Café Mendoza opens in Commack
Empanadas are a specialty at Cafe Mendoza in Commack, February 2015. Credit: Cafe Mendoza
Hugo Garcia’s decision to open Café Mendoza Argentine Tapas Bar in Commack boiled down to this simple philosophy: “Commack does not have tapas,” he said. “Everybody serves Italian food.”
And so Garcia and his partner Fabio Machado have launched Café Mendoza, a smaller version of their Huntington restaurant Café Buenos Aires, in the former home of Mannino’s (which recently decamped to larger quarters).
Garcia said that the Café Mendoza menu is very similar to the one at Café Buenos Aires — lots of small plates, hot and cold, inspired by the cuisines of Spain and Argentina, followed by grilled meats and seafood specialties such as paella and mariscada. A few of the more popular special tapas at Buenos Aires (braised pork belly with dried fruits, steak tartare) have earned a permanent place on Mendoza’s menu.
Garcia said that he stocked about two dozen Argentine wines, 10 of which were available by the glass.
Café Mendoza Argentine Tapas Bar, open for lunch and dinner seven days a week, is at 169 Commack Rd., Commack, 631-486-8848, cafemendoza.com
