MUJER ON A MISSION
If you’ve never heard of Zarela, here’s a brief bio: She was raised on a cattle ranch in the Mexican state of Sonora where she was as comfortable cooking with her mother as she was outdoors breaking horses. She graduated from El Paso’s Loretto Academy and attended finishing school in Guadalajara. She married, had twin boys and parented two step-kids, did a social work stint in El Paso, and opened a catering business. Finally, in 1983 she left the border and her rocky marriage for New York and a dream of having her own restaurant. She once said she was so determined to make it in the Big Apple that, if need be, she would sell burritos in Central Park.But that wasn’t necessary: In 1987 she opened up Zarela’s in Midtown Manhattan (at 2nd Avenue and 51st Street), where over the next two decades it became an institution. There, she pleased many a palate with savory dishes such as manchamanteles de pato, a roasted duck in a spicy fruit sauce; sopa chilpachole de jaiba, a spicy crab soup capped with a stuffed crab and masa dumplings; and chile relleno de picadillo de pobre, a chile stuffed with shaved beef, potatoes and carrots flavored with achiote.
