La Mesa Nuyorican: Rauw Alejandro and Puerto Rican Chefs Bring the Diaspora to Red Bull Chapters
Over 100 guests dined and partied with food by chefs Dylan Golden, Jonathan Melendez, César Pérez, and Manolo López.
Photography by Mack Minaya
Red Bull turned Industry City’s Brooklyn Grange rooftop into an intimate, unforgettable Monday night that brought Puerto Rican and Nuyorican culture into the city. La Mesa Nuyorican was a celebration of food, music, and culture through Rauw Alejandro’s lens with Red Bull Chapters.
Here, renowned chefs Dylan Golden (Chino Grande), Jonathan Meléndez Rodríguez (Casa Mono), César Pérez (Primos Lejanos), and Manolo López (Café Colmado and Finca La Promesa) curated a five-course meal that connects Puerto Rico and New York food traditions.
The night started with DJ sets and Puerto Rican hors d’oeuvres, like monfonguitos de yuca con bacalao, alcapurrias con picadillo de lentejas, and sangüichitos de lechón asa’o handed straight off the pig by López. Rauw’s limited Red Bull Chapters jerseys hung from the rooftop as Red Bull cocktails flowed.
Before we sat down and feasted, Bombazo Dance Co. graced us with a live bomba performance and invited guests to join to perform their own bomba dance. There was a familiar sense of channeling ancestors and letting our bodies communicate with the drums. As we entered the intimate dinner setting, floral table centerpieces reminiscent of the Caribbean filled the long tables, with avocados, coconuts, and plantains.
Photography by Mack Minaya
The second course of the night, after the hors d’oeuvres, included ensalada de hojas locales, pan sobao con mantequilla de Guayaba, and crudo de chillo. The third course featured calabaza asada con queso fresco y dulce de semillas, empanadilla de setas en reducción de malta, and chicharrón Chino-Latino. By the final course, we were all stuffed, yet nothing but fulfilled: arroz con jamonilla y habichuelas blancas, prime rib de la promesa, and yardlong beans con puré de yautía lila y apio.
For dessert, we got two treats: polvorón con melocotón y panna cotta de queso de cabra, and a performance by Dominican musician J Noa. The 20-year-old artist performed a genre-bending set of rap, rock, alternative, and hip-hop. Throughout the night, we also saw some familiar faces, like designers KidSuper and Edwin Reyes, DJ Dada Cozmic, Nike’s Hector Espinal, Colorway’sJuice Rodriguez and Cristal Veras, and many more.
Everyone left with a familial feeling: making new connections, appreciating old ones, getting a taste of Puerto Rico and New York food, culture, music, and traditions, and more knowledge and appreciation to continue empowering the island’s past, present, and future.
