Getting ready to celebrate Cinco de Mayo this weekend? Here’s the scoop on the Bay Area’s best fiestas, festivities and oh-so-tasty restaurants — plus party recipes and a cocktail primer. Olé!
PLAY: 22 ways to celebrate Cinco around the Bay
Nearly every restaurant that serves Mexican food is hosting some type of Cinco de Mayo bash this weekend, but that’s not the only way to celebrate. Here are 22 more Bay Area events, which range from grand fiestas to cooking classes, mariachi fests, a Cinco K run and a that’s-not-a-beach beach party.
EAT: 10 best Mexican restaurants
Northern California is home to some stellar Mexican food, cooked up in food trucks, taquerias and restaurants alike. Here’s the scoop on 10 of the Bay Area’s best — and most beloved — Mexican hot spots, from San Francisco’s beloved Tacolicious to Morgan Hill’s La Nina Perdida and Berkeley’s Comal, which just opened a new counter-service spot, Comal Next Door. If it’s tacos you’re after, check out our readers’ nominees for the Bay Area’s 32 best. (After five rounds of voting, they declared a winner, but the big list provides plenty of delicious dining inspiration.)
DRINK: Build a better Margarita
Looking to amp up your Margarita skills? Back away from that jug of neon green mixer, and you’re halfway there. Mixology maven Jeff Lyon (Third Rail, Range) is offering up some pro tips and his favorite recipe. Check out these three National Margarita Day recipes from Copita owner and chef Joanne Weir and Chicago’s Rick Bayless — or skip directly to Weir’s Copita Margarita how-tos. (It’s our favorite!)
COOK: Best. Taco. Ever.
Copita’s chicken tinga tacos with salsa verde are our go-to party dish, so easy to make and so dang delicious. (It’s also the best use of leftover rotisserie chicken ever.) Serve the chicken tinga mixture piled into warm tortillas and topped with avocado and Weir’s salsa verde, made with tomatillos, cilantro and fresh mint — in a blender. Yum.
