For 3½ years, chef Ryan Gomez has hosted pop-ups under the name Sol. He serves stylish Mexican-influenced food that reminds me of the best meals I’ve had along Mexico’s Caribbean coast. Gomez is a native of Greenville and a graduate of our Culinary Institute of the Carolinas at Greenville Technical College, with deep familial roots in Vera Cruz, Mexico.
“When I was young, my parents wanted me to be a doctor or dentist, and I shadowed a few when I was looking at colleges trying to find my career,” Gomez said. “But it was in the restaurants, in the kitchen, where I was happiest. That led me to culinary school, which I loved. Chef Grissom and chef Patrick, they were wonderful.”
Happiness is seasoning. When the cooks love what they do, you can taste it. Gomez’s food is the product of a man content with his life choices. During a recent pop-up at John Ko’s Hone restaurant, my companion and I enjoyed pork tenderloin with a sunchoke puree, braised collard greens flavored with chipotle peppers, a brash redeye gravy, a slow-roasted chicken quarter with Italian Arborio rice, local root vegetables, and a mole verde resplendent with tomatillo, onion, garlic, cumin, oregano, sage, thyme and avocado leaf. Those were followed by roasted and seared sweet potatoes on a bed of black bean puree, topped with a cool queso fresco and a lively salsa macha.
My friend sighed and offered up: “I wish I could bring life to sweet potatoes like this. They’re so amazing.”
Amazing, indeed.
Ryan Gomez pop-up experiences
Monday through Friday, Gomez is the sous chef at the Poinsett Club. Several times a month, he hosts private dinners or pop-ups at various brick-and-mortar spaces in town. For my money, his food is the most intriguing, and most singular, of the host of talented chefs that delight our town with pop-ups or events. I’d love to see Gomez with his own restaurant, but that’s coming from my own selfish interests. That would save me from having to figure out where he’s cooking next weekend. However, there’s something to be said for stability.
“Life at the Poinsett Club is great and I work with some wonderful people,” Gomez said. “Chef David Porras and of course our GM, Charles Brewer.”
When I asked Gomez if there was a Hispanic-influenced restaurant within 500 miles of Greenville that he could point me to as influential, his first answer was a favorite of mine, right here in our town: Las Meras Tortas.
“I love Las Meras,” he said. “Their food feels and tastes like the best of Mexico. It’s friendly, comforting and always delicious. After that I’d say El Valle Kitchen in Atlanta, and I was recently in Bogota, Colombia, and dined at El Chato and the food there was extraordinary.”
Follow SolGVL on Instagram to find chef Ryan Gomez’s next extraordinary event.
“City Juice” is a colloquial term for a glass of tap water served at a diner. John Malik is a restaurant and hospitality consultant. He can be reached at chefjohnmalik@gmail.com.
