If you’re easily grossed out, you should probably stop reading here. I’m going to be talking about (shudder) organ meat. To be exact, tripe, tongue and cheek.
Our friend Meg, who is an intrepid eater, told us that Los Mesquites Taqueria in Cave Creek serves these delicacies on the weekends, along with a good helping of live music. Of course you can get less adventurous food too, but why would you?
The tripe comes in the form of menudo, a peppery soup with hominy and slow-cooked pieces of tripe (for those of you who are still hanging in and don’t know, it’s the first or second stomach of the cow). Until eating at Los Mesquites, every bit of tripe I’ve tried has had the taste and texture of rubber bands. Here, it was soft with a buttery flavor which played well with the spicy broth and chewy hominy.
The beef tongue and cow cheek were served up in tacos, accompanied by a fiery sauce, rice and beans. While there’s a slight difference in the texture of these two meats, one slightly less smooth and silky than the other, the flavor, to me, is pretty much the same. Other than to say it’s very mild, I can’t think of a way to describe it (it doesn’t taste like chicken). But it is delicious.
The rest of the menu is typical Sonoran. The chips were interesting - they seemed like a cross between fried wontons, and corn chips. I liked them. A cheese quesidilla was huge and had plenty of cheese, but it didn’t rise above the ordinary. Ken enjoyed his fish soup even though it was a little spicier than he would have liked. Our new foodie friend Marti had chili rellenos. It was nicely prepared, not overbattered and the filling was tasty We all liked the rice, though Ken and I weren’t wild about the beans. This is good, solid Mexican food, but with the exception of the offal, unsurprising.
The margaritas are very good here. They seem to be prepared with fresh lime juice, not the awful mix found in many restaurants. The only dessert offered to us was flan. We shared one- it wasn’t noteworthy. The service was excellent. Joe, our waiter, is a pro and good-naturedly put up with our teasing. Bill Jung, the owner, came over to our table several times to see how we were doing. The prices are quite reasonable and the ambience is funky fun.
I have a suggestion for Bill - a website. That way people would know when and what the entertainment is, and also be able to check out the hours of operation and the menu.
P.S. Marti, we’re glad to have met you.
Los Mesquites Taqueria
37645 N. Cave Creek Rd., Cave Creek
480-488-0489
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