Pancake News
Tres leches pancakes are a must-get at Fort Worth Mexican snack shop
Kokitos tres leches pancakes
A Fort Worth snack shop serving Mexican treats and drinks has an adorable new dish that's a must-get. The shop is Kokitos, a family-owned mini-chain with two locations in Fort Worth: 6708 Camp Bowie Blvd., which opened in 2012; and 6425 McCart Ave. which opened in 2017.
Kokitos comes from the Santos family, owned by Alicia and Ruben Santos, who run it with their daughters, including Briana who runs the social media accounts and helps with marketing. Each item is inspired by their cultural roots in Mexico, with a goal to take traditional items and bring them into the modern world.
Their latest and greatest is a delight called tres leches mini-pancakes, which come 18 mini pancakes to a serving.
“My dad loves to think of new ideas and is always pushing for new items because he just loves to get in there and try something,” Briana says. "His inspiration on this was to do a pancake version of tres leches cake — it's such a popular cake and he wanted to do a breakfast version."
It starts with mini pancakes, which they make in a cute little muffin-style pan with cut-outs for each mini pancake. Once the pancakes are done, they get drenched in the sweet tres leches milk sauce, the same as tres leches cake. They're layered on a plate in symmetrical little rows, then drizzled with chocolate and tres leches sauces and topped with choice of fresh fruit like bananas and kiwi or even chocolate chips, before being garnished with whipped cream and fresh mint. (If you want to see it made, they've posted a helpful reel.)
Brianna says it's just the latest invention from Ruben, who rotates in specials that embrace hot trends and ingredients like Flamin' Hot Cheetos.
Decadent and fruity drinks are the centerpiece of their menu such as the rusa, with chile, chamoy, Squirt soda, stacked with oranges and pineapple; and the mango Kokilocos, a smoothie-like drink topped with mango.
They also serve cheesecakes, milkshakes, cochinadas, nachos, fruit bowls, and crepes. Prices range from $4.25 for a slice of cheesecake to $13.50 for a shrimp cocktail.
Before opening Kokitos, Ruben was in the AC business, while Alicia worked in El Fenix restaurants for 10 years. Many of their recipes such as the rusas and escamochas come from family members who have similar stores in Mexico. According to Briana, some of the recipes they use are held so dear that her mom Alicia will only make them herself rather than the employees.
“My dad opened it because he saw that there wasn’t another store like ours around at that time on the west side of town,” Briana says. “He saw an opening for Mexican culture, and both of my parents are from Mexico, and they wanted to open it to a different crowd that might not have experienced Mexican desserts.”
