Margarita, Wine or Beer?

Question:  What do you think goes best with your food –margarita, wine or beer?

I knew it had to happen some day but frankly I had almost lost hope.  But all of a sudden, more and more people are ordering wine with my food at Zarela.  It is thrilling because my  dishes come alive and the nuances and layers of flavors that Hilario and I work so hard to achieve can be appreciated.  People have always said that Mexican food should be accompanied by beer and some dishes should, particularly antojitos (small plates) with strong flavors .  Things like queso fundido, tacos, quesadillas are perfect with beer or even margaritas.

The Zarela margarita has been judged “the best margarita in town” on many occasions and many people come to the restaurant to relax after a tough day, party, romance (it is the perfect first date drink because it lowers all the inhibitions) or dine with our margaritas and it’s alright. It’s more than alright –it’s kept us in business and thriving for 21 years. It’s a different experience though than eating a green mole with a nice full-bodied white wine like the Blanc de Blanc from Flor de Guadalupe that also goes very well with our other seafood dishes such as the crab tostadas, the salmon with chipotle, the tuna in pepián.  The duck in the sour-spicy-sweet tablecloth stainer sauce goes very well with the L.A. Cetto Nebbiolo (available for sale at Astor Wines and Sussex wines) and, depending on the mole, a pinot noir, cabernet or merlot make perfect companions.

We’ve been chided for not having a more extensive, higher-priced wine list but I am a big supporter of the Mexican wine industry and mainly have Mexican wines on my list. I’ve joined the board of the ProVinos, Wines of Mexico, foundation which was recently launched to promote Mexican wines and assist the producers in navigating the world of business in New York, check their quality control,  and accept only those producers that can deliver the quantities needed.  For many years, I have served L.A. Cetto at my restaurant and they have the biggest selection by far but Chateau Camou has some wonderful wines that are higher priced, as does Monte Xanix.  Now also available in New York are Casa Madero and Casa de Piedra.  Some of the wines are world-class and others are working very hard to produce good, reasonably priced and perfectly suited for the cuisine.