili.” The dish gave her goosebumps.
We then start discussing the memela, an “Oxacan market tortilla with asiento, black beans and quesillo.” I ordered one of everything on the menu except for the birria, and this dish was a standout. To make it Oxacan in style, a thick tortilla is smeared with asiento as it’s cooked. Asiento—which means “seat”—is a sort of pork-fat ghee, rendered fat with crispy pork bits that settle to the bottom as it cooks. Its addition gives the tortilla added texture—crispier on the outside, softer in the middle. Memelas are greasy, so I don’t recommend a whole meal of them. However, I definitely wouldn’t skip one on the menu. Try the salsa macha over lightly pickled root veggies for a lighter complement.
This, Graham tells me, is one of the best meals she has ever had.
“It’s ri-god-damn-diculous,” she said.
I’m inclined to agree. I love the modern, yet rustic cuisine. I love Anderson’s focus on ingredients. And I love a homemade tortilla. While he says they may not yet rival a Mexican grandmother’s tortillas, Kenan is working to meet that bar.
Kenan grew up on the east coast, where he said much of the Latin American food that he loved had its roots in Puerto Rico or the Dominican Republic. Mexican cuisine came later as he got the opportunity to travel and experience the vast variety of flavors the country has to offer.
“I don’t claim this is authentic,” Kenan said. “It’s my homage.”
It is Montana in January, he reminds me. Sometimes we just can’t get ingredients authentic to certain regions. And sometimes it is best to rely on local producers, in the spirit of Mexican cooking, Kenan said.
Kenan used to be the chef at Italian restaurant Blackbird Kitchen, but fell in love with corn on his travels. For his tortillas, he mills his own masa using heirloom corn imported from Mexico, blended with corn from Montana growers.
“Buen provecho,” Kenan tells me—after the pop-up sells out and the staff scrambles to feed the last of the diners with what they have left—is akin to saying “bon appetit,” a French phrase adopted into the English language that means “good eating.” But saying it can seem a bit fancy, maybe even pretentious.
Drop the “buen” and “provecho” is more casual, Kenan says. It’s like the ubiquitous “cheers” to a good meal. It’s a welcome, greeting, a wish for good to come in the future. The name evokes the feeling of a warm hug—exactly how Kenan wants his restaurant to feel.
Provecho will take over Little Star Diner (548 E. Babcock St. in Bozeman) on Sundays, Feb. 4 and 18, and at Izakaya Three Fish (321 E. Main St. in Bozeman) on Mondays, Feb. 5 and 19. Dinner service runs from 5 to 8:30 p.m. Credit cards are not accepted, so be prepared to pay with cash or Venmo.
A website is in the works. In the meantime, Kenan said, upcoming pop-ups are posted on the Instagram page, @provecho_bzn. And he has a longer, two-week stint in Izakaya’s kitchen planned in the coming months. All of it, he said, is working toward the goal of opening Provecho as a brick-and-mortar restaurant for people to enjoy any day. And enjoy, I am sure, they will.
Provecho!
Rachel Hergett is a foodie and cook from Montana. She is arts editor emeritus at the Bozeman Daily Chronicle and has written for publications such as Food Network Magazine and Montana Quarterly. Rachel is also the host of the Magic Monday Show on KGLT-FM and teaches at Montana State University.
