Masa Taco Bar + Chicho's Cocina in Stamford: Rooted in Family Tradition and Travels

Flautas de pollo - shredded chicken and cheese taquitos, crema, cabbage, onion, cilantro, cotija, and salsa roja

Almost 10 years to the day, CTbites found itself covering La Esquina Latin Grill in Stamford, where chef-owner Robert Monegro served up classic Latin American dishes.

In the present, the Stamford-raised Monegro is still pretty busy. La Esquina is well behind him, though, and you’ll see him bouncing back and forth between his two popular taqueria’s, Chico’s Cocina, and as of 2024, Masa Taco Bar.

For Monegro, his culinary journey didn’t start 10 years ago at his first restaurant. It actually began in 1995 at his father’s Dominican restaurant, Flamboyant Chicho Cocina.

At Masa, apps range from a few tostadas, to maduros and esquites, and chips with salsa or guac, or these chilaquiles, chips simmered in salsa verde (or red, if you want), with crema, avocado, cilantro, and queso fresco.

The bar is heavy on tequila and mezcal cocktails, beer, and some wine.

Pictured is the Smokey Pina w/Los Siete Misterios Mezcal, chile liqueur, lemon, pineapple, agave syrup, and house-made dried chile salt.

“My dad, Chicho, opened up Flamboyant, a name that had no significance to him at the time, it was just the name that was already on the building,” Monegro says. “My dad is Dominican and mom is from Guatemala. My dad worked in Italian restaurants his whole life. Even in the Dominican Republic, he had a food stand where he would slaughter pigs, make chicharrónes. That was his thing. Forward to ‘95. He opens up his own place, gambles everything to open it. My mom quit her job and they started from scratch. I have this really cool picture of my dad and my mom behind the counter and I now have the same picture with my wife.”

Monegro recalls that when his father started, Stamford didn’t have a lot of Latin American restaurants, that it was Flamboyant, then in 1998, Brasitas opened its first location. And while Flamboyant began with Dominican cuisine, Chicho started incorporating Central American, Mexican, and South American into the mix.

Tuna tostada - tuna crudo, chipotle aioli, fried leeks, avocado. It’s not only a customer favorite, it’s one of Monegro’s, too, who admittedly isn’t big into seafood, but after trying it during his travels, it hooked him.

Tacos are undoubtedly a big deal here and they fly out of Masa’s kitchen all day and night and at happy hour.

Pictured: Carnitas w/pickled red onions and jardin (cilantro)

Chorizo taco w/homemade sausage, onions, cilantro, scallions

At five years old, Monegro was, as he puts it, “I wanted to be with my dad. I was attached to his hip while he was making rice or chicken.”

And bit by the restaurant bug he was. How could he not be?

“He would always have me do things and as I got older, I'd wash dishes, lend an extra pair of hands, but also just watching my dad,” he says. “My kids now, they want to own restaurants. Just like with my dad, I was so drawn to food and I just wanted to learn more. My dad, to me, he’s the gold standard and whatever my dad says, it goes. I respect him so much. I shadowed him for years. I would go to do grocery runs with him at four in the morning to Hunts Point in the Bronx. When I was in middle school, before school, I would wake up at four to with him and help him load up the car. He'd drop me off at school and then he'd pick me back up, then go to the restaurant for a little bit. That was my life for a long time and it wasn't like he was forcing me. I wanted to be with my dad.”

As he got older, Monegro’s culinary interest remained, experimenting with food, cooking, tasting, and eventually he opened La Esquina. He’d later sell it and admittedly made some mistakes with his first solo venture into the restaurant world. After La Esquina, he said he’d never do it again and switched paths to real estate. 

But like anyone who has hospitality in their blood, Monegro’s career change was short lived.

