For whatever reason, we both love celebrating Cinco de Mayo. Mostly, I think it’s because we love remembering the victory of Mexico against the French back in the 1862 Battle of Puebla, but a tiny part of me really does love just having an excuse to celebrate Mexican culture and traditions… and by that, I mean really excellent Mexican cooking.
(I promise, before we went out celebrating this year, I really did look up all that stuff about the Battle of Puebla. I hate being the guy who likes the thing but doesn’t know why we do the thing.)
This year, we went to the fantastic Cuzamil, which is just up the hill from us on Murray Ave. Naturally, it was packed because of other like-minded Squirrel Hill-ians, but that place is always worth the wait.
First of all, their margaritas are really the absolute best (okay, Mad Mex, you’re up there, too). You can order little pitchers or big pitchers, and everything is made fresh just for you. I feel like there is a misconception that margaritas are easy to make, but in reality, there is a specific mix that you must hit to make truly good margaritas. Cuzamil does this.
They also make homemade chips and salsa, and they keep the baskets coming throughout your entire visit. I love that!
Michael ate the mahi mahi milanesa, and I got the chicken quesadilla. Since you, like me, may not know what a ‘milanesa’ is, I looked it up (really, I could be a super helpful librarian these days, with all that I am learning through my blog research). It refers to a type of preparation of meat or fish where thin strips of the meat are dipped in eggs and then coated in breadcrumbs and yummy seasoning. So, basically, it’s a fancy way of saying ‘breaded and absolutely delicious’.
Also, what’s best about Cuzamil is that they serve their dinners on those gigantic plates with the mini salad, and the refried beans and Spanish rice. While it’s probably enough calories to cover you for several days, it’s one of my favorite things to splurge on for the holiday.
Somehow, we didn’t get pictures of our food, but we did get some of our margaritas!
Michael is looking particularly ruggedly masculine in this picture. I like to think that it’s because he ordered his drink with salt. Salty margaritas make you tougher!
And here I am, and I promise you I didn’t drink that whole pitcher myself. Michael helped!
I would by lying if I said I wasn’t excited for next Cinco de Mayo. We’d always gone to Mad Mex previously because we love their margaritas, but the food at Cuzamil is soooo much better, that I think we have our new spot!