"When Jose Villegas' grandparents died, he was in Mexico visiting with his mother. His grandmother, who had been ill for some time, died first, and his grandfather followed two weeks later. In the middle of grief, the mother, Delfina Villegas, and son looked at each other and asked: What will we do? The answer came just as easily: "We'll open a restaurant," the pair said."
"Delfina described her mother as a gifted cook with a generous heart. She was always invited to cook for quinceañeras in Morelia and "people would come because they knew that she would always give corn, milk, whatever it was." Each day began at 3 a.m. Mamá Cholita would clean the house, make tortillas, and prepare for the day's work. Delfina first brought her mother's cooking to the Mission District when she was about 30 years old."
Jose Villegas and his mother, Delfina Villegas, opened Cocina Mamá Cholita after the deaths of both grandparents during the COVID-19 pandemic. The restaurant opened officially Feb. 11, 2023, at 3471 Mission St. near Kingston in San Francisco's Mission District. The menu centers on mole made from blended local chiles, seeds, cacao, spices and other ingredients, with recipes tracing back to Morelia, Michoacán. Delfina learned techniques from her mother, Mamá Cholita, including making mole "chile by chile" by browning each pepper. The family background included ranch-grown produce and daily routines beginning at 3 a.m. The restaurant won the Mission Cultural Center's "Mole to Die For" competition in November.
Read at Mission Local
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]