At Coche Comedor, Mexican street food gets a fine-dining spin
THE GIST Spanish for “dining car,” the 75-seat Coche Comedor sits next to its smaller sister taqueria, La Fondita, on the south side of Montauk Highway near the border between East Hampton and Amagansett. Open since May 2019, the Honest Man Hospitality Group restaurant serves elevated, authentic regional Mexican cuisine with a full-service bar offering at least a half-dozen specialty margaritas and a range of tequilas and mezcals.
THE VIBE The exterior’s chrome, retro-diner look gives way inside to a kaleidoscope of South of the Border-inspired color. A black-and-white mosaic floor, distressed, blue-hued walls and a graffiti mural boasting the restaurant’s name are a Pantone party for your eyes. The semi-open kitchen that sits in the very back of the dining room is dotted with dark-blue leather booths and brightly colored tabletops (crafted by local artists, including Honest Man co-owner Toni Ross) beneath curved ceiling panels. A black-topped bar overlooks a wall of windows that leads to an outdoor patio space.
Coche Comedor brings a range of familiar, technique-heavy staples to fresh riffs on Latin comfort food classics. (Photos by Doug Young)
THE FOOD Honest Man’s executive chef Joe Realmuto’s menu of upscale Mexican-style comfort food coaxes flavors from a wood-fueled grill and highlights locally sourced ingredients. Warm, hand-pressed corn tortillas are ubiquitous, as are homemade moles, salsas and other condiments. Divided between shareable large and individual small plates, the menu offers well-seasoned staples like carnitas, barbacoa and al pastor tacos, showcasing longstanding culinary techniques associated with Latin cuisine. And his duo of moles — negro and rojo, containing 24 and 16 ingredients, respectively — are a particular stand-out. Other dishes, like tuna tartare tacos and fried rice mixed with pieces of decadent roasted duck, remind us that, yes, we can be a little loosey-goosey with the rules.
Chicharrónes Inch-long slices of pigskin are slow-cooked, drained and then deep-fried until puffed. Once air-dried, the crispy, crunchy morsels are tossed with a chili-lime sea salt and piled high in a small metal tin. Served with a cutesy little squeeze bottle of Cholula, the OG Mexican hot sauce, these are the carnivorous cousin of your favorite potato chips. Equally addictive and lighter than air.
Chicharónnes (left) and queso fundido rank among the staple small plate options. (Photos by Doug Young)
Queso fundido Oaxaca, Chihuahua and Monterey Jack cheeses are baked together with slightly spicy, house-made chorizo crumbles and roasted green chili peppers in a 6-inch cast iron skillet until brown and bubbly, with a well-done cheesy crust “totally worth fighting for,” says Christy Cober, director of operations at Honest Man. Topped with corn nuts — a wise decision, texturally, to cut through the ooey-gooey goodness — the dish gets a stack of tortillas, but we think the move here is to use the chicharrónes as your cheese-to-mouth vehicle.
Pork Barbacoa Pork shoulder is marinated overnight in a house adobo-chili rub, then wrapped in avocado, banana and maguey (aka agave) leaves and slowly steamed via pork stock in a woodfired pit until fork tender. Served in a bowl with plenty of braising liquid, it’s garnished simply with a handful of crispy chicharrónes and cilantro. This build-your-own taco adventure is accompanied by a zesty avocado-tomatillo salsa as well as the obligatory (but oh-so necessary) chopped onions and cilantro.
Classic entree options include chicken adobo (left) and pork barbacoa. (Photos by Doug Young)
Chicken Adobo FreeBird chickens from Pennsylvania are rubbed in Coche’s signature adobo-chili rub (cumin, clove, garlic, ground chilis and vinegar) and cooked daily on the rotisserie. The birds are plated as either a half or whole chicken, complete with a large side of baby potatoes roasted in duck fat mixed with sweated white onions and green bell peppers, then topped with a generous pool of one of the resto’s signature moles or salsas.
COCHE COMEDOR
74A Montauk Highway, Amagansett, 631-267-5709
@coche_comedor
Hours Open for dinner Tuesday through Saturday from 5 to 9 p.m. Closed Sunday and Monday. Walk-ins only.
