Bites Nearby: Mekenita Mexican Grille

Chef Rand Packer has cultivated a warm, vibrant vibe to Mekenita Mexican Grille at 17623 Dale Mabry Highway in part because of the artifacts he and his wife have collected from their trips to Mexico. The other part can be attributed to the authentic Mexican food he serves. There’s not a pre-made salsa to be found. Everything at this upscale, fast-casual restaurant is made on site with entrée prices ranging from $8-15.

This father of four—Mekenita is named after his oldest daughter, McKenna—sat down with Patch’s resident foodie Gina Melton to talk about customer service, explain the meaning of Oaxaca (pronounced wah-HAW-kah) and chat about why homemade mustard is so darned good.

Patch: Tell me about your culinary pedigree.

Chef Packer: I trained at the California Culinary Institute. After that, I headed to Hawaii—I wanted to be trained somewhere other than the standard post-grad stints in France or Italy—and started working for Roy’s in Hawaii to get exposure to Asian fusion.  Roy’s brought me to Tampa, and three and half years ago, I started Mekenita.

Patch: In your opinion, what’s the difference between a chef and a cook?

Chef Packer: In French, the word chef means someone who runs the entire restaurant, from the kitchen to the front of the house. They are as much a manager of people as they are a preparer of food.

Patch: What’s the most important ingredient to a successful restaurant?

Chef Packer: It has to be the customer service. People will return to a restaurant if the food is good—and ours is—but they won’t come back as much if the customer service isn’t good. My philosophy is that customers are our guests in our house, and they should feel comfortable bringing their family or a date to our hacienda.  

Patch: There are lots of Mexican restaurants in town. What makes Mekenita stand out?

Chef Packer: Everything is made in-house. Lots of other mexican restaurants order products, pre-chopped or pre-marinated, where literally “cooking” means moving the product from the container to the plate. We take pride in everything we serve. For example, making our sangria is a three-day process. We won’t serve it unless our sangria has been soaking for three days.  It’s really great.

Patch: What’s on special on the Mekenita menu?

Chef Packer: There’s lots of great, flavorful food influenced by the Oaxaca region in Mexico. This means using fresh ingredients to create the complex flavors on our menu. We’ve been offering a crab enchilada with a smoked ancho cream sauce special that’s going to be a permanent fixture on the menu. We serve a citrus grilled chicken served with a tostado tower with a tomatillo chili salsa that’s also is going to be on the permanent menu.

Patch: If I were to come over to your house for dinner, what would I find in your fridge?

Chef Packer: Lots of condiments, like homemade hot sauces and mustards. I don’t even buy mustard from the store anymore because it’s way more fun to be able to play with the flavor profiles when you make it yourself.