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Monday, December 21, 2009
Cinco de Mayo
We finally made it to Cinco after embarrassingly mistaking it for another Mexican place. As a part of our continuing quest to find the best local food in town, you’d think we would put the appropriate effort into finding the right recommended restaurant. Alas, not all is perfect in foodieland.
I thought we had it covered – we had friends tell us Cinco de Mayo was on the corner of White Bridge and Charlotte. Sadly, there are two Mexican places vaguely on the corner of Charlotte and White Bridge, and we just turned into the first place we found. If you run into the same problem, try and remember it’s right on the corner. Anything beyond 75 feet away from the corner is the wrong place.
Our friends who recommended Cinco are regulars, and gave specific praise such as “it’s not like other Mexican food places” and “the meat is always moist, tender, and never dried out,” or “anything is great, you can’t go wrong” and “the staff loves everyone.” Now, we all know we get that from various friends from time to time. And then we go someplace and it doesn’t live up, and we wonder if perhaps they would give glowing reviews to the local gas station if they served dinner. Our friends, however, had the ultimate trump card: they are Chilean and love everything about Cinco. [Shout out to Leslie and Havier, our foodie friends who recommended Cinco!! The couple is getting hitched in Chile right around now. Congrats guys!]
Arriving at Cinco you’ll notice a red banner outside indicating that they’ve been voted Best Mexican in Nashville. Similarly auspicious is the television at the bar which broadcast soccer. The archway-laden interior wall lines a row of booths in the main seating area and partitions the regular tables off from the bar. Strong ambiance points for feeling open and uncramped.
The menu and chips arrived and we both remarked on the quality of the salsa. Extra chips were provided throughout the meal. My biggest gripe of the whole time was the initial ice-nature of the staff. I could have spent several minutes trying to generate some sort of reaction out of my waiter, but I would have been wasting my time. Ahh, good memories of bad waiters at several local Mexican food places came rushing back. There are some places I go just to enjoy the bad service and get mistreated. It’s kinda like seeking the anti-foodie experience – a memorable adventure. Things turned around here pretty quickly, however, and didn’t become an issue.
With the arrival of the food we got a sense of why this place is better than most. Nothing came out that wasn’t freshly prepared. Nothing arrived that failed to include fresh ingredients. That made all the difference.
Emily chose the crispy Tilapia for $7.50 that had her pleasantly surprised, even beyond her usual “very tasty” (aww, she’s blog-shy… so cute!). Her fried Tilapia had her very satisfied. My Tacquitos Mexicanos for $8.25 were lightly fried rolls stuffed with chicken, and the chicken inside was perfectly prepared to remain moist -unlike the dry servings we get at most places. There was a freshness to the ingredients and lightness to the crispy layering that made an impact far beyond the usual fare. My dish came with four rolled helpings of the fried tacquitos, with each radially pointing in the four directions, which made me grateful that I had made an appetizing selection. Both dishes were presented with a flair and an attention to plating I don’t remember seeing at similar locations, and the side items completed our pleasant experience. Actually, this meal bested Rosepepper’s version of a similar item, and was far less expensive.
You might be wondering how we got away with such cheap specialty meals. Well, that’s because Cinco serves lunch seven days a week. We could have gone with non-specialty items for even less than we paid, but most meals ranged between $6 and $10. Regular margaritas will set you back $5. We just weren’t ready to pour down at that time yet on a Saturday, so we can’t report on the quality.
When all is said and done, if you’re looking for a Mexican place that’s several cuts-above the average fair, you won’t go wrong with this place. Just make sure you find the right place. That’s Cinco de Mayo, right on the corner of Charlotte and White Bridge.
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Mimi — December 29, 2009 @ 10:06 pm
Try the carnitas — they are also quite good. I find that carnitas around here are often dried out beyond recognition, but theirs are good & inexpensive for the huge portion.
We often stop here after putting in some volunteer time at the Nashville Humane (gratituous plug) — stop by before adopting a furry forever friend.