Cinco de Mayo
 

How will you celebrate, food and drink-wise?

I have been threatening to cook Mexican but I don’t really feel inspired.

A nearby brewery is advertising a taco special and featuring their Mexican lager, which is quite good. There will also be a mariachi band playing.

Repeat after me: I will not touch the tequila. I will not touch the tequila. I will not touch the tequila.

So no Taco Bell huh. 😂

What pairs well with mezcal?

I used to celebrate with $5 Moe's burritos but last year they changed the promo to only a discount of a couple of bucks so I don't know if I'll observe the holiday this year. I have some bean dip in the fridge if all else fails.

As for mezcal, it goes with everything!

I recommend a waste basket.

There is a Taco Bell 1.2 miles from my house. In 4 years, I have never been in there. My last Taco Bell was eaten somewhere in South Georgia a few years back. We stopped for the night on a Sunday in a dry county. The only sit down restaurant was closed. The only option without getting back on the interstate was Taco Bell. Since the tornado sirens were going off, I just ordered $30 worth of miscellaneous food. It took up several bags and weighed a ton.

Del Taco is much better but they aren't everywhere.

A local taco place called El Tiz with a Mexican Horchata. The Spanish horchata is different than the Mexican version. The same with chorizo.

Every few years I try Taco Bell to see if my opinion has changed of them and it's always a big fat no. About the only time it's worth getting is if I have to drive and can't stop to sit down and eat. We have lots of tex mex places around here, but the decent places are all specialized or in the city core (aka not convenient). My current "like" is a place called Burrito Boyz. But didn't have time to go out yesterday to grab some. Ah well.

It begins. Sausage and baby-back ribs to be added.

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ETA: Midway....
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I enjoy it. I don't think of it as Mexican or really even Tex Mex food. Just another fast food that to me is better than most of the places in that price range when I'm on the go. I'd go there before McD's, Wendy's, BK. I like Arby's too, which I think is in that same love/hate category. Probably my two favorite true low end fast food chains (not considering fancier places like Five Guys, etc.).

Still figuring out our plan for tonight. We're visiting someone in the hospital after work, so probably not cooking Mexican, but hoping we can find a not-too-crowded and decent Mexican restaurant on the way home.

Clermont Brewing Co for tacos and Mexican lager. The tacos were awful: dry chicken and way too much heat. I like the beer, but one of our party was not a fan, switching to nitro stout for her second. Mrs BV had a hazy IPA and I switched to that for my second. Stopped home for a shot and further conversation. It was a good night. Just awful food.

The local Mexican places are absolutely packed on Cinco de Mayo, so I know its the worst time to eat Mexican here. That being said, yesterday I had some alambres at a local joint. Pretty good, with good marinated steak and bacon. But it needed more heat, so I added some hot sauce. It turned out to be a little greasier than I liked, but pretty good for Quatro de Mayo. I had to go back to school for an evening event, so I couldn't neutralize the grease with a nice Modelo Negro.

Baja fish taco

Simpler fare: rice and beans wrapped in tortillas with different salsas.

David

New Mexican restaurant opened around the corner from us. Owners are from Cancun and Nicaragua. So enjoyed some tortas al pastor as well as some fish tacos. Found the extra-anejo tequila to enjoy after the meal!

I didn't do anything for Cinco de Mayo (why would I, really?) but I just wanted to say that I do like a mezcal margarita.

As much as I love Mexican food, of many varieties, we had Japanese sushi & yakitori & etc on 5/5 with another couple while our kids enjoyed the school dance. I had to be sober because i fetched the kids (total 4 kids) after the dance ended and then I drove them home.

I was hoping to get tacos for supper and we have so many leftovers that I’ll be consuming leftovers tonight. In a weird way, my spouse and child both are not into leftovers.

Probably because they are spoiled rotten eating almost every meal out at decent restaurants. ;) Why eat leftovers when there is more new restaurant food on the horizon?:D

We were watching a travel show about Mexico and they commented that the place they were at was the site of the second invasion of Mexico by France. We didn't even know there was a first invasion of Mexico by France! Now I knew that Cinco de Mayo was not the Mexican independence day that many think, but had no idea it was celebrating a battle over France.
We did street tacos during a block party by a favorite Mexican restaurant. Tasty. Oh, and we toasted with Uni Tequila, owned by a friend of a friend. https://www.unitequila.com/

And it's pretty much an American holiday. I believe Mexico's Independence Day is in September if you want to celebrate that with a good Tequila too! At least it's a good excuse.

Cinco de Mayo is a battle between the outgunned and outnumbered Mexican forces defeating the French. Many historians don’t consider the battle as significant but it is a good reason to have tacos, tamales and tequila.

So is a day ending in Y (well, at least in the US) :D

Many many years ago I was working on a project in Colima, MX and happened to be there on 5/5. I mentioned something about cinco de mayo to the bartender in the hotel bar, and after the laughter subsided, was informed that it was strictly an American thing and not even thought about in Mexico.

As far as eating something special on 5/5 here in the US, well we eat Mexican food at least weekly, either out or homemade, so probably wouldn't make a special effort.

Same here, one of the great benefits of living in Chicago. Tons of authentic family-run restaurants, a few not-so-authentic, and a full array of product in our grocery stores. We're going out for it tonight in fact. And planting our jalapenos, serranos, and cilantro this weekend if we get a dry day. I took a good look at tomatillo plants...maybe next year.

Tomatoes here. Was hoping Jalapenos, but just not enough sunlight. Hoping to try a new variety of watermelons as well. Only got the seeds because the melon looked cool (tendersweet orange). Looking for bittermelon but so far, no-one has any this year.