A Contra Alum Opens a New Stage for Mexican Fine Dining
Corima remixes the foods of northern Mexico

Over the past few years, Mexican cuisine in New York has increasingly gained more regional options, with dishes of central Puebla still dominating. Chef Fidel Caballero’s Corima focuses on northern Mexico, remixing and infusing some Japanese techniques and flavors in the process.

The new restaurant opening on January 12 at 3 Allen Street, near Canal Street, is an evolution of the pop-ups he has hosted over the past couple of years.

The restaurant’s name translates to “circle of sharing,” and it’s a theme that carries through to the comal placed over a wok burner, where most of the dishes are hit on the grill.

With the restaurant split between two menus — a la carte in the front, a tasting menu in the back — the output is ambitious, with little crossover between the two, following a format that Naks in the East Village is also trying out.

On the a la carte side of Corima, with roughly 28 seats split between tables and a bar area, there are dishes like a tuna mille-feuille with husk cherry salsa and chicharron furikake; skate tamal with potato and Iberico foam; and duck taquiza presented with banchan-style pickled and fermented items. Pastry chef Julie Shin, who previously worked at Contra’s upstate general store, is making mochi churros and sweet potato and mandarin raspado.

Duck taquiza at Corima. Skate tamale with other assorted dishes. JovaniDemetrie/Corimanone

The a la carte menu is distinct from the tasting menu and includes dishes like a skate tamal and chocolate flan.

At the back, there are about 24 seats (split between tables and a chef’s counter), for one of the more reasonably-priced new tasting menus: $98 for seven courses plus botanas (snacks). The menu includes a potato cuttlefish udon with cornhusk dashi. “We’re making basically like a kombu with it,” he says. There’s also duck with black garlic mole, aguachile with beets, and sweet potato ice cream with ginger and puffed wild rice streusel. It’s executed with the help of sous chef Ezequiel Corona (formerly of Mischa and Estela).

Mexican vineyards, from regions like Valle de Guadalupe, are on the wine list. Meanwhile, for cocktails, expect drinks like a gin sour made with uni that uses ingredients from the kitchen. There’s also a list of sotol — the spirit sourced mainly from Chihuahua, some from Durango — developed by general manager Vince Ott, formerly of Thai Diner.

Caballero is part of a new class of alums from the Wildair and Contra universe that have gone off on their own just in the last few months, including Bad Habit, an East Village ice cream bar, and Demo, a small plates bar, forthcoming in the West Village by chef Quang Nguyen. Like his predecessors, the Corima space veers minimalist: There’s exposed brick, countertops made with oxidized zinc, and ceramics sourced from local and Mexican artisans.

Innovation
Introducing fine dining to the fabric of Chinatown.

Creativity
We utilized a former Bus Depot, and uncovered all of the original structural beams and arches to make the space special, with hidden rooms that became nooks and artwork showcases, and to show off the brickwork of the original builders.

Functionality
Warm/Cozy/Inviting was the goal.

Sustainability
All structural materials re-used/reclaimed from the existing site, or from our materials cache from prior projects, and the wood came from a friends millwork shop who works with large scale lumber.