by Suzette Smith
•
Apr 8, 2021 at 10:00 am
Poke Nachos from Botanist Suzette Smith
Last summer, subterranean bar Botanist moved into a large, open-air rooftop space, formerly the home of On Deck Sports Grill. Botanist's owners—Robbie Wilson and Matt Davidson— envisioned it could be an open air food hall where they would provide their perfect, gin-focused cocktails and guests could choose from a variety of cuisines.
The first person they brought into the endeavor was chef Pablo Portilla, who had been working at Mi Mero Mole, but—a decade before that—ran a Cuban food cart called Havana Cafe. The partnership took off almost immediately and Botanist / Havana Cafe became known as an oasis of distanced tables, twinkling overhead lights, and delicious dishes that ran a gamut from garlicky Cubano pork sandwiches to crisp beet ceviche, and, of course, the much discussed Poke Nachos.