As you may have seen, Shawn and I fêted Cinco de Mayo last week with a lunch at Minero, one of Atlanta's best Mexican restaurants.
Located in the food hall of Ponce City Market, Minero has a spacious patio, from which we could eat COVID-safely. This was the first time I had been there since just after their opening a few years ago.
We ordered chips & salsa, which came in three tiny bowls with tiny spoons, to avoid the double dipping that in normal times is kind of disgusting, but during a pandemic is unthinkable.
My favorite was the arbol (red) - a type of chili pepper - and Shawn's favorite was the benne (orange). The verde was also good. The chips were fresh, seasoned, and came in a paper bag so you could easily pour them onto your plate, rather than dipping your hand into them. I think all Mexican restaurants should do this now.
Shawn got the grilled steak burrito, which was nearly as big as his head, and with cheese grilled onto the OUTSIDE. It comes filled with all kinds of delectables: rice, beans, avocado, queso from Oaxaca, crema, poblano, cabbage, cilantro and salsa verde. Shawn was disappointed that it didn't contain more steak, though, and the black beans were larger than any I have seen. Maybe too large.
I liked my charcoal chicken quesadillas - made with Chihuahua cheese, pickled peppers, a hard taco shell inside (I think), and again, the cheese grilled on the OUTSIDE. Seriously, aren't you salivating, just looking at them? Every restaurants has its own version of quesadillas, and this is a favorite of mine. I will say I prefer white meat to the chicken thighs in these. But they were incredibly filling, not always true for quesadillas, and I took home leftovers.
Of course, it wouldn't really be CDM without a margarita. And a souvenir glass.
Do you have a restaurant to recommend on or near the BeltLine? Let me know, and I may feature it.
An Atlanta native, Nicole Gustin is the Founder & CEO of BiteLines, which offers walking food tours on the Atlanta BeltLine. She considers the BeltLine her backyard, and is excited to see how Atlanta is reinventing itself. The BiteLines blog features art, restaurants, happenings and weirdness on the Atlanta BeltLine. Share story ideas and pics at: contact@bitelines.com. Or follow on Instagram @bitelinesatl.
Note: We paused our tours during the pandemic, but plan to ramp up again soon. Stay tuned!