Chef Diego Galicia is a culinary explorer, drawing inspiration from visits and observations of restaurants from around the world.
The rotating tasting menu at Michelin-starred Mixtli was shaped, in part, by years of travels to Mexico. He calls it research and development.
His latest research and development tour has taken him to Paris. He flew out on Wednesday. That should not surprise.
Galicia’s newest concept, The Filleman House, will feature a European-inspired menu. Offerings include foie gras mousse on a toasted brioche, filet au poivre with a peppercorn and cognac sauce, a selection of French cheeses with honey comb and other French-influenced dishes.
Scheduled to open on Thanksgiving weekend, the neighborhood restaurant also draws from Galicia’s travels to London, New York and Chicago.
“Filleman House is a combination of what goes on in my mind,” Galicia said. “The menu is all over the place. We’ll have classic dishes, cheesecake, banana splits. A wonderful oyster program. Lobster beignets. A good burger. A whole gamut of things. Things I want to eat all the time.”
Galicia is channeling his world travels into a small house on Grayson Street, a Government Hill bungalow built in 1910 and named after the original owner, August Filleman. Running the bar program will be Lauren Beckman, the beverage director from Mixtli who won a Michelin award for outstanding service in 2024.
So where does that leave Mixtli, now that fellow co-owner and chef, Rico Torres, is launching his own concept, Rosso, an Italian steakhouse at Pearl?
The answer: Mostly, for now, in the expert hands of chef de cuisine Alex Cabrera and sommelier Hailey Pruitt, who shared the Michelin award with Beckman.
Galicia and Torres are not abandoning Mixtli. But launching new concepts requires prioritized time.
“It’s like having two children,” Galicia said. “I’m going to focus on the newborn. The newborn needs attention.”
The firstborn is in good hands. Cabrera joined Mixtli in 2017 and impressed immediately. Galicia and Torres told her, “Your job is to kick us out of the kitchen.”
Mission accomplished.
“Alex, she’s the boss,” Galicia said. “A lot of times we just follow her around. Alex and Hailey are why we feel comfortable pursuing personal projects because of who is running the restaurant.”
New projects come with new challenges. Initial renderings of The Filleman House, for example, are out of date. The design team had to create a fresh concept to integrate the new bar into a small space.
“We are changing plans almost daily,” Galicia said just before flying out to Paris. “I spend most mornings at Filleman, then I head to Mixtli in the afternoon. I will be at Filleman full on until it gets its legs.”
This story first appeared in the San Antonio Report.
