Celebrate Cinco De Mayo Tastefully!

With Cinco de Mayo around the corner, many people like to go to Mexican restaurants to celebrate the day with enchiladas and a couple of margaritas. There are many places where you can do exactly this in the Austin/Pflugerville area and here are is a list of my five favorites Mexican/Tex-Mex restaurants that I have frequent.

1) El Mercado--this is undoubtedly my favorite one. With three locations in north, south, and middle of Austin it has a wonderful Tex-Mex flavors. There is an assortment of margaritas as well as a great Mexican martini, this restaurant has it all. The decor is like that of a Mexican cantina or shopping place (hence the name which translates to "market") and is a favor of all Austinites. You can get anything from chimchangas to traditional enchiladas here as well as American food such as chicken fingers or hamburgers. There is even a fairly priced kid's menu with an assortment of different food for your picky little eaters. Also with daily specials it is friendly to your pocket book. Go and try whatever suits your fancy; my personal favorite is the queso for an appetizer and the cheese enchiladas for an entree and (or course) a strawberry margarita. Yum!!!

2) Maudie's--a close second to El Mercado, Maudie's is a mom and pop place that started out small and grew. With 5 Austin locations and one coming soon to the Bee Cave's area, what is most engaging is that Maudie's keeps the original flavor that it started out with. The one I most frequent is the one on North Lamar located off Masterston Pass and from the moment you walk in the manager always asks "How you doing?". This location is small but tends to never be too crowded. All their enchiladas come topped with their signature chili con queso sauce which is so good you can make a meal just out of that and tortillas (and I can attest to this as I have seen my sister do it before). They have one of the strongest Mexican Martinis in town (save for Trudy's which, while not listed here is still a good place to go get Mexican food and drink) and once again my favorite here is cheese enchiladas, more specifically Josie's enchiladas which is cheese enchiladas covered with chili con carne and onions, is then baked and toped off with the famous chili con queso. It is a very filling meal by itself but you have to option to add beans and rice to your meal.

3) Chuy's--as many Austinites know there are tons of locations in the Austin/Pflugerville/Round Rock area. What is most distinctive about the Chuy's atmosphere is their love for Elvis (they even have a birthday party in honor of the King every January 8th) and have an Elvis memorial plate for those customers with big stomachs. Chuy's is known for having good food no matter what you pick starting with the dips they place at the table once you sit down; don't forget to ask for the jalapeno ranch you won't regret it! They have traditional Mexican fare such as enchiladas, chimchangas (here called "chuychangas") , and "big as your face burritos" (which is what I always tend to get...the bean and cheese one is amazing). They also have a wonderful mix or margaritas you can get in any way. Some of the most popular unique margaritas are the "Swirl" which is exactly what it sounds like with both lime and strawberry margaritas, or the dot which is lime margaritas with one dollop of a strawberry margarita in the middle. Also at all Chuy's locations you have the option of buying a T-shirt that shows your love for Chuy's; they even have branched off into onesies for your little Chuy's lover as well.

4) Posado's--this restaurant only has one location in Pflugerville, off I-35. Once again, this one has a Mexican cantina decor, complete with beer bottle chandeliers. One of the best things about Posado's is the Lunch Menu where you can pick your choose of entrees up to three main dishes which include burritos, chimichangas and enchiladas. Their dinner menu is the same but not as pocket book friendly as the lunch menu is; you also can't get as wide as an arrangement on most of the dinner plates. One great thing about this place is the complimentary items that come with the meal. There is a helado (ice cream) machine where you can go get as many helpings as you want as well as the sopapillas that you can add honey to. With amenities like this, it makes this trip worth it because while many people may not enjoy dinner, they will definitely love the sopapillas. I should note hear that if you go here and do not order an entree, you can partake in the amenities, but there is a small fee if they catch you.

5) El Rincon--now there are many restaurants with this name; the one I am talking about is located on Pecan Street in downtown Pflugerville. What is inviting about this place is that it has a mom and pop feel to it and you can tell in the atmosphere and the food. They even have traditional Mexican drinks such as Jarraitos which is basically Mexican soda and horchata which is rice milk. On a personal note which may make you chuckle one of the things I really enjoy about El Rincon is they have Pepsi as a beverage option. I am a Pepsi girl all the way and it is few and far between where you find places that serve Pepsi products. I also enjoyed the mixed fajitas one of the last times I went here as the meat is extra spicy; from what I could tell they add chili powder to the meat once it is off the grill. This is a wonderful place and while I've never been on those particular nights, there are occasions where they have live music for their patrons.

Those are the top five restaurants that I enjoy in the Austin/Pflugerville area. While I do not doubt there are many great ones that I didn't mention for me and my taste buds, these are the best. I hope you enjoy your meal there if you go and remember if nothing else it is very hard to get a bad margarita!!!!