Maria Bonita Restaurant opens up in Yuma
Maria Bonita Restaurant and Bar is a new upscale restaurant making its way to the Desert Southwest looking to spice up our food options.
Maria Bonita is opening up this Saturday with an all-star Mexican inspired cuisine. The restaurant is located near Yuma Airport at 711 E. 32nd Street.
Executive Chef Miriam Vega and her partner, Armand Aranda , said they are both excited to bring a new look to the city.
“We did a homage to Mexican art and Mexican folklore art, and we ended up doing a lot of similar things to a Frida Khalo home.”
Chef Vega joins the Yuma community from her hometown Morgan Hill, California, with 10 years in the food industry.
She is also one of the few female chefs in the game, in which she says, for the most part, is male-dominated. ” For me, it was a little bit different because I think I kind of cheated in a way because I came in opening my own restaurant. I worked as a personal chef, but I sometimes feel that I didn’t have to work through all the ranks that a lot of female chefs do. ”
At the end of the day though, Chef Vega still rolls up her sleeves and helps wash dishes, sweep, and cover the cracks.
Another wonderful attraction at the restaurant is a beautiful wall collage of the late Mexican actress Maria Felix, which was also the inspiration for the name, Maria Bonita.
Chef Vega is looking forward to introducing top signature plates from different states of Mexico.
These are just a few she describes, “We do carne en su jugo , that’s from Guadalajara, we do pescado Veracruzano that’s from Veracruz, we do the mixiotes that’s from Mexico City.”
The menu will also include different ingredients that other restaurants typically don’t use and of course locally grown fresh produce.
Maria Bonita’s menu will change every 3 to 4 months to bring a new fresh taste to the table. If you’re looking to stop by anytime soon, Chef Vega has a tip for you, “If I were a new customer coming in, I would work my way down start with the enchiladas then go to our other dishes.”
For hours and more information, click here.
