de cero

Ebert and I dined at De Cero's a few weeks ago. We met up right after work, around 5:30pm, so the restaurant wasn't very busy. We were able to snag a table outside and it was a perfect evening for dining on the patio! I was pleasantly surprised by how delicious everything was. Sure it was a little bit pricer than our usual neighborhood taco joint that we love but we wanted to try something new that was close to work so this was a perfect choice.

Chips and salsa are not complimentary. I know, I know...I, too, have come to just expect free chips and salsa at Mexican restaurants and when I don't get it I'm usually a little sad. But then I always eat way more chips than I should and get filled up before my meal comes. It's a gluttonous expectation that I'm glad isn't an option at De Cero. It makes me think about what I'm ordering before I just stuff my face. However, since this was our first time here we had to try their homemade chips and salsa. We ordered the charred habanero salsa and it was oh-so-spicy good. The mango in it made it refreshing enough so that it wasn't too spicy. Our waitress did bring us a second bowl of chips, which we happily munched on, but I'm not sure if that's customary.

We split the Ensalada Campo Verde. And, let me tell you, if I could I would have ate nothing but the cilantro jalapeno viniagrette. It was amazing! We each got one taco (I got the Chicken Mole taco and Ebert got the Tilapia taco). Both were very fresh and flavorful. The mole was smokey and the fish was crispy. Then we split the goat cheese tamale. This was the only item we ordered that we probably wouldn't order again. It sounded amazing and we love goat cheese, but we think the goat cheese lost some of its tangy flavor when cooked inside a tamale.

All in all it was a great experience and we will definitely go back. Next time I want to try some of their cocktails!