“I was doing real estate in the city and started seeing all these restaurants, cool concepts, and every time I would go into one there, I felt like I could do this better,” he says. “One day, I got a call from my landlord where Chicho’s is now and he asked me if I was interested. I shot it down immediately. No way. I'm not doing that again. I slept on it and I was like, ‘Should I just do it?’ I talked to my girlfriend (now fiancée) at the time and she told me to do whatever I want to do. Whatever. Let's just let's just try it and see what happens. I jumped into that and that's how Chicho’s started.”

There is a tortilla under there! What you spy under the carne asada is crispy grilled cheese that can be added to any street taco.

Parque Mexico - blanco, avocado, mint, cucumber, elderflower liqueur, agave, lemon. Balanced, silky from the avocado, and somewhere between tasting like a margarita and a mojito (minus the rum).

At Chicho’s, Monegro leaned into Mexican for a few reasons. One being that on his mom’s Guatemalan side, tacos, burritos, and tamales are common fare. And two, one of his cooks from La Esquina once urged him to go to Mexico City, even paying for Monegro’s flight and setting him up with his family down there.

“I always carry this little book on me when I travel places,” Monegro explains. “When I try a new place, try a new menu item, even 10-15 years ago, it’s in that book. The menu items here are probably inspired by some of those things I wrote in that book. I always kept it in my back pocket. I find that the coolest concepts are overseas because I think people tend to be a little bit more creative. I don't know why, I think they're just willing to take higher risks, so I always take a little notebook and I always take notes and just pick people's brains. I didn’t know much about Mexican food back. When I got back to La Esquina, I started making enchiladas, sopes, everything that I tasted in Mexico City. I grew a huge admiration for that culture, for that city, and ever since, I go back frequently.”

In 2024, Monegro would have a second Stamford space fall into place with Masa Taco Bar on Broad Street. But he had a conundrum…he still wanted to do Mexican, but he faced the issue of not wanting one business to cannibalize the other. Chico’s, however, is more of a takeout place, but he could keep the same philosophy of doing as much in-house as possible, and it could still be visually vibrant food. Masa would have a bar with a full-fledged cocktail program and there’d be more room if people wanted to dine-in and stay a while, or if you wanted your food to-go, no problem.

Pork belly al pastor

His R&D before opening Masa involved returning to Mexico City.

“I was chasing and trying new things, because it's a moving goal post; the food there is so innovative, even like the traditional stuff and it's always changing,” Monegro says. “We're always trying to chase the most authentic version of that food. That's our goal here, trying just to get as close to that as possible and bring that kind of life back here.”

What Masa is, is an extension of Chicho’s. The tacos are slightly different, or, if you prefer, refined in some cases. Al pastor tacos use a slow roasted pork belly that’s later chopped up and flashed for crispiness on the flat top; Masa’s version of carnitas features Dominican style pernil (with imported Dominican oregano, lots of garlic, and sofrito) that’s cooked in its own fat for a long time until it shreds apart, and before it’s served, it’s fried on the griddle in more of that pork fat for texture; the chorizo for the chorizo taco is house-ground; and birria is popular, too, and featured in tacos, on top of fries, and ramen.

Carried over from Chicho’s are rice bowls, burritos, and all the homemade salsas and hot sauces. What’s not carried over? Duck mole taquitos, chicken flautas, and a couple tostadas in shrimp ceviche and another in tuna crudo with chipotle aioli, fried leeks, and avocado.

Baja fish tacos w/Modelo beer battered and fried cod

At Masa’s bar, expect margaritas (and marg flights), and a mostly tequila-based cocktail menu where Monegro likes to let the spirits and use of fresh juices shine.

In a perfect world, Monegro said he’d love to mill his own corn and do hand-pressed, made-to-order tortillas, but having the space to do so is an issue. What he has found, however, is a local-ish purveyor who makes them fresh and delivers them daily while they’re still piping hot.

And if there was more on the horizon for Masa, Monegro mentioned he’s been wanting to push the envelope more with ideas of a few fancier tacos or menu additions, so don’t be surprised if he opens up his journal for inspiration. When he does, we’ll be ecstatic to try whatever he’s cooking up.

114 Broad Street, Stamford
203.274.7377, masatacobar.com