Bricia Lopez and Chef Diana Dávila "Asada: Art of Mexican-Style Grilling"

The Book Cellar will be hosting Bricia Lopez and Chef Diana Dávila to discuss Asada: The Art of Mexican-Style Grilling

About the Book

In millions of backyards across Southern California, an asada means a gathering of family, friends, great music, cold drinks, good times, and community—all centered around the primal allure of juicy, smoky grilled meat with flavors and spices traditional to Mexico. The smell of asada is a cloud of joy that lingers in the streets of Los Angeles. With Asada: The Art of Mexican-Style Grilling, Mexican food authorities and the authors of Oaxaca, Bricia Lopez and Javier Cabral, are back with more than 100 recipes that show you how to prepare the right dishes and drinks for your next carne asada gathering. Asada will both guide you in crafting mouthwatering food and inspire the right laidback atmosphere.

Everyone says they love a spicy margarita and asada tacos, but very few understand the culture that informs these flavors. Divided into the eight crucial elements of any carne asada: botanas (appetizers), carnes (meats), mariscos (seafood), side dishes and vegetables, salsas, aguas frescas, cocktails, and dessert, Asada walks you through every step. From Lopez’s secret “michelada marinade” to game-changing salsas that will elevate any grilled meat, this cookbook is the ultimate guide to making and beginning to understand the magic of asada.

About the Author

Bricia Lopez is an entrepreneur, cultural ambassador, and key figure in the Los Angeles gastronomic scene. With her family’s James Beard Award–winning restaurant, Guelaguetza, in Los Angeles’s Koreatown, she and her siblings have put Oaxacan cuisine and culture at the forefront of today’s dynamic culinary scene. Her influence extends to the beverage industry, too. The New Yorker called Bricia the “queen of mezcal.” In 2019, she helped open Las Vegas’s first-ever mezcal bar—Mama Rabbit, inside the Park MGM. Her cookbook, Oaxaca: Home Cooking from the Heart of Mexico, published in fall 2019, was a 2020 James Beard nominee and became an Amazon bestseller with more than 750 five-star reviews.

Bricia and her siblings launched two direct-to-consumer brands: a proprietary michelada cocktail called I Love Micheladas™ and Guelaguetza™ mole pastes. Their products can also be found at hundreds of retailers across California. She has expanded her success into the digital world by launching the Super Mamas podcast with her sister Paulina and her blog Mole and More, where she shares simple recipes to cook at home with family. Bricia also holds lifestyle content creation partnerships with major brands. The mayor of Los Angeles appointed Bricia to the board of convention and tourism development in March 2019, and in 2020 she cofounded RE:Her, a nonprofit devoted to the advancement and empowerment of women restaurateurs. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband Eduardo, son, and daughter and frequently travels to Oaxaca.

About the Conversation Partner

Chef Diana Dávila has established herself within the restaurant industry over the past twenty years by working relentlessly to change the stigma around Mexican cuisine, most notably through her Logan Square restaurant Mi Tocaya Antojería. A Chicago native, Dávila began working in her parent’s taqueria at the age of 10. Since then, Dávila’s career has taken her to different corners of North America from Oaxaca, Mexico to Washington D.C. and back to Chicago. Dávila trained under industry giants including Susana Trilling, Ryan Poli, Giuseppe Tentori, and Jackie Greenbaum before carving out her own slice of culinary excellence when she opened Mi Tocaya Antojería in 2017.

Dávila uses fresh ingredients and bold flavors at Mi Tocaya while serving up Mexican favorites as well as lesser-known regional specialties, authentically representing the Central American cuisine. Mi Tocaya and Dávila have been the recipients of numerous awards including Bon Appetit’s “Best New Restaurants 2017 (Top 50), Food & Wine Magazine’s “Best New Chefs” (2018), Chicago Tribune’s “Chef of the Year” (2019), a Bib Gourmand designation from the Chicago Michelin Guide (2018, 2019, 2021, 2021), and more.

Dávila is also passionate about supporting the local community through her non-profit, The Todos Ponen Project, which supports causes that are meaningful to her and her team.