Tequila’s Town’s adherence to Mexican tradition is what makes it so great. The husband-wife team of Melody and Temo Rodriguez pay close attention to their roots.
“We are really sticking to our true identity and cultural culinary roots,” says Melody. “We want to cook traditional food and that’s been the goal of the menu. We make traditional food including street tacos that are real tacos, not Taco Bell.”
One of Tequila’s Town’s bestsellers is the Piggy Burrito, a traditional burrito with carnitas, queso and pico de gallo.
“Carnitas is basically a Mexican recipe of shredded pork that’s beer marinated and roasted,” Melody explains. “There’s a lot of seasonings that go into it, sour oranges and other things. Carnitas is our signature dish, and that’s what really makes us different from other Mexican restaurants in town.”
Authenticity is the goal at Tequila’s Town, not just for food but for drinks.
“We know about tequila,” says Temo. “We always tell people, if you shoot tequila, don’t let oxygen into it. Tequila is like a well-done cognac; you have to let it rest.”
“The distillery we use isn’t like a Jose Cuervo distillery pumping it out. This one is small batches. They don’t do 40,000 liters of tequila—it’s like a small business. We’ve had offers from big companies, but the things we’re looking at, the quality of it maybe isn’t there.”
Temo notes that the best-sellers at Tequila’s Town are the premium margaritas.
“We sell a lot of premium margaritas because it’s the quality. Once you try it out, you get used to it,” he shares. “We don’t believe in sweet and sour mix. We have our own agave syrup, we make our own margarita mix. We have this product that has a little bit of passion fruit, lime juice and almond juice. Premium margarita is lime juice, tequila, and a little margarita mix, and that’s it. Shake it, pour, ready to go. Simple things are the best. When you get too complicated, you start making up stuff that doesn’t work well.”
Despite all the margarita lovin’, Melody and Temo say there’s a drink they like much better: the Paloma, a mix of tequila, lime juice, and grapefruit soda.
“Oh my gosh, that’s my favorite one,” Temo gushes.
“That’s a pretty traditional cocktail,” Melody says. “If you want to make a tequila cocktail In Mexico, that’s what they offer you.”
“The margarita was created here in the States,” Temo adds. “In Mexico, wherever you go, they won’t even offer you a margarita, they’ll offer you a Paloma.” – Rachael Flora
Runner-up, Mexican: Bull Street Taco
