Funky Fundido

At Blind Coyote Cantina in Yorba Linda, Calif., executive chef Karl Pfleider sees epazote as a flexible tool that elevates a dish. “While working on the menu, we started playing with epazote in a myriad of ways across the menu,” he says. “Epazote has an interesting aroma and offers a complex taste when it’s fresh. It’s been a secret weapon of sorts, in the pantry, as we continued to develop the menu. It gives dishes that ‘little something’ when they need something extra that we can’t quite figure out.”

That ethos is on full display in Blind Coyote’s Queso Fundido, where epazote adds just enough herbal lift to cut through the richness of melted cheese, roasted mushrooms and pasilla chiles. Used fresh, it brings a sharp, slightly funky brightness that anchors the dish. For operators, this is a cue to explore epazote as a finishing touch in warm, melty formats—from fondue-inspired dips to flatbreads and fritters—where an herbal accent can provide that elusive “extra something.”

Flavors on the Edge is an ongoing series that explores emerging ingredients poised to become high-impact flavor builders.