Mis Abuelos in Victor – a feast for all the senses

When you first enter Mis Abuelos, the new Caribbean-inspired restaurant on Victor’s Main Street, the first thing you notice is the delightful aroma. Then you notice the colors, and then, if you’re lucky, you get to taste the delectable dishes that come out of the kitchen.

Lizette Mari Wright (Lyza) is the owner of Mis Abuelos, which she has been developing for four years. Educated as a computer engineer and mathematician, she says she’s “always been a cook.” She married Mike Wright, a saddle maker with a connection to the Bitterroot, and they ended up settling in Victor. The restaurant is located at 112 Main, between a dispensary and a mortgage company. Mike’s saddle shop is a couple of doors down, and although he’s currently helping in the restaurant, he plans to ease out so he can continue with his saddle business.

The restaurant’s menu fuses Cuban, Puerto Rican and Chinese influences and features some classic recipes that were handed down from Lyza’s family. Mis Abuelos (“My Grandparents” in English) is dedicated to Lyza’s great grandparents, her grandparents and her parents. “They were all great cooks,” she says. “Their legacy to me was not money or property but a list of recipes and their love for God, food and family unity. How best to celebrate their lives in memory through my cooking.”

Lyza herself is a fusion of Spanish, Black, Taino and Chinese ancestry, according to DNA testing. She said that she especially loves to share with people the story of how these recipes that combine all these cultural influences developed in the Caribbean. First were the indigenous Taino, then came the Spanish invaders, who later brought enslaved people from Africa to work in the sugar cane fields. In 1847, 125,000 Chinese signed up to work as cheap laborers in Cuba. Many Chinese left Cuba when Fidel Castro came to power, and they were banned from Puerto Rico. Many ended up in New York City where they opened Chino Cubano restaurants. Most of the Chino Cubano restaurants in New York City are gone now, but Lyza’s hoping to introduce this style of cooking to people in the Bitterroot, helping to keep this unique cuisine alive. “The combination of the Chinese and Cuban ingredients results in a richer, denser flavor,” says Lyza. She offers Chino Cubano pork ribs as one of her main entrees. (This author got to have a taste. The meat is so tender it just falls off the bone and the spice combination is exquisite).

Other main dishes include Pernil, roast pork which is a Puerto Rican classic served at parties, weddings and other celebrations; Ropa Vieja (“old clothes”), shredded beef flank (“You haven’t had Cuban food until you’ve eaten this dish,” according to the menu); and Pollo Guisado, a chicken stew that is a staple in Cuba, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. 

All the meats are barbecued first, then slow cooked to finish with the special sauces, spices and other ingredients. Lyza starts with sofrito (peppers, onions, garlic and cilantro) and her own sazon, a blend of 14 spices that makes her dishes all her own. Everything served at Mis Abuelos is made from scratch by Lyza and her staff of five.

All meals come with rice, black (Cuban) or pinto (Puerto Rican) beans, sweet corn, fried yuca, plantains and fresh fruit with chamoy sauce, a fusion of Mexican and Chinese cuisine made from apricot puree, lemon, lime and chili pods that has become a street food dessert in the Caribbean. Mis Abuelos also offers homemade tamarind juice.

Mis Abuelos, at 112 Main (phone 406-802-4611), is open Friday through Sunday from 4 to 9 p.m. Lyza has big plans to eventually expand to offer lunches from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. including Cuban sandwiches. She also wants to add a “New York corner” with New York-style pizza, hot dogs and brats, sweet onions and empanadas. She has the equipment to soon be able to add ice cream and milk shakes to the menu. The spacious building also has an area for a live band to perform, eventually. 

Right now, the restaurant is already pretty busy, even with no advertising other than word of mouth. There is plenty of outside seating, but if good weather returns for a typical Bitterroot autumn, those seats will fill up fast. Last Friday, the first day that the restaurant was officially open, there was a full house. 

“The word of mouth has proven very effective,” said Lyza. “The people were so happy that Mis Abuelos is here. I’m so glad, because I thought my food would be a hard sell since it was so unfamiliar and the town of Victor too remote.” 

Lyza has recreated a colmado next to the shelves where she keeps her spice jars. According to Lyza, a colmado is a small store inside a small village or community that has basic goods for sale. “Though it’s fictional here in terms of sales, it’s a reminder of the old days,” says Lyza. “These colmados are an essential business in small communities. They have a ledger book that is used to track advance purchases to help people get by until Friday – payday. Either every Friday night and most certainly Saturday morning, everyone squares off their account over a cup of coffee or a loaf of bread. This is really the only way most people survive in low income communities.”

She also decided to display her tropical specialty fruits and vegetables at the front of the restaurant instead of in the back. “I have them in plain sight next to the cash register – things like tamarind, plantains and yuca. I get a lot of questions as to what they are. This time, people can actually see them and taste them.”

“I hope people come and enjoy the food and try new flavors to test the senses,” says Lyza. “I love food and I think food brings people together. I want this to be a place where people can gather and have a good time. I’m looking forward to sharing my beautiful childhood experiences with the Bitterroot community through God, love and great foods.”