Cerveza Ahora, Trabajo Luego!

(I hope that was grammatically correct!)

Remember the days when Mexican food consisted of gloppy, artificial, plastic-tasting cheese (reminiscent of nachos at a baseball stadium--except Citifield!) thrown atop a pile of pathetically thin, mediocre tortilla chips; or flavorless, overly food processor-processed guacamole; or fajitas that pretty much consist of questionable at worst, decent at best quality meats and mushy, overcooked bell peppers? Or when Taco Bell was considered the real definition of heading to the border?

Well, friends, those days are unfortunately not gone.

But the GOOD news is that you don't have to settle for soggy burritos the size of your head and filled with stale rice and bland, soupy refried beans. Nope! Well, you can if you want -- I can appreciate getting take out because it's easy, no frills, fairly inexpensive, fast, and just tasty enough to justify eating out of disposable dish wear in the comfort of your home. But what if you can find all of these, except the latter, which is tasty enough to satisfy any Mexican food craving, at a restaurant in the East Village, and with a layer of modernity to top it all off? You can find this at Mercadito (179 Avenue B b/w 10th and 11th Streets), a cantina-looking Mexican joint that's been serving fish tacos and other authentic Mexican food that'll for sure put SoCal "only we have good fish tacos" braggarts to shame.

Patricio Sandoval opened Mercadito, (with two other branches -- the "cantina" just south one block at 172 Ave B, and the "grove" at 100 7th Ave South at Grove St) in 2004 to provide hip and hungry New Yorkers a feel of life south of the border by just passing through the doors of their restaurant (or just entering the restaurant, during the no-doors, tables-spilling-onto-the-streets-set up during the summer).

The rickety wooden chairs in all different pastel colors, rattan place mats, candle lights, and green house plants scattered throughout are colorful and fun decor that stand up well to the colorful and fun flavors of Mercadito's food. Mr. Sandoval, the Mexico City-born owner-chef, worked hard in planning the menu to ensure that his restaurant wasn't just another one of those run-of-the-mill tex-mex eateries, but rather, that it highlighted the specialties of Southern Mexican food - with a contemporary twist. To this effect, the E-Vill restaurant offers a variety of delicious and authentic-flavored ceviches, botanas (snack/appetizer), tacos, and entrees.

Mercadito has three different kinds of guacamole on their menu (traditional, mango, and pineapple), and you have the option of getting a sampler of all three.

We opted for the traditional guacamole ($8.50). It was delicious, as always. You could taste how fresh the avocados were because it had that wonderful creaminess to it. One reason I love the guac appetizer here is because of the DELICIOUS accompanying tortilla chips. My theory on food is, if it's a mediocre version of the real thing, don't eat it. I love love the restaurant tortilla chips: thick (this is key), crunchy, and that dense bite you get when you, well, bite it. In other words, I generally stay away from Tostitos and the like.

These are the chicken tacos ($14 -- they also have a killer $23 all-you-can-eat taco happy hour every day), with rajas poblanas, grilled corn, queso fresco, and a tomatillo-ancho salsa.

Perfectly grilled chicken and wonderfully flavored.

These are the steak tacos -- marinated grilled steak with pickled scallion, and a jalapeno-avocado salsa. Sounds simple and not promising, especially without cheese, but the steak is marinated and charred so well that the guac is pretty much all you need to accompany the steak. The char from the grill and the creaminess from the guac gives it a very well-rounded flavor.

One of several of Mercadito's famed fish tacos (this one in particular earned the best fish taco award by venerated chef and fine-dining connoisseur and restaurateur Eric Ripert)

These are tilapia tacos, sauteed and served with grilled corn huitlacoche, a dash of tomatillo salsa, and manchego cheese.

Mercadito is also very well known for their modern twist on fish tacos: their estilo bajar (not pictured) -- crispy, beer-battered mahi mahi tacos with Mexican style coleslaw and smeared with a divine chipotle aioli. (They have rose to prominence in the press: check out all the reviews). Get a side of three corn pico de gallo or their deliciously savory and sweet fried plantains.

Finally, wash all this down with one of their specialty margaritas, any of their other tequila based drinks (like the guavacava (a treat at $12): Inocente Blanco tequila, cava, guava, and spice syrup), or a recently-discovered new love of mine (first time at PDT), a michelada ($6) (beer, lime, worcestershire, tabasco sauce, and salt -- sounds strange but so unique and refreshing) and you'll undoubtedly leave here smiling and contenta.

I've been to Mercadito several times so I've gotten to know the people that work there, specifically Antonio, the assistant manager. He, and everybody else, constantly go out of their way to be friendly and accommodating. This time, they gave us free dessert and free booze: flan (which I do not like at all, but my friends enjoyed!) and a round of tequila. Wahoooo! They are great guys (and great managers), which is just another reason why I will keep on going back

This place really exudes a homey, non-franchise feel, but apparently they're doing so well that there's a recently-opened branch in Chicago, and another one slated to open in Miami soon-and the pictures look quite fancy; guess they're going for a different concept. Well, well.

Salud!

Be happy and Carpe Diem!