Viewed initially as a way to help restaurants weather the pandemic, the City of Los Angeles is looking to make the al fresco outdoor dining program permanent, given its popularity.

Long a tradition in Europe and other parts of the world, outdoors dining is catching on, especially in Southern California where the weather helps to make it comfortable to enjoy sunshine with your meal almost all year long.

At Madre! Oaxacan Restaurant & Mezcaleria, we adapted our three locations to serve our guests safely outside, in a limited basis inside when the situation improved, and we’re now ready to welcome you indoors as well so you can enjoy the true homemade taste of Oaxacan cuisine and the millennia tradition of mezcal (and other agave spirits) from our collection of over 400 bottles.

We may have changed our dining habits, but we never changed our commitment to bring you the breath of Oaxacan  HYPERLINK “https://madrebase.wpengine.com/food-menu-torrance/” dishes to satisfy any palette. If masa (dough) is your thing, we have the classic Tlayuda with quesillo and surrounded by a platter of chorizo, thin steak and marinated pork. You can also try a thick handmade memela spread with pureed black bean tasajo. And every day, you can’t go wrong with our barbacoa de res o de chivo. Barbacoa de res is made with angus beef, dry chiles, avocado leaves and white rice with grilled veggies. Barbacoa de chivo comes with goat meat, avocado leaves, spices, herbs and chiles. On the weekends, we also offer lamb barbacoa.

Cool entrees and dishes

And now that the weather is getting hot, we also offer you a number of cold entrees, like our pork chicharrones with guacamole and hot salsa, spicy ceviche piquin made with lime-cooked octopus, shrimp, pico de gallo, chili piquin, avocado and lime juice, or ceviche de pescado prepared with catch of the day, lime juice, jalapenos, cilantro, avocado, tomatoes and fried calamari on top.

The perfect accompaniment to any of these dishes is a cool mezcal, and we have over 40 brands in each of our locations with hundreds of bottles so you can find a perfect match to go with your meal.

For decades, tequila was synonymous with Mexican spirits. But its cousin mezcal is rapidly gaining ground. Enjoyed in Mexico since the time of the Aztecs, when it was used in religious ceremonies, mezcal (which in Nahuatl means oven-cooked agave, a clear reference to its preparation process) is now being discovered across the U.S.

The process for making agave is the same all over. Once the agave heart is removed, it’s then cooked in underground pits covered with leaves, straw, earth or whatever the tradition and availability dictates in that particular region. Once the mezcal has roasted underground, it’s taken out to be crushed, often with a donkey-tow tahona, a huge, heavy stone wheel, turning it into a pulp.

That pulp then goes into tinas (wooden vats) made with different type of trees—oak, cypress, pine—infusing the drink with those flavors. After fermentation, the mezcal is distilled twice. There are basically three types of mezcal, joven, meaning it’s bottled right away, and reposado, meaning it’s been left to rest for two months and up a year, and añejo, aged for a minimum of a year.

In 2019, the U.S. became the world’s largest mezcal market for the first time, with imports rising 50%. And last year, mezcal sales soared 600%, according to  HYPERLINK “https://www.thespiritsbusiness.com/2021/04/drizly-sees-mezcal-sales-soar-600-in-2020/” Drizly. We had to keep ourselves busy some way during the quarantine.

Much of the mezcal found in U.S. stores is mass produced, but true mezcaleros often prepare small batches following the tradition and recipes passed down through generations. That’s where we source our bottles. Every sip will tie you to the past, traditions and heritage, as well as the soil where the mezcal was made.

A mezcal for any occasion

We have a mezcal for any occasion, whether you’re celebrating a happy moment, or simply trying to relax after a long day.

Our drink list only mentions a fraction of what’s available in our shelves. If you ask any of our servers for a style and price, we can recommend something that will open your mind and taste buds to a whole different spirit experience.

Among our offerings is Los Amantes Reposado that hails from Tlacoluca, is made with Agave Espadin, distilled in a copper pot and is 40% alcohol proof. There’s also Siete Misterios Arroqueño made in Sola de Vega with agave arroqueño, distilled in a clay pot and with 50% alcohol proof. Or you can opt for a Real Minero Barril from Santa Catarina Minas, made with agave barril, distilled in clay pots and with 49.9 alcohol proof.

If you prefer the traditional tequila, we also have a large selection of Mexico’s premier spirit. May we recommend a Tapatio Blanco 110 from Arandas, Jalisco, distilled in copper and with 55% alcohol proof? Perhaps a Fortaleza Blanco from Tequila, distilled in copper and with 40% alcohol proof? Or better yet, an Ocho Extra Añejo from Arandas, distilled in stainless steel with 40% alcohol proof?

So whether you’re eating out in the world again with family and friends (indoors or outdoors), still picking up some food to leisurely enjoy at home, we can accommodate your orders and appetite, giving you a taste of one of the best cuisines in the world, so full of distinct flavors, you will savor every bite. And with every bite you can enjoy a sip of mezcal, a drink as unique as its name and history, or a shot of tequila.

Either way, we’re here to give your taste buds a return to normalcy.