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 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 extremely 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 called South Philly Barbacoa, one of the ten best in the nation.
Her specialization and claim to popularity is the "barbacoa," a lamb plate coming from Chef Cristina's hometown in Mexico. The meat, commonly served up with consommé with pancita, is marinated for upwards of 8 hours, then furnished with a little 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 out preparing barbacoa into 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, and this year will feature one of Philly's own. Cristina Martinez, co-proprietor and the chef of the renowned taqueria, Barbacoa in South Philly, is the first Philly chef to have her own episode in 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 made an appearance on David Chang’s Ugly Delicious, yet another Netflix presentation, and being included on Full Frontal with Samantha Bee on the undocumented workforce and the United States food industry.
El Vez at Philadelphia's Italian Market 
- A Cheerful Italian Market spot specializes in Mexican tortas on house-baked bread with fresh juices. Funky, sophisticated, and fun, El Vez proves to be one of the area’s best Mexican restaurants. Located on a hot corner in the burgeoning B3 neighborhood (Blocks Below Broad), El Vez, named after the Mexican Elvis, serves lunch and dinner.
Philadelphia's Latino Chefs & restaurateurs - Philly's national reputation as a thriving, open-to-all city extends to its flourishing culinary scene, which features many executive chefs of Latin descent. From nationally renowned luminaries with multiple successful restaurants (Jose Garces, Guillermo Pernot) to upstarts making a reliable name for themselves here (Jezabel Careaga, Adan Trinidad, Cristina Martinez), these talented chefs come from all over Latin America, the Caribbean, and South America, bringing a highly diverse set of flavors and traditions to the communal table
7 Facts About Philadelphia's Latino Community - Philly honors Hispanic Culture thought the year with food, fun, and fiestas. Revelers can catch the Latino spirit at the Mexican Independence Day Festival on Penn’s Landing and the Puerto Rican Day Parade on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. Thought the year, arts and culture lovers have more to look forward to the such as last years opening of the El Corazon Cultural Center in El Centro de Oro and the North American debut of the exhibition Paint the Revolution: Mexican Modernism, 1910-1950 at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
