Casa Carmen in New York City Resembles a Traditonal Hacienda

Casa Carmen opened its doors within a spacious 105-seat, 2,500 square foot former Tutto Il Giornio space, which has now been transformed by Mexican Interior Designer Luis Enrique Noriega and Architect Legeard Studio into a restaurant resembling a traditional Mexican hacienda featuring terracotta-colored walls, handmade Oaxacan “barro negro” black clay pottery, and woven textiles.

At Casa Carmen, nearly all of the recipes come directly from Titita. Head Chef Ivan Gonzalez trained at El Bajío for months in preparation for the opening, undergoing exhaustive training about ingredients, recipes, techniques, and cooking protocols. In the tradition of restaurants in Mexico, Casa Carmen employs "mayoras" - the elder stateswomen of the kitchen - to oversee the creation of the sauces and other fundamental building blocks of the menu such as tortillas.

“I am very proud that my family’s third generation wants to continue our journey in the restaurant business,” said Titita. “I offered them all of my support and experience - I reviewed the menu with them, and the overall concept and décor proposed by Luis Enrique Noriega. I am honored that the restaurant is named after me. I hope that guests at Casa Carmen will have a fabulous experience savoring traditional Mexican dishes, prepared to perfection, in an elegant place.”

- Carmen "Titita" Ramirez Degollado

The dinner menu features several of the signature dishes for which El Bajío is known, including duck tostadas, plantain empanadas, and enchiladas de mole (a special mole that only a handful of cooks know how to make), pescado "Veracruzano," and shrimp in a special salsa negra made with charred chipotle peppers. At brunch, guests can look forward to enjoying classic dishes including chilaquiles, huevos rancheros, and molletes gratinados (telera bread with refried beans, Oaxaca cheese, and pico de gallo). The cocktail program is agave-forward, and there is also a large list of mezcal and tequila. The restaurant also offers Mexican wines (mainly from the famed Valle de Guadalupe and Parras region).

Casa Carmen Tribeca
114 Franklin St
New York, New York
(917) 540-5500
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