Taste This: Monica’s Flan ($6 as of Aug. 13, 2024) at El Patrón Tequilería & Cuisine, located at 54 E. Mill St. in Akron.

Creator: Monica Valdez, executive chef

Eye test: The dish is elegant in its simplicity. It’s inviting to the eye with its intense, warm caramel color and velvety smoothness. 

Chef at El Patrón Tequilería & Cuisine
Monica Valdez, the executive chef at El Patrón Tequilería & Cuisine, holds her self-titled flan dish Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2024, in Akron. (Kassi Filkins / Signal Akron)

At El Patron Tequileria, the Mexican dessert is infused with traditional tequila. 

Although Spain and Latin America claim this sweet as a popular dessert, its roots are traced to ancient Rome. From there, the Spaniards introduced the mouth-watering dessert to America.

Over centuries, flan has remained the same egg, cream and sugar mixture, although Valdez has her own ideas of how the dish should be made at El Patrón.

Taste This

Beverage pairing: Owner Luis Escudero suggests ordering Suavecito Blanco, a tequila with added agave nectar that makes this drink smooth and agave-forward with slight vanilla notes and hints of mint.

Backstory: Born in Peru, Valdez has led the back of the house at El Patrón since its April 2021 opening. Influenced by her mother, she spent hours at her side, learning traditional Latin American dishes and serving them with love to family, friends and patrons.

Monica’s flan, served at El Patrón Tequilería & Cuisine, on Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2024. The dish, crafted by executive chef Monica Valdez, is infused with traditional tequila. (Kassi Filkins / Signal Akron)

Valdez has worked in restaurants for more than 17 years, including tenures at Akron spots such as Crave and the now-closed Two Amigos. 

Valdez has experience in preparing cultural dishes from Columbia, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Peru and Mexico. Escudero would know. After her job interview at El Patrón, she invited him to her home for a Peruvian dinner. 

 El Patrón Tequilería & Cuisine history: The downtown Akron restaurant opened in April of 2021, offering a variety of culinary and tequila experiences, from street tacos and burritos to palomas and margaritas. The restaurant serves more than 150 tequilas and mezcals. Popular items on the weekend brunch menu include bottomless mimosas and chicken and waffles. 

How to buy: El Patrón Tequilería & Cuisine is open Monday through Thursday from 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m., and Sunday from 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Taste This

“Taste This” is our glimpse of the Akron area’s tastiest, distinctive and popular (or soon-to-be-famous) food, drinks and desserts — and the local culinary talents behind them. Tough job, we know. Know any menu items we should consider? Tell us here. 

Patricia Sheahan is a professor, student teacher supervisor, installation artist, educational consultant for the integration of the arts across all disciplines and a freelance writer. Sheahan enjoys more than four decades of education experience at K-12 schools in New York and Pennsylvania and higher education at Seton Hill University, the University of Pittsburgh, Duquesne University, Penn State and most recently the University of Akron. Her favorite courses to teach are Social Justice Through the Arts, Ethics, Introduction to Critical Education, Classroom Management and Integrating the Arts K-12. Interests include visiting the Akron Art Museum, Akron Library, Civic Theatre, walking downtown to view murals and window light installations plus the stunning flower and plant arrangements, antiquing, especially from her own vendor space at The Brothers North Antiques in Medina. She also frequents Akron restaurants and local boutiques, travels and spends time with her family; a daughter and her newly blended family in North Canton, a son and his family in San Diego and a son in Dallas.