Mexican food is always a great standby when I’m hungry and just not in the mood for any other cuisine. It’s cheap, and so filling that it sits in your stomach long enough to skip out the next meal. With Mexican food, you pretty much know what you are getting. All dishes is some kind or combination of rice, beans, cheese, veggies, and meat wrapped in various sizes of tortillas. While there are so many Mex-joints to choose from, Tacos Nuevo Mexico is the real deal, serving octopus salads, Oaxaqueño tamales, and lengua (tongue) tacos alongside the usual quesadillas, enchiladas, and burritos. In its modest space in Park Slope, Mexican families rub elbows with the usual Park Slope set, chowing down massive portions while glancing up to watch a bit of Telemundo. Do however, resist the urge to dance when a rump shaking tune is blasted off the jukebox. For a complete Mexican experience, hit the bar next door for a michelada.

[Tacos Nuevo Mexico, 489-491 5th Avenue, Brooklyn, btwn 11th & 12th]

Happy Cinco de Mayo y’all. I’m celebrating the French defeat in Mexico by liberating myself from the office on this beautiful, sunny, summerlike, Friday. What Mexican-centric day would it be without eating the chicano invention, the burrito. We had lunch at Mexican joint Rachel’s on 5th Avenue and washed it down with glasses of hortchada. Es Muy Rico, as they say. I would love to have a michelada, some mezcal, or even some chapulines tonight. I’ll just settle for a couple of Dos Equis.