Tag Archive for: taco tuesday

Fresco Cantina Grille: Fresh is right in the name.

Posted by Liz and John Attaway, 9/27/20

We came for the Summer Sippin Cocktail and stayed for the fresh food. And fresh is right in the name and we must agree, Fresco Cantina Grille is a perfect mix of fresh ingredients and classic Mexican fare! From perfectly seasoned classic street tacos, to a wonderful triple dip, to one of the best margaritas in all of Atlanta, you’re in for a fiesta! Plus, we went on Taco Tuesday, the holiest of taco days and if you’re looking for a good Taco Tuesday spot, the street tacos we mention below are two bucks! It was such a great price without skimping on the taste. Let’s dig in.

Whatever you do, make sure to get the fresh Pico de Gallo, guacamole, and queso trio. You can mix and match the trio with all your food! Like the freshly chopped Pico de Gallo with sweetness of corn and savory of tomatoes. We put this on everything and was the best topping for any taco! The guacamole was the right amount of spice and creaminess, while the queso goes with just about everything and was thick and creamy, as well. We mixed the guacamole and Pico together some and that was really fantastic, fresh and bright!

But we must profess our love for their Elote side dish! It was the star of the show with a great crunch and sweetness, topped with creamy cheese. Plus, the lemony, tangy, and sweet mayonnaise and that right amount of spicy seasoning rounded out the bite and brought it all together. Fantastic bite! Must try! The other side we got were the yuca fries. A hefty amount of yuca perfectly fried and topped with a little bit of cheese. Our advice is to use the fries instead of chips for your triple dip. The starchy and crisp goes so well with the creamy cheese or earthy guacamole. Yum.

For our Taco Tuesday fix, we got an array of tacos and really enjoyed the Al Pastor street taco and the tilapia regular taco the most. Starting with the Pastor, it was the perfect little bite with sweet and savory of the pork juxtaposed with the pineapple. This is one of those tacos that you don’t need to put anything on it. Just very good, plain and simple! Then, we loved the freshness of the tilapia and the fantastic sauce. Pro tip: top with guacamole and the fresh Pico, it adds a crunch and earthiness that pairs well with the flakiness of the fish and the creaminess of the sauce. We also liked the carnitas and barbacoa street tacos, and fried chicken regular taco. The carnitas and barbacoa were both rich and meaty, while the fried chicken was crunchy and creamy with a mayo-based sauce!

What brought us here was the Summer Sippin cocktail, the Blackberries Hot Volcano Margarita, and it was one of the best margaritas we’ve ever had the pleasure of trying. A blackberry muddled cocktail, shaken on a drink contraption, with spicy tequila and topped with a Snow cone that’s drenched in mango syrup. It was slightly spicy with the tart and sweetness of the blackberries, lime, and triple sec culminated in a flavor explosion when the mango seeped into the drink and brought a delightful sweetness on the back. It was an inventive and fun cocktail that we hope they keep on the menu!

Now that we think about it, we need to go back for the margarita before it’s gone.

Surin of Thailand: Thai Taco Tuesday

Posted by Liz and John Attaway, 2/15/20

On a heavily traveled corner of the Virginia Highlands, Surin of Thailand has been a long-time staple of the community serving up Thai food favorites like volcano pot soup, curries, fried rice dishes, and even Thai-inspired cocktails. We arrived on a Tuesday evening, where the restaurant was relatively busy, and found that even a Thai restaurant can get you into the Taco Tuesday mood. Let’s take a food adventure into everything Surin of Thailand.

Starting with the Surin Sour it’s a whiskey-based cocktail that also includes lemon, bitters, banane, and orgeat. This cocktail is boozy up front that finishes sweet, plus it’s a good drinkable cocktail that is noticeably frothy and rather smooth. Not being a big whiskey drinker, it was nice to get a cocktail like this that I would drink again and enjoy. We really enjoyed it. Cheers.

For our starter, what doesn’t scream Thai restaurant than spicy Coconut Soup in a Volcano Pot? Amiright? This soup lived up to the hype with creamy coconut milk, tender chicken and mushrooms all served piping hot! It was creamy and rich with a slightly spicy finish all wrapped up into that Volcano Pot that keeps the soup hot. Reminds us of a cold winter night by the fire! We’ll be back for more.

We also got, Nuer Nom Tok, a Thai take on a taco. From the spicy beef to the delectable soy-based sauce to the crunch of the cabbage, you can pile it all into one bite wrapped in a piece of cabbage or eat it like a salad. The beef was very tender and paired well with the rich and deep sauce and the crunch of the vegetables. Plus, what made this dynamic was that the spice grew as you ate, which went so well with all the flavors that this dish had going on. What’s a taco that doesn’t have multiple flavors and spice? It was even better the next day for lunch! Love!

As the main, we went for the Salmon entrée that comes with a sweet and spicy creamy thai sauce paired with tender broccoli, crunchy peppers, and savory rice. The salmon was flaky and cooked perfectly with a slight char on the back of the bite. With the creamy, sweet, spicy sauce really went well with the entire plate: the crunch of the peppers, savory of the rice, tender of the broccoli. Mix it all together and you’ve got a great bite. So good.

We didn’t get to try a few other things but the Chicken Larb sounded good, as well as any of the fried rice dishes. We will be back for those on our next Taco Tuesday adventure. We think Chicken Larb wrapped in the cabbage can also be a Thai Taco adventure. Are you in?