Cincy's Best Tacos - Mazunte

Have I mentioned yet that I love food? And that trying new foods is one of my favorite things? Well it is. I haven't always been adventurous with food, so I'm trying to make up for lost time. Another not-so-secret secret of mine is that I am extremely unfamiliar with the city in which I was born. I've lived in Cincinnati 19 years of my 24, and I know NOTHING about it. It's sad, I know. That being said, I'm from the West Side, and Cincy west-siders are notorious for never crossing to the other side. Since we don't have kids yet and can still venture out on a whim, the hubs and I decided it's time we explore this crazy town a bit and it's been a whole lotta fun.

A friend of ours posted this article on the 9 Best Tacos in Cincinnati. We decided it would be fun to make this a double date challenge and go try them all! They are scattered around the city, so we are even going to new places while trying some delicious food. Half way through our first experience (hence half eaten tacos and almost empty drinks), I decided I'll do a blog review of all of them to share our collective thoughts on the places! So here is our first visit, and man did it live up to that "best" rating.

Mazunte Taqueria is located in Madisonville, about 15 minutes from downtown. It is in a little strip mall that will come out of nowhere while driving down Madison. In fact, we almost missed it. Everything inside is made in store, including the tortillas. The owner, who was fed up with sub par tacos, went to Mexico himself with the sole purpose of learning how to make the best. He definitely brought back something special.

The inside decor. Photo by Kaley on www.urbanspoon.com

The set up reminded me a lot of Chipotle with the industrial decor and layout. You walk in, stand in line to order, then sit down and wait for your food to be brought to you. The standard order is 3 tacos with your choice of meats depending on the dish you get. We got some queso and chips while we were waiting, and it was gone in maybe 5 minutes. The chips were homemade and were amazing. I could have eaten them without any sort of dip.

Seriously, that cilantro!

Our food was brought out and immediately the smell of cilantro was wonderfully overwhelming.  I got the sangria marinated skirt steak tacos. Oh my goodness, words cannot describe the burst of flavor these little puppies packed. The spicy salsa along with the fresh pico de gallo added a great color, and the goat cheese was simply genius. I've never thought to put goat cheese on tacos before, but I was a huge fan. The nutty cheese mixed well with the cilantro, and was pretty intense. My husband raved about the fish tacos, saying they may be the best he's ever had. Our friends both preferred the pork tacos.

Apart from tacos, you can get enchiladas, tostadas, tamales and other main dishes. Even with many options to choose from, the menu remains simple, which I love. When we go back, which we will, I will definitely try other things...and maybe get more steak tacos as well :) Their mango salsa and guacamole looked fantastic.

The hubs ate his too fast for me to get a pic....

Oh, and I must mention the Margaritas. We all agreed that it was by far the strongest marg we've ever had. You could really taste the fresh squeezed lime, and no awful tequila bite. Definitely worth trying at least once.

Danger...

So yes, I'd give this place a 9/10 (-1 because a staff member was incredibly rude to me, but oh well). The food was amazing and the spot is definitely a hidden treasure away from downtown. I've heard that Mazunte serves it's tacos at Neon's a few times during the week, which is another restaurant we'll have to try sometime!

An awesome map of Mexico made with Cincinnati eats!

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Holy Guacamole!

I love summer. I really only love summer for the food...I hate the heat. Most of my favorite fruits and veggies are in season, not to mention the farmers markets are in full swing. Avocados are one such fruit that I can't seem to eat enough of during summer months. They are so versatile and can be used in many ways. I even like to eat them plain sometimes! They are a great source of healthy fats (yes, you need some fat in your diet!) and high in fiber. Another fun fact, they have more potassium in them than bananas!

I used to work at Chipotle Mexican Grill. It was definitely the best job I have ever had. I learned so much and I'm extremely impressed with the company from a food service stand point. I'd work for Chipotle again in a heartbeat, I just can't do that and my current job in the same time. Since I can't eat their food every day anymore, I'm forced to get by replicating it in my own kitchen.

Their guac recipe is hard to beat in my opinion. It's just so fresh, and simple.

Of course I scale it down and use only 3 avocados instead of 12 at a time. My recipe is similar, but not entirely the same.

Take your avocados and clean them out. Add the lime/lemon juice and mash with a fork or masher until all chunks are gone. Stir in onion, cilantro, jalapeños and salt.

There ya have it! Its so easy and quick to throw together when you have all ingredients on hand. The best part is you can add more or less as you desire! There really isn't a wrong way to make guac!

Recipe Card!

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DIY Herb Garden

Finally got a chance to sit down at the computer, and I have so much to blab (blog) about! We are finally in the house which took way longer than planned. I guess my husband and I are busier than I thought. Nevertheless, we are finally in! The DIY projects have begun, and I'm loving it! It is awesome being able to do whatever you want to a place, unlike the apartment where every hole I put in the wall was followed by the "Ugh, I'm going to have to patch that" thought.

One of the first things I wanted to do in the new house was get out and work on the yard. It's past the point where I can get a veggie garden going, but I still needed to get something growing. I hit the pinterest, and found a great idea from Fancy Frugal Life. An herb garden for your deck! Now, we have a huge deck, so why not? Headed to the store and 2 hours later had an awesome herb garden that is now
growing like crazy!

Basically, you just throw some plants into pots and stack them on each other. Cheers for space saving! I decided to paint my pots because I hate that orange color that clay pots are naturally. I actually only got samples of paint, which is much cheaper than buying a whole gallon or even a quart for a project like this. So there's a tip! If you ever need just a little bit of paint, get some samples! I didn't even use a whole jar on these guys. And I think the little pots are cute.

After they were painted, I just threw it all together. The pots dried incredibly fast, which was awesome because I was losing sunlight. 

And of course, I always have my shadow by my side. She loves the smell of the herbs just as much as I do. I have to keep an eye on her to make sure she doesn't eat them....silly dog. 

And there ya have it! It's pretty attractive, minus the pathetic looking cilantro down there on the bottom. Starting from the top, I have two kinds of oregano, then parsley and stevia on the middle tier. And finally dill, cilantro, and basil are on the bottom. 

I'm mostly excited about my Stevia plant. If you are interesting in growing anything, but have no idea where to start, go with Stevia and Basil. Both are super easy to grow and use. I just love putting the stevia in my coffee in the mornings. AND it is saving me a bunch of moolah at the store!

Now THIS...

...is what my herbs look like now. Crazy right? What a difference a couple of weeks makes! I've started harvesting some herbs to dry, and have used some fresh basil in some dishes. I don't have any pictures of it, but I also have a tomato plant that is growing too. Hopefully that one works out. It seems to be struggling a bit. 

Loving the house, loving the neighbors. It's all going pretty well! Hope your summer has kicked off on the right foot too!

Until next time, <3

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