Artisans
La Calenda works with several Mexican artisans to source its crockery. The Guamúchil wooden plates are made by Salvador Cabañas Avilés in the state of Guerrero, Mexico. The mezcal cups, made from the traditional Oaxacan pottery, Barro Negro, are made by Rocío de Nieto, an artisan in Oaxaca. Also from Oaxaca are La Calenda’s clay pitchers by Bibiana Castra Sandoval and the red clay bowls by Gloria and Reyna Mateo Sánchez. The restaurant sources hand-blown recycled glassware from the Oaxacan studio Xaquixe.
Ingredients
La Calenda has developed a relationship with a curated list of purveyors who have a similar commitment to supplying artisanal products. Partnering with Tamoa, the restaurant sources heirloom corn from multigenerational corn growers and tortilleros in Central and Southern Mexico. Dried chiles and other fundamental ingredients come directly from Mexico as well, including pimiento gorda, chihuacle negro, costeño rojo, chile mixe and the leaves from the wild criollo avocado, used for cooking barbacoa. The French Laundry Culinary Garden has also added a number of traditional Mexican herbs to its program, including pipicha, pápalo and epazote. At the same time, the Garden has increased its production of chiles, including chile de agua, a pepper rarely grown in the United States. La Calenda works with established local partners, including Rancho Gordo for heirloom beans and forager Connie Green of Wineforest Wild Foods for mushrooms.
Cuisine
La Calenda is a community-driven restaurant where traditional food and fixtures meet for a fun, family-friendly environment. While much of the menu is centered around dishes from Oaxaca, the traditional Mexican cuisine casts a glance across a range of regions, including the Baja Peninsula, the Nayarit coast, and Veracruz. The kitchen nixtamalizes Mexican-grown corn for its fresh tortillas and imports a variety of other specialty products.
Beverage
La Calenda features a full-service bar specializing in tequila, mezcal, beer and wine. The cocktail program is designed to offer a variety of traditional and exotic flavors to complement the cuisine, from the classic margarita to the more adventurous Negroni de Hongos, featuring mezcal, portobello infused Campari and Punt e Mes. The wine list includes local and new world selections that pair well with the cuisine, including varietals from the Valley of Guadalupe and the Santo Tomás Valley in Mexico. La Calenda’s beer selection offers the favorite Mexican varieties, as well as the restaurant’s own handcrafted house beer, “El Chefe” a Mexican lager brewed with California corn by Berryessa Brewing Company. And with great appreciation for tequila and mezcal, the La Calenda team curated a list of over 30 mezcals and tequilas to offer a wide variety for guests to taste and enjoy.
