Gastro Monkey // 美食家

Nestled between Rick's Dessert Diner and Biergarten (two of my Sacramento haunts), is the relatively recent newcomer to the Sacramento bar/dining scene, Midtown's Cantina Alley. They advertise as offering a cantina experience similar to those found in Mexico. I can't speak for all of Mexico, but it definitely did remind me of the cantinas I went to in Guadalajara. Open, airy, great beer, and great food. The biggest difference would be the price. I ordered a good portion of the menu and it added up. That said, everything I tried was pretty fantastic. The ingredients seemed very fresh and care was taken in the plating.  Tostadas de Ceviche - huachinango/red snapper marinated in lime juice, pineapple, red onion, jalapeno, cilantro, and topped with sliced avocado on crispy tostadas. The tortilla shell was loudly crispy, the fish fresh and cold. This one was one of my favorite items. At the end, there were a few pieces of fish that had fallen down and I happily scooped it...

Belated, I know. On Cinco de Mayo, we ended up at Tight Tacos for... tacos. In Portland. It always feels weird to me getting tacos up North but you know what? Portland has some serious tacos that rival many a taco truck and restaurant in California! Feel free to assume that I don't know my tacos, but try some of the good places in Portland and then get back to me. There isn't much seating in the tiny fenced off area by Tight Tacos, but I think on a regular day it might not be an issue. As it was Cinco de Mayo, there was quite a crowd. The cooks worked steadily and efficiently. While there was a wait, it wasn't bad. I just gave us time to knock back a few ghetto chavelas. While I don't agree with the name, it was pretty good. There was a little bit of hot sauce and lime juice squeezed into the opened can, and then rimmed with some Tajin chile piquin. It didn't take long for us to devour our tacos before moving onto Pip's , which was parked along the stre...