During the pop-up days of Machetes, the lines of people snaking around the block waiting to order could easily be mistaken for a limited edition sneaker drop. But now, Machetes devotees can simply roll up any day of the week to Hey Love, the tropical, plant-filled bar inside the Jupiter NEXT Hotel where the former pop-up has taken up long-term residence as of February 15.
Machetes specializes in Mexico City street food dishes, including its namesake machetes—giant quesadillas on handmade tortillas that are the size and shape of a machete blade, stuffed with the customer’s choice of up to four guisados, or stews. Diego Palacios, who owns Machetes along with his wife, McKenna, has fond memories of eating machetes with his family at the local fonda, or casual restaurant, while growing up in Mexico City—and he wanted to recreate that experience in Portland, where machetes are few and far between.
“I remember going downtown near the Zocalo with my mom and grandparents and walking around, and we’d be like, ‘Let’s go get machetes,’ and it’s just this little garage door in the neighborhood,” says Palacios. “There’s nothing you can find here in Portland like that—the flavors were not there for me.”
The machetes here are beautiful to behold—tortillas made with multiple colors of masa, infused and dyed with ingredients like cilantro, ancho chile, or hibiscus for a watercolor-like effect. The tortilla tastes just as good as it looks, the nixtamalized masa giving the tortilla a nutty, sweet flavor, griddled so it has a little chew and a little crisp. There are around seven guisados on offer, many of them based on recipes from Palacios’s grandfather, who owned a taco stand. All are stars in their own way, but personal favorites are the huitlacoche—mushroom-like corn truffles—and the suadero, dry-aged brisket that’s confited in tallow. Palacios is a particular fan of the chicken tinga, a melding of chicken, tomato, onion, and chile that requires a certain touch to get right.
“Once I nailed that flavor, it brought tears to my eyes,” says Palacios. He’s also partial to the carne that’s marinated in five kinds of chiles, as well as the nopales. “It’s humble and at the same time nutritious. It’s a pre-colonial, pre-Hispanic ingredient—we’re proud to have that on our menu.”
Beyond its namesake dish, Machetes also serves carefully composed small plates. Try the pulpo al pastor tostada—the octopus is succulent and bouncy, topped with a salsa negra made with purple tomatillos and charred veggies, the whole thing sitting atop a layer of fudgy refried black beans. On the opposite end of the size spectrum, the carne asada, which comes served on a hefty wooden slab, will likely require some cocktail rearranging in order to fit at the bar counter. It’s a hefty, dry-aged New York steak cooked to the ideal medium rare, balanced out by grilled nopales, whole Mexican green onions, and charred broccolini, and sided by warm corn tortillas. For Palacios, it’s another nostalgic dish inspired by his grandfather.
“For family parties, he would bring a whole grill and make carne asada. Super simple, but it was almost magical, you know?”
Asked whether he’s been able to replicate that same magic, Palacios humbly agrees.
“I think that nostalgia made Machetes what it is now,” says Palacios. “Creating the same experience for other folks in the same circumstances—they want to experience what’s left at home, and all those flavors.”
Machetes, 920 E Burnside, 3 pm-9 pm daily, @machetes.pdx