ole ole ole ole ole ole ole ole feelin hot hot hot hot

I went to school in Arizona for four years (go sundevils, BOO U of A!), so everyone always asks me "Oh my god, did you eat amazing Mexican food all the time? Was it sooo good?" Depending on my mood, I'll either humor them and respond with mirrored enthusiasm, or tell them the truth, "Actually no, I've had better Mexican food in Boston." My experience with Mexican cuisine at ASU consisted mainly of Chipotle and Baja Fresh.

Best Mexican I've ever had? Ole Mexican Grill (Cambridge, Mass).

Ole's Mexican menu isn't your average fiesta salads and fajitas. It's got some staples like black bean soup, quesadillas, tacos, and enchiladas, but it also gives you a taste of Mexico that you won't see at your local tex-mex restaurant. Think roasted duck with poblano sauce, Oaxaca vegetable stew, and carne asada.

This is a Mexican restaurant, so, unless you're pregnant or sober, it's mandatory to start off your meal with a margarita. I prefer mine rocks/no salt while my dad is a rocks/salt kind of guy.
After drinks, it's really time to get down to business, the business of hand-made guacamole. There's a guacamole cart that's wheeled to your table and the avocados are peeled and pitted, the peppers, onions, etc are thrown in, and the ingredients are mashed together right in front of you. Then, you get a mammoth-size bowl and warm tortilla chips ready for you to devour. It's full of fresh, cool avocado flavor and a hint of citrus.

If you're lucky and you're eating with my father, Mr. Appetizer, you're also going to get to try the taquitos. Six itty bitty little rolled and fried tortillas filled with tender shredded chicken and poblano chiles topped with crema, queso fresco, tomatos and lettuce served with a raspberry-chile chipotle dipping sauce. There's only six in an order, so you're not a total glutton if you do guac and taquitos.

Every Monday at Ole is Taco Monday, a special night with an adorable extra menu listing a la carte tacos with a twist. Ole takes it up a notch with flavors influenced by other cuisines, this week it was mostly Indian, Korean, and Thai. Each taco is $3.50, making Monday the best night to try out Ole on a budget (guacamole, two tacos, and some black bean soup will fill you up without braking the bank). I have to be honest, I can't remember the kinds of tacos my mom ordered, but they were so tasty! And aren't they so cute!?
My dad went for the seabass. At times he is a man of few words, so the only feedback I got on his meal was "good." He became a member of the clean plate club, so I'm going to assume he was happy with his meal. It looked beautiful!





My brother and I were boring and went with the enchiladas. I couldn't help myself! I was starving and they are just so good! Not too sloppy and they have braised pork - which is my FAVORITE. I love pork. I play this game with my parents when we go out sometimes. I say "if you're really my dad (or mom) you'll know what I'm going to order." They have to reply "the pork" or else they're not my parents!

It's almost bathing suit season, so there was no dessert for me last night.

Ok, who am I kidding? We were under a time constraint so we couldn't stay for dessert. If we had time, I would have been all over the fried cheesecake. Can you imagine anything better than a cake made out of cream cheese and sugar, deep fried and topped with more sugar and vanilla ice cream?

MmMmMmm