Husband-and-wife duo Jose Ramos and Elizabeth Tinajero are getting ready to open a farmers’ market stand based in the East Bay, and they need your help. The stand will be called LEÓN after the major city in Ramos’s home state of Guanajuato. Ramos was the opening chef at Nopalito, and then served as executive chef at Sabrosa, before working at Nido. Tinajero attended the Culinary Institute of America and grew up cooking regional recipes with her mother. The pair plans to use heirloom and local ingredients in all their cooking, and will make all of their menu items from scratch, including grinding their own corn for tamales.
They’ve launched an Indiegogo campaign to help them raise money for a taco cart, griddle, and fryer, and other necessary equipment to start their business. They only need to raise a modest $9,000 to meet their goal, and a mere $20 donation gets you a trio of tacos once they are up and running!
An ever-intrepid Chowhound caught the liquor license application for another location of PHO AO SEN (careful: that link is going to make some noise). The East Oakland pho favorite is opening a third location in Albany, in a former Sizzler. 665 San Pablo Ave. at Portland.
Tacos from León, the new project from Jose Ramos and Elizabeth Tinajero. Photo from Indiegogo.