Maizano Cocina: The Chef’s Table – Closed

In 2023, a small Costa Mesa restaurant named Maizano firmly established itself as the best elevated Mexican restaurant in Orange County – an achievement attributable mostly to Chef Alan Sanz’s incredible skill at coaxing compelling flavors and textures from corn (maiz), and only slightly to the unexpected closure of Michelin-starred Taco Maria, arguably its only true rival. Improbably, Maizano operated inside the Mercado Gonzalez Northgate Market, where it delivered culinary award-worthy food and service only feet away from a tortilla factory, a Sinaloan sushi bar, and a tamale stand.

In addition to its separate lunch and dinner menus, Maizano offered a separate experience called Chef’s Table, a seasonally shifting, six-course tasting menu that further elevates the standard a la carte choices and Maizano’s “all things corn” focus. Summer 2024’s courses were:

• Cloud-like, fermented agave-sweetened Pan de Pulque rolls with house cultured butter
• Magenta-toned and tart Prickly Pear Kingfish Aquachile with tostadas
• Nugget-sized Plantain Molote in a rich dark chocolate mole negro with queso fresco stars
• Branzino Mextlapique, a complex and smoky alternative to a fish tostada made with corn leaf-cooked branzino, cactus paddles, mushrooms, and charred recado negro
• A small piece of Carne Asada, dry-aged ribeye with broccolini, crispy yuca cubes, and a cauliflower puree
• Panque de Elote, an even better (though smaller) version of Maizano’s dessert, with mimetic corn bread, corn jellies, ice cream, popcorn, and flowers.