MERCADITO
Miami
Mercadito Midtown (3252 NE First Avenue Miami, FL 33137)
Perhaps Miami’s best gourmet Mexican restaurant, Mercadito will be putting on its own Cinco de Mayo celebration with $40 sharing menus that include creative guacamoles (pineapple or mango, anyone) and tacos, as well as as a drink special called the ponche zaragoza: tequila reposado, orange, grapefruit, guajillo, Grand Marnier, and Yucateca. For more information, visit www.mercaditorestaurants.com/midtown
Rosa Mexicano (Several Locations)
Enjoy a special Cinco de Mayo menu that will include such specialties as Budin de Pollo, hamachi tacos, and fish cooked in the Pibil fashion (rubbed with achiote and cooked in banana leaves). Don’t miss the guacamole prepared tableside, as well as their unparalleled selection of tequilas! Both the Brickell and South Beach locations will feature live music and giveaways. Visit www.rosamexicano.com for more information
While not advertising any special Cinco de Mayo celebrations, be sure to check out Paquito’s in Aventura for their tequila bar and kitschy atmosphere, Talavera in Coral Gables for its beautifully-prepared authentic Mexican cuisine, and Taqueria El Mexicano for its great inexpensive tacos and cheap margaritas.
Broward & Palm Beach
Rocco’s Tacos (several locations)
Known for their tasty interpretations of Tex-Mex favorites, Rocco’s Tacos will be hosting crazy Cinco de Mayo parties at all of their locations that will include drink specials, live music, DJs, a mariachi band, free tequila pourings, and moustache contest. The winner at each location will receive $250, and the best moustache from all locations will win $250 along with $500 in Rocco’s Tacos gift certificates. Visit www.roccostacos.com for more information
Tijuana Flats (several locations)
If you’re planning on hosting a Cinco de Mayo fiesta at home, but don’t have the time to cook everything yourself, Tijuana Flats could very well be your “salvador”. Catering orders placed on May 4th and 5th that total $100 or more get a free $20 gift card. The fast food Tex-Mex restaurant known best for its assortment of proprietary hot sauces will also be offering dine-in beer specials. For more information, visit www.tijuanaflats.com
Dos Caminos (1140 Seabreeze Boulevard Fort Lauderdale, FL 33316)
Located in Fort Lauderdale Beach, Broward’s destination for upscale Mexican dining is offering $8 Milagro margarita specials and $45 margarita pitchers this Friday and Saturday. Knowing Dos Caminos, the libations will be far from ordinary! Visit www.doscaminos.com for details.
Broward County has no shortage of kitschy Tex-Mex restaurants with their own Cinco de Mayo Celebrations. Be sure to check out La Bamba, Cielito Lindo, and Tequila Sunrise for celebrations and specials this Saturday
Stop by Mercadito this month and try Chef David Blonsky's smoked pork cheek taco as part of Chef Patricio Sandoval's Tacos for Strength campaign.
“It’s the taco lovechild of the best of Mexican and barbeque flavors," says Chef Blonsky, of Bull & Bear and Public House. More complex than many of the other tacos on Mercadito's menu, tender pork cheek is nestled in a housemade corn tortilla and topped with salsa verde and crispy shallots, queso fresco and espelette pepper. An order of four tacos is $16.50 at dinner and a lunch order of three is $12.50. Five percent of the proceeds from these tacos will go to Share Our Strength, dedicated to ending childhood hunger.
If you order your chicken wings "hot" and you think salsa should only be sold "hot" and just can't get enough of everything SPICY, then Heat Seekers is right up your alley. Heat Seekers takes Chefs Aaron Sanchez and Roger Mooking hunting down spicy food across the country and they found a helping of hot stuff at three local restaurants in our very own MIA...
At Aunt I's, they sampled hot jerk chicken made naturally, with Scotch bonnet peppers. The pair ate spicy ceviche at CVI.CHE105 then headed to Mercadito for the "hottest drink on Earth" the Vato Loco. It's a tequila-based cocktail made with seven chillies, pepper-infused simple syrup and pinapple puree. The $12 Vato Loca is being offered for $7 after 10 p.m. Wanna try it? maybe you should bring an attorney since guests have to sign a waiver before ordering.
The World Cup is over a week away, but that doesn't mean that many of Miami's restaurants haven't been planning for it. A number of local spots will be showing the games and providing food and drink specials to accompany them. Sra. Martinez, Mercadito, and JB Kitchen & Bar are just a few of the places where you can bask in soocer glory while enjoying extended bar menus, all-you-can-eat taco specials, and foosball contests respectively. Check out a full list of next week's festivities at the Miami New Times.
Something very big is coming to New York City, something that has never been done before in America. Hint: if it smells like Latin flavors, sounds like Latin music, and tastes like Latin wine, it must be a Gourmet Latino Festival taking place from June 4-12, 2010. (Tickets for the event are available at www.gourmetlatinofestival.com). Taking place at the Astor Center, the festival aims to showcase Latin gastronomy, through which a deeper awareness of the culture and soul of Latin America can be understood and appreciated.
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