By The TV segment aired. Monday evening, 6 PM news, four minutes and twelve seconds. The longest segment Angela has produced about me — or anyone, she said. The structure: the 2019 segment (brief flashback, establishing that I was known then), the pandemic (the porch drops, the hospital deliveries, the drive-by feeding), the cooking program (the department-wide expansion, Chief Martinez's approval), the competition (the Fall Smoke Classic, the first-place ribs), and the family (Roberto, Sofia, Diego's brisket interruption, which they used as the closing shot over the credits).
The response was bigger than the 2019 segment. My phone did not stop buzzing for three days. The Instagram jumped from 4,200 to 7,800 followers. SmokeHaus shared the segment on their national social media. The food magazine that published my short rib recipe sent an email asking for a monthly column. A monthly column. In a food magazine. Writing about cooking, for money, on a regular basis. I said yes before I finished reading the email.
Three DMs from people asking when Rivera's opens. The answer is: 2034, if the plan holds. The answer is also: every Sunday at my parents' backyard, no reservation needed, bring your own chair. But the real answer — the answer I do not say out loud because saying it might jinx it — is: sooner than you think. The plan is accelerating. The savings are growing ($68,000 now). The brand is building. The timeline might move.
Roberto watched the segment four times. Elena reports that he rewound Diego's brisket line "at least six times" and laughed every time. He called me Wednesday and said, "Mijo, the whole city saw your food." I said, "The whole city smelled my food years ago, Dad. Now they just have a face to go with the smoke." He laughed. Roberto rarely laughs. When he does, it sounds like a man who has been holding something in his chest and finally let it out.
Jessica's response to the segment: she watched it once, nodded, and said, "The business plan needs updating. Our audience just tripled." Then she opened the spreadsheet. My wife does not do sentimentality. She does strategy. I love her.
Three days of buzzing phones, a magazine column, and Roberto laughing like a man finally exhaling — none of that called for me to fire up a smoker. Some moments are already cooked. What they call for is a glass with smoke already in it, no fire required. Mezcal carries its char the same way good brisket does: slow, earned, undeniable. This Mezcalita is what I made the night Jessica closed the spreadsheet and I finally let myself sit down and feel it.
Mezcalita
Prep Time: 5 minutes | Cook Time: 0 minutes | Total Time: 5 minutes | Servings: 1
Ingredients
- 2 oz mezcal (reposado or joven)
- 1 oz fresh lime juice (about 1 large lime)
- 1/2 oz orange liqueur (Cointreau or triple sec)
- 1/2 oz agave nectar
- Kosher salt or smoked salt, for rim
- 1 cup ice cubes
- 1 lime wedge, for garnish
Instructions
- Prepare the glass. Run a lime wedge around the rim of a rocks glass. Spread a thin layer of kosher or smoked salt on a small plate, then press the rim into the salt to coat. Set the glass aside.
- Combine the cocktail. Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Add the mezcal, fresh lime juice, orange liqueur, and agave nectar.
- Shake hard. Seal the shaker and shake vigorously for 15—20 seconds, until the outside of the shaker feels very cold.
- Serve. Fill the prepared rocks glass with fresh ice. Strain the cocktail over the ice. Garnish with a lime wedge and serve immediately.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 185 | Protein: 0g | Fat: 0g | Carbs: 13g | Fiber: 0g | Sodium: 145mg