THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED Zacatecas Tacos + Tequila Awards

THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED Zacatecas Tacos + Tequila Restaurant Review:

From the chef of The Compound Restaurant in Santa Fe comes a concept that’s still relatively rare in the “Burque”: a high-end regional Mexican restaurant with a bar to match. The bright-blue exterior and mod, folk art-dotted interior showcase eats inspired by the cuisine of its namesake state in central Mexico, with some seafood-based coastal flourishes thrown in for good measure. Forget green chile; here, sauces are rife with fruits, nuts and seeds, and the cooking is more refined and complex than it is at your average down-home Southwestern taqueria. Cochinita de pibil --- pork cooked in banana-leaves and served on street-style tacos with escabeche pickles, chipotle salsa and queso fresco --- exemplify the style, possessing unexpected depth of flavor, as does the ahi cocktail with cantaloupe and sesame seeds. Salads are super-refreshing: try the mix of butter lettuce, watercress and jícama tossed with dried fruits and almonds in a prickly-pear vinaigrette. And desserts have charm galore --- think coffee liqueur in an edible chocolate cup with whipped cream. Speaking of booze, craft margaritas are the real deal, but the well-edited list of tequilas and mezcals is worth exploring in depth; beers are all south-of-the-border imports as well.