Culture Swap: Mexican Wave

Get ready for a caliente summer in New York City.

New York City

The Mexicans are coming, and they're bringing the best of south-of-the-border hospitality, fiestas, food, and ice pops with them.

The Hotelier

Who: Carlos Couturier

What: The man behind the new Hôtel Americano, wedged between art galleries and the latest section of the High Line in N.Y.C.'s Chelsea hood. A boxy metallic-mesh construction anchored by concrete and stainless steel, the ten-story hotel is designed to feel "minimalist, modernist, and manly, like a 1960s gentlemen's club," says Couturier. It's easy to imagine Don Draper (or the dapper Couturier) lounging on one of the yellow-leather recliners, waking up in a wooden platform bed, or sipping a caipirinha at the rooftop bar (212-216-0000; doubles, $325$750).

What's Next: A downtown Mexico City hotel in an eighteenth-century colonial palace featuring palatial rooms and budget quarters.

The Ice-Cream Chef

Who: Fany Gerson

What: Creator of Mexican ice popsin avant-garde flavors like beet, rose petal, and avocadothat were snapped up at the Hester Street Fair and the New Amsterdam Market last summer. Last fall, Gerson published a cookbook, My Sweet Mexico (Random House, $30), and her desserts adorn menus at Manhattan's La Esquina and Brooklyn's Marlowe & Sons. This summer, she releases ice-pop recipe book Paletas (Random House, $17) and launches an ice-cream truck and a stand at Rockaway Beach, in Queens.

What's Next: A Brooklyn sweetshop peddling ice cream (in flavors like queso fresco and corn); and a range of grown-up cocktail ice pops with mescal, tequila, and Kahlúa (

The Restauranteur

Who: Dario Wolos

What: Ex-financier who turned a SoHo garage into hip restaurant Fonda Nolita via vintage signage, a Mexican "Tacombi" (a converted VW bus), and great grub. Chef Aarón Sánchez stuffs tacos with ingredients like marinated chicken, plantains, and pickled onion or seared haddock, avocado, and tomatillo sauce. They're served with aguas frescas and, from spring, Tacombi lagers brewed in Brooklyn. Why glorify the taco stand? "It's a leveler," Wolos says. "Bankers wearing Rolexes eat next to street cleaners. It's easy, and for everyone" (267 Elizabeth St.; 917-727-0179; tacos, $4).

What's Next: A Williamsburg space opens in June, and a food truck will cruise New York City (

Illustration of Carlos Couturier by Peter James Field