Hot Dish Review

Following my inaugural Widespread weekend with B, we were coerced into brunch at Hobnob (will post when I receive the photos) after arriving back into Atlanta from the remote state of Cumming.

A shower washed off the makeup and the mud, but instead of tucking into my ridiculously comfortable and enormous bed, I ended up hopping in the car with LC and T to check out some football at Taco Mac. We chose (OK….I chose) the Metropolis location due to its proximity to T’s hotel, the Palomar. Known for their huge selection of specialty beers and wings, the space is big enough to comfortably seat 5 or 6 NFL teams with flat screens in every direction. I’ve tried their “death wings” in the past which are, needless to say, deadly hot.

The fried green tomato benedict called the “hangover helper” at Hobnob, plus the three mimosas, had perked me up quite nicely. Now at Taco Mac, I was craving onion rings. The three of us ordered the NEW! queso poblano, a bowl of melted white cheese with ground beef, poblanos, jalapenos, and cilantro in the center, served with a basket of not-so-good corn chips. Their salsa had a nice kick.

A couple of Miller Lites later, LC decided on the NEW! Buffalo chicken tacos. Among the choices of sides he got the fresh veggies. Why? You’re at a sports bar not a salad bar. Anyway, a bowl of chicken tortilla soup and a side of onion rings sounded like the perfect cure for me. T made the wise decision to get a cheeseburger, cooked medium. Then he made the bad call of apples on the side. WTF?

Food arrived but there was a flag on the play. LC dove into his broccoli as I pounced on the onion rings. It is possible (although a long shot) that his broccoli was better than my onion rings. With an ultra-thick breading, they were the kind that the slice of onion pulls out of the breading when you take a bite. Obviously frozen. I sent them back and ordered fries instead. I hated to do it but had to send the soup back as well because it was barely luke warm.

My soup came back piping hot and hopefully not with any unsavory additives. Corn, chicken, and some peppers and tomatoes in a stew-like broth was soothing and satisfying. Fries were delivered sizzling, straight out of the fryer. They were certainly better than the half-ass onion rings.

I took a bite of one of LC’s Buffalo chicken tacos, a flour tortilla filled with fried chicken nuggets tossed in hot wing sauce, blue cheese, cole slaw, and tomatoes. The chicken tenders weren’t spicy and I didn’t care for the blue cheese. Overall, they scored low. T offered me a bite of his cheeseburger which was the real winner of the day.

Another beer for dessert and we headed out, only moments away from my soft and fluffy bed. Game over.

You might think I would be sick of guacamole and margaritas by our fourth day in Cabo, but you would be wrong. Even now, back in the states, I am craving a decent taco, looking forward to exploring some authentic tacquerias on Buford Highway!

After our appetizer tacos at O Mole Mio, B and I were strolling down a side street contemplating eating more when we were corraled by a dodgy guy offering free tortilla soup and sangria if we went to MigueLocos. Free soup you say? We followed him.

Thankfully he wasn’t a knife-wielding psychopath. We chose a table on the sidewalk with a view of the vibrantly painted interior of the restaurant with its kitschy yet inviting Mexican decor. It was obvious that most of their guests were American as English was spoken fluently.

A big bowl of tortilla soup was delivered, as promised. I thought it was quite tasty. B got the complimentary sangria which was pretty good. My margarita was perfect. Guacamole, chips, salsa, and queso with jalapenos were next. I dove into the gooey cheese, scooping it onto a corn tortilla. Everywhere we went the guacamole was great and MigueLocos was no exception.

No longer hungry but craving something fiery, I ordered the shrimp diablo. Really fresh and succulent, the shrimp were in a spicy sauce. Although I wouldn’t label it fiery, it was delicious.

My experiences with food in Cabo San Lucas were certainly consistent. Many dishes were served in a sauce and nothing was very hot and spicy. The corn tortillas were somewhat bland. I’m not sure if this is simply typical of the Baja region or if the food is dumbed down for American consumption. That would be a shame since most people these days are really seeking an authentic experience when travelling. Perhaps it’s the influence of shows like Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations or Andrew Zimmern’s Bizarre Foods, both on the travel channel. I can promise you we were not offered pig brain tacos or fried grasshoppers in Cabo!