Authentic Mexican Restaurant in Ellensburg Washington

Pre-Hispanic Cuisine

Introduction to Pre Hispanic cuisine; while most Mexican cuisine is a fusion of native Mesoamerican and European cooking introduced by the Spanish during the 16th century, Pre Hispanic food was the basic diet consumed by people in different regions of Mexico and Central America for the past 6000 years and is still eaten today.

Corn, squash, beans, and chilis made up a majority of the dishes used before the Spanish conquest, as well as a wide variety of spices, chocolate, and tomatoes (which were thought poisonous by Europeans). All of these different foods work together to create some incredible flavors unique to each specific locale in which they are prepared.

Currently, there has been a renewed interest in getting back to our culinary roots, Roslyn Mexican Grill has taken this idea by the reigns and is offering many different dishes cooked in the traditional style from several different states in Mexico.

David & The Santa Mexican grill

I was born and raised in Cuautla, a small town in the mountains of Jalisco, Mexico. As a child, our family grew and raised all of their own food, all-natural and organic, and harvested all the wild edibles in the area as well. Coming from a large extended family, all took part in cooking for the household in some way. I found I enjoyed helping my grandmother prepare the food we ate. I also realized that I developed a sense of pride by growing my own vegetables, fruits, and livestock; so started my culinary journey and my personal theory on how and why we should prepare and enjoy the local seasonal ingredients available to us in Washington. I moved to Washington in 1993, I started working in the restaurant industry as a dishwasher/prep cook and quickly worked my way up the culinary ladder, finally achieving an Executive Chef position. I have hands-on experience in both 5-star hotels and restaurant settings, Classically trained in French cuisine I have a mastery of Mediterranean, regional Italian dishes, Spanish, and Asian cuisine as well.

After the past 20 years of working for small businesses to large corporations, I was offered the opportunity to purchase my own business, The Yellow Church Cafe in 2013 and the Roslyn Mexican Grill in 2016. Transitioning from working for someone to working for myself has been both challenging as well as rewarding. This opportunity has allowed me to travel, gaining more knowledge about regional cuisine here in the U.S. as well as giving me the chance to offer others assistance to create better culinary experiences for their customers and providing them with insight on how to operate their facilities more effectively. When you are in the position of working for yourself food costs and labor are much more of an up close and personal issue, creating a satisfied customer base becomes your number one priority, and being experienced enough to handle these challenges knowing that the decisions you are making are for your own business is the greatest reward.