Cuchara

Cuchara Restaurant Review:

This charming little neighborhood restaurant will make you feel like you’re vacationing in Mexico City and eating in an open-air taco and beer joint. Repurposed from a 1940s-era brick market, the clean lines, high wood ceilings and patio doors are inviting and a perfect backdrop to the colorful Mexican murals, pottery and knickknacks that dot the space. Lunch is served via comida corrida, which means it’s a set menu arriving in successive stages. If you’re lucky, the first or second dish will be huitlacoche (prized corn smut) quesadillas. Dinner also has a set menu that's punctuated with Mexican street fare. Start with crunchy chicharrones (pork rinds) served with several hot salsas and a bowl of chilatole, a creamy masa and pepper soup. Among the entrées is mole verde, a pork tenderloin smothered in green mole sauce and plated with beans, rice and a white corn purée. There are a few fish selections and plenty of vegetarian choices, too. Corn flan is a dessert. Mexican beers and cocktails are available to wash it all down. And speaking of the latter, grab a michelada, a beer-based Bloody Mary, on Sunday morning while you load up on eggs and tacos.