BWW Preview: LA MILAGROSA Agave Bar and Listening Room in Williamsburg

Felipe Mendez, the visionary responsible for igniting the Mexican dining scene in Brooklyn with taqueria La Superior, is again using his creativity and passion for authentic Mexican culture for his latest venture, Mezcaleria La Milagrosa, an extension of Cerveceria Havemeyer.

Named "The Miraculous" to honor the Virgin Mary of Guadalupe, La Milagrosa is a complex with a brightly-colored storefront deli stocked with difficult-to-find Mexican ingredients for cooking at home, and an original mezcal bar and listening room, accessible only by calling a phone number and asking if a reservation can be accommodated.

La Milagrosa Deli offers difficult-to-find Mexican specialties like prickly pear, moles, chorizo, dried chilies, and sauces that are regularly used at Cerveceria Havemeyer, created and bottled by Mendez. Guests can also order fresh-squeezed juices, as well as coffee and espresso provided by local roasters.

Mezcaleria La Milagrosa Agave Bar and Listening Room is accessible through a freezer door in the deli, which opens into the listening room where guests can order from the extensive list of mezcal and tequila, with select options nearly impossible to find in NYC, in addition to a small menu of ceviches. The warm and earthy space is designed and built by Mendez for optimal acoustics, with floor-to-ceiling wood paneling to best absorb the music, which plays from a top-of-the-line, high fidelity sound system with a McIntosh receiver and Klipsch speakers. The listening room will also feature live entertainment from a rotating roster of top DJs. For a different audio experience, guests can request a coin from the bartender to hear the vintage jukebox with classic low-fi sound from its record selection of classic 45's.

Mendez's emphasis on a supreme audio experience derives from his passion for music, not only as a musician playing the drums and bass, but also as a DJ (you can listen to him spin an array of genres on Brooklyn-based radio show The Lot on Fridays at 4 p.m.) Mendez is also an avid music collector, with 15,000 records he has amassed since the age of 15.

With the combination of music and mezcal, Mendez hopes guests can perhaps "find a miracle."

Felipe Mendez was born in Mexico City and began cooking as a boy when his mother put him on kitchen duty as punishment for skipping school. He studied abroad in England and worked at several restaurants in all different stations of the restaurant in exchange for room and board. He moved to New York in 1999 and began working at prominent restaurants La Esquina, Rosa Mexicano, and Dos Caminos. His passion and determination have made him a success with his first restaurant La Superior and Cerveceria Havemeyer, and now La MilagrosA. Mendez has been featured on Fox 5 Good Day Café, NBC Tasting Table, NY 1 News, the New York Times, the New Yorker, and made Paper magazine's list of Beautiful People.

La Milagrosa Deli features a counter with seating up to 8 people. The hours of operation will be 9 a.m.-7 p.m.

Mezcaleria La Milagrosa seats 25 with standing room to accommodate 40-50 pp. The room will be available to rent for private events with catering from Cerveceria Havemeyer or La Superior. Hours of Operation: Every day 7 p.m.-2 a.m.

La Milagrosa is located at 149 Havemeyer St., Williamsburg, Brooklyn, 11211. Phone: 718-599-1499 http://www.cerveceriahavemeyer.com.

Photo Credit: Courtesy of La Milagrosa