Tag: Mexican food

Eating beef, pork, chicken, and seafood out of a hot lava-stone bowl is a thing, and you should try it. Meet molcajete. While molcajete is the term for the mortar-like cooking tool typically used to grind spices and crush vegetables to make salsas, it is also the name of this eye-catching dish. Variations of molcajete often show up on the menus of Mexican restaurants; however, the experience is unique at Amealco Mexican Kitchen.

In 2022, when he and his business partners opened the Mexican restaurant El Valle in Midtown, Luis Damian was clear on what he didn’t want for the space: “I didn’t want to open another tequila bar with a theme of sombreros, skeletons, and mariachi that Americans think of when they picture Mexico.”

Those of us who write about food often focus on seeking out informal little joints and unheralded treasures. But, since it opened in September, I’ve heard Palo Santo described frequently enough as the “sexiest scene in town” to wonder if we’re overlooking diners’ desires for another kind of restaurant: one that dazzles its audience with a big show, creating a kind of collective, near-religious culinary experience.

A Decatur mezcal bar to raise your spirits, a convivial rum bar in Reynoldstown, and upscale Vietnamese in Virginia-Highland

Restaurant critics often seek out extreme culinary experiences at the expense of focusing on where most people want to spend their time and money when they go out to dinner. My first visit to El Valle—a modern Mexican restaurant in the old Escorpión space—had nothing to do with reaching for a deeper understanding of cuisine. I just wanted to have a good time.

Palo Santo’s menu will be limited to about 20 items, designed to be shared. Options include mushroom tetela, cured hamachi tostada, and wood-fired ora king salmon al pastor.

A modern Mexico City-inspired taqueria overlooking the central green opens at Atlantic Station on October 25. Azotea Cantina boasts 4,300 square feet with a patio, two bars, and a rooftop deck.

Chef Helio Bernal started the Real Mexican Vittles pop-up in 2017, earning a following for his tacos and tamales served at festivals and breweries around town. Three years later, he’s expanding his reach with a brick-and-mortar restaurant called D Boca N Boca.

If you happen to be in Tucker—or even if you're not—you have to go to Taqueria Oaxaqueña de la Guelaguetza. The small Mexican restaurant's tlayudas are life-changing.

8Arm chef Maricela Vega will be preparing a dinner on September 16 that weds the techniques and ingredients of ancient and modern Mexico. Her goal is to raise funds for a masa-making machine and, eventually, a brick-and-mortar shop that sells fresh, heirloom masa and tortillas.