By Susan Elise Campbell
A new eatery downtown Ballston Spa is inventing fresh ways to satisfy the palates of a variety of customers, whether their tastes are more traditional or more adventurous.
It’s called 42 Fusion, and owners Alicia Halse and Tino Lopez soft-launched their concept restaurant at 42 Front St. in May.
“When people hear the word ‘fusion’ they usually think about Asian cuisine,” said Halse. “But we are blending the flavors and spices of Mexico with classic Italian ingredients.”
Halse and Lopez became family friends in recent years. The first time Lopez’s daughter told Halse about her father’s Mexican lasagna, she thought, “No way, I love my ricotta,” she said.
But the oaxaca cheese with chorizo sausage —along with traditional meat and mozzarella —formed a flavor profile that Halse said was better than any lasagna she had tasted before.
Now the dish is a customer favorite at the restaurant, the first such enterprise for Halse and Lopez.
Lopez moved from Mexico in 2006 and has cooked at a number of restaurants in Saratoga. Halse, a Saratogian, also worked at several area restaurants. Halse and Lopez were on staff together at Three Vines Bistro.
“I always dreamed of opening my own kitchen,” the chef said.
They found the opportunity at 42 Front St., formerly a Mexican restaurant that had more of a café feel. The owners are taking their time renovating to make the space more upscale. Halse said they have kept the bar and are awaiting their liquor license.
For lunchtime, Halse said the atmosphere at 42 Fusion could be described as family oriented. For the dinner crowd, she said “it’s a good place for date night, romantic, where customers can sit and relax.”
“Getting to know our customers and connecting with them is all we want to do,” she said. “Ballston Spa is a lovely town, lower key and slower paced than Saratoga Springs. It is a smaller community and very friendly.”
Lopez is head chef and his brother is working with him in the kitchen, while Halse operates the front of the house.
“It took six months to pull the restaurant together and we are taking our time working on the menu,” Halse said. “We want to make sure our customers like it.”
Fusion dishes include such Italian favorites as calamari, but with jalapeño peppers and ancho chili aioli in place of marinara sauce. There are also frutti de mare with roasted serrano tomato sauce and seared cod served over risotto with a spicy qcapulco citrus topping.
Not every dish mixes the cuisine of two countries, Lopez said, but “are authentic to themselves.” The chef prepares more traditional appetizers and entrées such as filet mignon and chicken Milanese as well as some raw fish dishes.
If hungry for beef tacos, Lopez uses tenderloin tips instead of the usual chopped meat, he said. Customers choose from five different Taco fillings.
The chef said he is simultaneously building a menu for a second restaurant. “This is our first restaurant, but in the future there will be one more,” said Lopez.
42 Fusion is open seven days a week from 10:30 a.m. until 9:30 p.m. Learn more at 42fusion.com