Chef Cristina Martinez—Originally from Toluca, Mexico, where lamb barbacoa is a way of life, Martinez serves her family's signature tacos with a rich consommé made from the drippings of the slow-roasted meat on Saturdays and Sundays.
Chef Cristina Martinez
Chef
An innovator of Central American cooking, Chef Cristina Martinez, came to the United States as an undocumented migrant a little over ten years ago. Chef Martinez didn't possess the resources to launch her restaurant, so she began selling meals from her residence. Her cooking grew to become highly sought after, and she soon launched a food cart and ultimately saved enough to lease restaurant space ever since Chef Cristina has come to be an international cooking sensation highlighted on Univision and Bon Appetit, which is called South Philly Barbacoa, one of the ten best in the nation.
Her specialization and claim to popularity is the "barbacoa," a lamb plate from Chef Cristina's hometown in Mexico. The meat, commonly served with consommé with pancita, is marinated for 8 hours, then furnished with a bit of orange and salt before being cooked for 4-6 hours.
During the week, made-from-scratch tortas satisfy her hungry patrons. Chef Martinez, who started preparing barbacoa in her apartment before expanding to a street cart and eventually a brick-and-mortar shop, has plenty of Philly fans, but the country has noticed. Bon Appétit named South Philly Barbacoa, her first establishment, one of America's best new restaurants in 2016. In 2017, she merged the spot with sibling restaurant El Compadre. Along with her American-born husband and partner, Ben Miller, Martinez is an outspoken advocate for undocumented workers in America. El Compadre, 1149 S. 9th Street, (267) 746-7658.
Chef Cristina Martinez Featured on Netflix
Netflix recently revealed season 5's schedule for its famous Chef's Table show; this year, it will feature one of Philly's own. Cristina Martinez, co-proprietor and chef of the renowned taqueria Barbacoa in South Philly is the first Philly chef to have her episode on the Netflix series.
Martinez, who incorporates her reputation as a celebrated chef and illegal immigrant to increase awareness of immigrant rights: Chef Martinez and spouse Ben Miller relocated their popular eatery into a larger restaurant space this year at the Italian Market. She also appeared in David Chang's Ugly Delicious, another Netflix presentation. She was included on Full Frontal with Samantha Bee on the undocumented workforce and the United States food industry.
