Mamacitas
Soul Food from South of the Border
BY RENEE FAJARDO

Most days you can find Carmen Epstein cooking at her restaurant Mamacitas, on the Hill in Boulder. For the past 18 years, her signature mole poblano (made with over 23 ingredients), milanesa and chiles rellenos have been tantalizing the taste buds of college kids, professors, and other locals. And yes, they call her "Mamacita".

Carmen is the quintessential Jewish Mexican mother serving up gourmet south-of-the-border soul food and comfort. An accomplished painter and community philanthropist, she likes to talk to the students about how their exams are going. Every year for Dia de Los Muertos, she donates a spread fit for an Aztec emperor to the University of Colorado Natural History Museum for their annual family event. Her bistro-style café is adorned with folk art and
thought-provoking slogans. Sky diving, skiing and mountain climbing bumper stickers adorn the bar area, as does a large sign proclaiming “No lard. No pork. No microwave,” followed by a tongue-in-cheek “Despite the cost of living it is still quite popular.” It is a fun place, homey and engaging at the same time. It is also kosher!

Loyal patrons find the preservative-free, always-fresh ingredients a salivating experience. Epstein’s food is as bright and cheery as Mamacitas’ art-filled walls. Menu offerings blend traditional dishes such as arroz con pollo (chicken with rice) with innovative contemporary fare such as fish tacos with mango salsa, and creations like the Climbers Plate (inspired by her mountain-climbing son) featuring black beans, homemade red salsa, and hand-tossed flour tortillas.

To understand her eclectic worldly take on the food and culture of Mexico we must begin in the small mountain farming village of Izucar de Matamoros in southwestern Puebla, Mexico (150 miles south of Mexico City). Epstein’s father was Mixtec Indian and her mother a descendant of crypto-Jews from Spain. Her upbringing was a colorful cultural mixture of Indio, Catholic, and Jewish traditions. She realized early on the common thread linking all her ancestors was that the bounty of the earth was sacred and beautiful to all.

“We raised corn, peanuts, pumpkins, and such magnificent varieties of beans when I was little. We traded these for whatever we needed. It was magic to see what my familia could grow from the earth. I was in awe from the time I was a small child.”

Her maternal grandmother was a wise woman who stressed that food was essential for the life of the village, and that farmers were those who brought forth that life. Epstein recounts with tenderness the elaborate festivals surrounding the planting and harvest of crops.

“We had ceremonies from the time a seed was planted through the time it was harvested. We danced, sang, and celebrated the miracle of growing with reverence. It did not matter if we were of different religious backgrounds. We were all connected by the substance of the earth. When I was sent to the city to be educated and the other students made fun of my siblings and me because we were farmers, I stood proud, because I knew we fed their families.”

At 18, Carmen married Jack Epstein, an American-born Russian Jew, and moved to Chicago. There she raised four children and operated a successful hair salon business. Her passion for food took a hiatus as she turned her attention to family, business, and art school.

“I began to paint when my children were small. I was lonely in America; things seemed so disconnected and distant. I kept my sanity by focusing on the beauty I knew as a child. I painted the vibrancy of life, family, food, land, and spirit—I painted what I knew. When I was 44 years old my husband died suddenly; after 25 years of marriage I didn’t
know what I was going to do. So I moved to Boulder, where my children were attending college. I remembered what my mother told me…the heck with sadness. I needed to keep busy. It was time to begin a new life and use my passion for life in a new way.”

That passion is the small cantina on the Hill. Epstein has filled it with lush paintings, papier-mache, folk art, and love.

“I grew up with what we now call organic food—fresh produce, no chemicals. I wanted to create a restaurant that celebrated my love of healthy, beautiful food. I love to share my food and experiences with others. This is a place where you can invigorate your soul and body with nourishing food and beautiful art.”

Mamacitas Restaurante y Cantina
1149 13th St., Boulder
303-443-2300
el-descanso.com/Mamacitas

Renee Fajardo-Anstine comes from long line of natives who have farmed, fished and mined the wilds of Colorado for generations. An avid outdoors woman and conservationist, she and her large familia live in Arvada but travel extensively through out the South West while she hunts down succulent stories of adventures and ripe fruit.