fried fish and carne asada tacos

I’ve now checked out Mezcalero a couple times since they opened three months ago. The first time I only went for drinks and said I’d come back for the tacos which looked great.

I was definitely into the fish taco. I also tried the carne asada taco which was nicely juicy. A couple of tacos and a basket of fries is the perfect snack if you’re pre-gaming for dinner (yes, all right, let’s call this dinner #1).

Oaxaca Shame

If you’re like me, you’ll want to order mezcal or other agave spirits at a mezcal bar. Surprisingly, Mezcalero doesn’t push these drinks as much as evidenced by the seven drinks on the menu before I go to the mezcal one. Granted the sixth drink on the menu was a tequila drink. But the list starts with gin then rum then vodka and so on. So it was with a bit of trepidation I ordered the Oaxaca Shame. It turned out to be very balanced and interesting. I was definitely surprised considering this stirred cocktail had way more than three ingredients. Who knew mezcal and gin could play so well with others. This might have been my favorite drink on the menu.

Oaxaca Shame – roasted corn infused-mezcal, gin, creme de violette, cream sherry, dry vermouth, hoja santa leaf tincture, absinthe

impromptu tasting

On my second visit, I was with all my booze writer pals so we had an impromptu tasting. As we scanned the list for favorites or must haves, I decided on the Mezcal Vago Tobala. It was a pricey pour but well worth it.

Oaxaca The Garden

After the success of the Oaxaca Shame, I decided to try the Oaxaca The Garden. I felt this was basically a giant sangrita that had three different agave spirits in it. I liked it and it was tasty but I prefer stirred drinks over shaken drinks in general when in a contemplative mood.

Oaxaca The Garden– tequila, sotol, mezcal, mint, cilantro, basil, red and yellow bell peppers, fresno pepper, pineapple and lime

Smoke ‘Em If You Got ‘Em

I enjoyed the Smoke ‘Em If You Got ‘Em more than I thought I would. Like the Oaxaca Shame, I thought there was a lot going on with this drink. Burnt tortilla syrup? It turned out it worked quite well.

Smoke ‘Em If You Got ‘Em – roasted corn infused-tequila, cinnamon, burnt tortilla syrup, Byrrh Quinquina, celery, lime

octopus tacos

We didn’t try all the tacos on the menu but one we couldn’t resist were the octopus tacos. Usually I see giant tentacles and sliced rounds. I loved that these were actual baby octopus. So cute and weird at the same time.

farmers market cocktail (changes weekly)

Mezcalero does a weekly farmers market cocktail. This was sent out to my booze buds and I to try. It’s definitely very refreshing.

really awesome fries

I fell in love with the fries at Mezcalero. I want more right now.

fried chicken taco

We also got the fried chicken taco. I preferred the fish which is surprising since I love fried chicken. Perhaps I just felt more comfortable with the familiar fish which the fried chicken taco felt trendy. Still, no one is kicking a taco out of bed.

mezcal sour

For my last drink, I asked if the bar had any eggwhites which they did. So I got a mezcal sour. It was a nice ending to a fun night at Mezcalero.

Mezcalero is a great place for happy hour or a stop among the new bars on Broadway. Broadway bar hop, anyone?

Mezcalero