Drink of the Week

In Mexico, I do what every travel guide tells you not to do -- I eat food bought on the street. Have I gotten sick? Yes, very. Was it worth it? Absolutely. At the restaurants that cater to the vacationing hordes, you can't find any of this street fare -- and certainly not good, greasy tacos. Busy all day long with locals, the taco stands become wildly popular with tourists at night, when bars are shutting down and gringos fueled by many tequila-based cocktails and a couple of body shots don't care what the books say. Mexico City's steak tacos are the closest thing I've found in Denver to the Mexican street taco. They're the ultimate combination of steak, cheese and avocado in a deep-fried-tortilla pocket of pleasure. And as an added bonus, you can devour them without fear of Mr. Montezuma delivering his revenge upon the North American flora and fauna living in your intestinal tract. There's just one problem: This is not the place for late-night munchies, because the modest, family-run Mexico City is open only for lunch most days, as well as breakfast on the weekends (spicy, fried tacos are an ideal hangover food) and happy hour on Fridays. Rockies home games skew the schedule even more. But I'll take these tasty tacos whenever I can get them, and I'll wash them down with the perfect complement: a bucket of five Mexican beers ($12). Some people might argue that the margarita is the correct drink to accompany Mexican food, but the sweet and sour garbles the unfussy flavors of the taco. Mexican food deserves a Mexican beer, not a frou-frou cocktail or some stinkin' watered-down American beer. Other people might ask, why five beers? A reasonable question, and here's my reasonable answer: At only twelve bucks per bucket, ordering any fewer would be a waste.