Cookin' with Karl
Fiesta like there’s no mañana
Cinco de Mayo (the fifth of May) is next Friday. What exactly is Cinco de Mayo, you ask? Well, it is a celebration held every year on May 5 to honor the Mexican Army’s upset victory over the massive and much-better-equipped French forces at the Battle of Pueblo on May 5, 1862. History shows that this gave the Mexicans a heightened sense of nationalism and pride, which helped them eventually battle their way out from under French rule.
Here in the United States, we treat the day as a celebration of Mexican culture, music and cuisine. On this coming Friday, we all can appreciate the awesome customs, music and food (as well as the cerveza). There is really no better way than to stop into any one of the area’s locally-owned Mexican restaurants. You may happen upon a Mariachi band and you will certainly come into a packed house and a very festive atmosphere.
Here are some of my favorites in the area and their specials:
In Strongsville, Gran Fiesta, located at 18737 Royalton Road, will be celebrating Cinco de Mayo all week long with drinks specials May 1-7. There will be a live Mariachi band on Thursday, May 4, from 6-9 p.m. Be sure to check out this week’s Strongsville Post for coupons up to $10 off your purchase.
The Brew Garden at 16555 Southpark Center in Strongsville is celebrating Cinco de Mayo in style with music by D.J. Senior, food specials including chicken enchiladas, carnitas bowl, taco platter and fried ice cream. Grab a slice of lime and enjoy $3 specials on Corona and Corona Light, or $4 house margaritas.
In Brunswick, Gandalf’s Pub will be in the Mexican spirit. The owner, Sean Lackey, is just a tad Irish, so he understands the importance of a cultural holiday. I am sure their Margarita’s will be fabulous.
In Medina, it is Fiesta Jalapeno’s. They make my favorite salsa and chips. I could eat them all day every day. They will have all sorts of drink specials.
Also jumping into the spirit of cultural celebration, Medina’s Rustic Hills Country Club, open to the public, has a special menu for Cinco de Mayo.
Johnny J’s, located in both Medina and Strongsville, will have a special Mexican menu for Cinco de Mayo, as well as specials on Corona.
Seville has El Patron located at 101 Greenwich Road. Great patio and authentic food. Wooster has El Campesino, located on state Route 3 just before you get to Wooster. Another great authentic spot. Norton has Casa Del Mar, located at 3725 S. Cleveland-Massilon Road.
Wadsworth has Casa Del Rio. Great food, always busy and authentic as it gets. Wadsworth Taverne, located at 292 Main St., will be doing a free taco/nacho bar from 4 p.m. until close, debuting a blended margarita menu and offering $1-off Corona bottles and Cuervo tequila.
Many of you may just want to celebrate at home. I had the pleasure of dining at at Guy Fieri’s Restaurant in Louisville, Ky. last week with some of my associates at The Post. We tried Fieri’s famous Trash Can Nachos. He uses layers of carne asada, super melty cheese and black beans. But you can make it using shredded chicken, pulled pork, or your favorite taco meat, refried beans and a bottled cheese mix and get similar results (maybe better).
It is as simple as this: get a metal can the size of a small bucket. Add good tortilla chips to a 1/4 of the height, then add the super melty cheese, the meat and the beans. Then add jalapenos, freshly cut and chopped cilantro, salsa or pico, some diced red onion and some shredded cheddar cheese. Repeat this step until the bucket is full. If your bucket or vessel is something that is oven safe, throw it into a 350-degree oven for 3 minutes to heat it all up and get it super melty hot. Then, place a round tray or platter on top of the bucket, and invert it, remove the bucket, and finally garnish with more salsa or pico, cilantro, diced red onion and jalapeno slices. In my opinion, fewer chips and more toppings is the key to success. To be honest, the version at Guy Fieri’s was light on toppings, heavy on chips. If you did this right, it will stay together in a nice cylinder shape.
Fiesta like there’s no mañana!
Here in the United States, we treat the day as a celebration of Mexican culture, music and cuisine. On this coming Friday, we all can appreciate the awesome customs, music and food (as well as the cerveza). There is really no better way than to stop into any one of the area’s locally-owned Mexican restaurants. You may happen upon a Mariachi band and you will certainly come into a packed house and a very festive atmosphere.
Here are some of my favorites in the area and their specials:
In Strongsville, Gran Fiesta, located at 18737 Royalton Road, will be celebrating Cinco de Mayo all week long with drinks specials May 1-7. There will be a live Mariachi band on Thursday, May 4, from 6-9 p.m. Be sure to check out this week’s Strongsville Post for coupons up to $10 off your purchase.
The Brew Garden at 16555 Southpark Center in Strongsville is celebrating Cinco de Mayo in style with music by D.J. Senior, food specials including chicken enchiladas, carnitas bowl, taco platter and fried ice cream. Grab a slice of lime and enjoy $3 specials on Corona and Corona Light, or $4 house margaritas.
In Brunswick, Gandalf’s Pub will be in the Mexican spirit. The owner, Sean Lackey, is just a tad Irish, so he understands the importance of a cultural holiday. I am sure their Margarita’s will be fabulous.
In Medina, it is Fiesta Jalapeno’s. They make my favorite salsa and chips. I could eat them all day every day. They will have all sorts of drink specials.
Also jumping into the spirit of cultural celebration, Medina’s Rustic Hills Country Club, open to the public, has a special menu for Cinco de Mayo.
Johnny J’s, located in both Medina and Strongsville, will have a special Mexican menu for Cinco de Mayo, as well as specials on Corona.
Seville has El Patron located at 101 Greenwich Road. Great patio and authentic food. Wooster has El Campesino, located on state Route 3 just before you get to Wooster. Another great authentic spot. Norton has Casa Del Mar, located at 3725 S. Cleveland-Massilon Road.
Wadsworth has Casa Del Rio. Great food, always busy and authentic as it gets. Wadsworth Taverne, located at 292 Main St., will be doing a free taco/nacho bar from 4 p.m. until close, debuting a blended margarita menu and offering $1-off Corona bottles and Cuervo tequila.
Many of you may just want to celebrate at home. I had the pleasure of dining at at Guy Fieri’s Restaurant in Louisville, Ky. last week with some of my associates at The Post. We tried Fieri’s famous Trash Can Nachos. He uses layers of carne asada, super melty cheese and black beans. But you can make it using shredded chicken, pulled pork, or your favorite taco meat, refried beans and a bottled cheese mix and get similar results (maybe better).
It is as simple as this: get a metal can the size of a small bucket. Add good tortilla chips to a 1/4 of the height, then add the super melty cheese, the meat and the beans. Then add jalapenos, freshly cut and chopped cilantro, salsa or pico, some diced red onion and some shredded cheddar cheese. Repeat this step until the bucket is full. If your bucket or vessel is something that is oven safe, throw it into a 350-degree oven for 3 minutes to heat it all up and get it super melty hot. Then, place a round tray or platter on top of the bucket, and invert it, remove the bucket, and finally garnish with more salsa or pico, cilantro, diced red onion and jalapeno slices. In my opinion, fewer chips and more toppings is the key to success. To be honest, the version at Guy Fieri’s was light on toppings, heavy on chips. If you did this right, it will stay together in a nice cylinder shape.
Fiesta like there’s no mañana!