La Lonchería, a lively sit-down restaurant in Bushwick, Brooklyn, is a site for community gatherings and connections with Mexico. The owners, Oscar Leon Bernal and Chef Danny Mena, are Mexican natives who strive to bring their country’s contemporary cuisine to the table and change the narrative of Mexican food as unhealthy, greasy dishes loaded with cheese and meat. Their menu captures the complexity of Mexican food in a way that highlights unique, flavorful, and fresh ingredients in various healthy and delicious dishes. The team’s mission and vision made La Lonchería a natural partner for the LARiA project.
We worked together to devise a plan to highlight several healthful menu items at La Loncheria. A few of these items their healthy Mexican classics like ceviches and guacamole and their plant-focused twists on traditional dishes, like tacos al pastor made with seared tuna with grilled pineapple, cauliflower tinga tacos, and house-made green chorizo torta. Our collaboration included rewording menu descriptions to boost these items, bringing in a professional photographer to capture these dishes, and creating a comprehensive plan for social media postings that capture the naturally healthful ingredients in these dishes and their origins in Mexican cuisine.
The video below features Oscar telling the story of our shared work to highlight their healthful creations and walks you through the unique, creative space of La Lonchería.
Stop by the restaurant to try out one of these delicious creations!
Address: 41 Wilson Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11237
Video credits: Video/Photography by Mariana Pelaez
Music credits: Music by Omar A. Dauhajre (aka DJ Shabakano); Mastering and co-production by Giovanni Escalera (aka Too White to be Mexican).
LARiAProject 