This past weekend, I had the pleasure of joining one of my great friends to celebrate her birthday. Turning 30 is not like dying, contrary to popular belief, but there is some irony that she selected a restaurant themed on "Day of the Dead" to commemorate the occasion. :) It was not my first visit to Bone Garden Cantina, and God willing, it will not be my last. What shoes did this occasion call for? These are some of my favorites...
Last spring, I heard that the owners of the Vortex were opening a Mexican restaurant on the aforementioned hotspot of the Westside of Atlanta. That alone would merit a visit in my book, if only to see if the attitude changes with the ethnicity of the food. And... its less than 1 mile from the working home of your's truly! Score! (just to answer that question right off the bat, the waitstaff/employees at Bone Garden sport a similar look to their compatriots at the Vortex, but I have yet to encounter even a single person at BGC who had an attitude or was less than friendly and accommodating).
One of the differences at Bone Garden, as compared to other "Mexican" or Tex-Mex restaurants in these parts, is that everything is served a la carte. The good news about that is that you get EXACTLY what you want. The bad news is... who doesn't want refried beans? I, for one, can live without the rice. In lieu of the standard "combination" plates or assumed side dishes, the good people at Bone Garden encourage you to order about 3 dishes. Given their complimentary chips and very tasty salsa (very fresh, spicy but not hot, somewhat chunky in a good way), I have yet to even finish 2 dishes. On this most recent trip to BGC, I had the most pleasant occasion to sample their guacamole - I'd definitely get it again. Very tasty. Fresh cilantro! A little too much onion, but its hard to complain about...
By far, my favorite dish are the veggie sopes. The dish is composed upon a small cake made from corn masa - maybe about half an inch thick of goodness. On top of the sope are a scoop of tasty black beans, cabbage, avacado, queso, more of that cilantro I love so much, and some salsa. Very, very good. The textures are all over - creamy, crunchy, and chewy - all in the same bite! Very well complimented by the tastes, which in one mouthful may be sour, sharp, spicy, mild, back of the mouth, front of the mouth. It was explained to me that the chef at Bone Garden Cantina is from Mexico, and doesn't do Tex. Maybe that is the difference. I've also sampled the quesadilla - the mas queso with and without added veggies. It was sold to me as "the best quesadilla you'll ever have," and to this point, I can't disagree. Its very cheesy without being very greasy, the cheese is rich without being pungent or too rich (although I've not yet finished the quesadilla in one sitting), and the tortilla is fresh enough. The poco chihuahua enchilada was also worth a taste - the same cheese that is in the quesadilla shows up in the enchilada with very positive results here, too. The veggie taco I didn't love - it had a sauce that was foreign to me for a taco (peanut based), and I never really warmed up to it. The vegetables are always fresh, though, so if peanut and salsa are flavors you love together - go for it! Mike recently tried the Nopalitos salad, based on cactus and bell pepper, and he immediately moved it to his list of all-time favorite salads. which is saying a lot for a guy who has repeatedly said that he didn't really "get" salads. He also tried a pork sandwich - I don't recall what it is named - that he LOVED. The next day, he said something to the effect of that he was thinking about the next time that he would get to eat it.
The margarita de casa - definitely good. Smooth, sweet but not too sweet, salty... just right. :)
What shoes did this occasion call for? These are some of my favorites...
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