Dine & Dash: Green and liquid gold 🍽
Two unique drinks are standouts at Green Mountain Falls' Cantina Verde and Monument's Tequila Village — worthwhile Mexican spots
Cantina Verde
By Matthew Schniper
We’re up in Green Mountain Falls for this year’s Green Box Arts Festival offerings, mainly to see the spectacular Poetic Kinetics installation over Gazebo Lake, and we make our way over to Cantina Verde for a late afternoon bite.
The spot opened nearly a year ago to the date of our visit (just before the Fourth of July), and I’d heard some positive reviews from friends in recent months that landed the eatery on my to-dine list. It’s located in the old Mucky Duck spot directly on Ute Pass Avenue that acts as the town’s Main Street.
With old wood paneling and the rustic cabin vibe (plus detritus on display in the overgrown rear area visible from the wide window at our table), it reminds you that you’re in Green Mountain Falls — no frills beyond the awesome annual art display. Just a quiet, cozy, partially dilapidated tiny mountain town between Manitou Springs and Woodland Park. (As we like it.)
I’ll tell you now the star attraction at Cantina Verde is the Verde Margarita, described to me as “the bomb” by nearby Chef/Distiller Victor Matthews of Black Bear Distillery. It’s a cilantro-ginger margarita made with Herradura añejo (misspelled Harradura on the menu - my editor eye can’t unsee it). Indeed it’s sensational, vegetal and spicy-biting with an easy booze balance to the sweetness. Between the many we ordered, sometimes the rim had Tajin and other times a sugar rim, or a little of both. The inconsistency is of little consequence compared to the full hour we waited for our entrées to arrive after ordering. Yikes!
Yeah, so that’s out there. It happens, and it’s never pretty. (Twenty minutes is a standard do-or-die ticket time; an hour is nothing short of fucked.) Our server did his best to mitigate it, checking in with us a few times to let us know they were working on it — saying they got slammed for lunch before we came in — and around the 40 minute mark letting us know that the chef wanted to buy us a round of drinks for the trouble. It’s all he could do for his part and we appreciated it, as we ate the last of the complimentary chips and salsa (topped off twice) and Dip Trio appetizer I’d ordered: queso, guac and pineapple salsa. All were proficient, but the guac needs more salt.
We also sipped on the quality house margarita and a Modelo Negro Michelada while passing the time. The good news is that once the food arrived it was on the whole great. The foundationals were in place, including a long-grain poblano rice (tinted a greenish yellow hue; on brand) and nicely al dente black beans seasoned a touch earthy/smoky.
My one mate happily worked over the tender flank steak tacos, plated with vibrant chimichurri (a classic pairing) and pickled onions. The other, a hunter, appreciated the jalapeño elk sausage taco offering — somewhat odd, yes, as halved sausages charred and squeezed between soft corn tortillas with tomato, cilantro and chipotle cream garnish for a zesty-spicy finish. It’s a bit tough to chew through the sausage casing without destroying much of the rest of the taco, but the flavors are all there.
Lauren and I shared the grilled shrimp tacos and chicken enchiladas. The former are a touch sweet from pineapple salsa relish (obviously cross-utilized on the menu) and they otherwise host a cilantro slaw and “creamy verde sauce” which plays well against the grill-kissed prawns. The menu lists all enchiladas as “Santa Fe style” — which means stacked versus rolled. You get to choose your sauce, and we go for the tomatillo (which happens to be the vegan and gluten-free option). It’s bright and sour/tart and punchy acidic, with a drizzle of crema on top for cooling reprieve.
Tequila Village
By Lauren Hug
The first thing we noticed when entering Tequila Village in Monument is the huge tequila wall taking up much of the back corner of the restaurant. The second thing we noticed — as we scanned the expansive menu — are several dishes we don't see at every Mexican restaurant. Sopes, albondigas, menudo, pozole, and molcajete are a few of the relatively uncommon offerings available here.
The first round of chips and salsa are on the house, subsequent rounds are $1.56 for chips and $1.56 for salsa. (That's the third thing we noticed; prices at Tequila Village aren't rounded off. They end in unusual arrangements of cents.) We all remark on how good the chips and salsa are, agreeing they're superior enough to standard fare that we'd have no problem paying for refills of both, if we were in the mood for more.
The drinks are all solid, but the Buzz Margarita — a quality margarita with silver tequila, orange liqueur (which was hard to identify), agave nectar and fresh lime juice accompanied by a Tingala Liquor shot on the side — was the standout of our order. Initially, we weren't certain what to do with the shot, so we started with a sip as a chaser to a sip of the marg. No stranger to the Bee Sting cocktail (with Tingala) at Bloom Ultra Lounge, I knew to expect tingling lips and tongue. My dining companions (not Schniper at this meal) hadn't encountered Tingala yet. One was impressed by the liquor’s cinnamon notes and buzzing sensation. The other found the entire concept weird and wouldn't give it a try. Having tasted the marg and the shot separately, we decided to mix them together. Wow! An unexpected, elevated flavor combination with an added sensory component. I highly recommend giving the Buzz Margarita a try.
I couldn't resist the sopes ($11.42). I order them almost any time I see them on a menu because of that thick masa base. Both chicken and beef options are well-seasoned and thoroughly enjoyable. The pork carnitas ($20.78) lean more pot roast than crisped pork, served with a fiery, earthy sauce that doesn't hold back on spice. Though we appreciated the heat-level, two out of three of us found the flavor an odd pairing for our carnitas expectations. One of us (not me) loved it. Dipping the pork in the salsa that came with the chips was a delight.
The Mexican Trio platter ($23.38 for carne asada, grilled chicken breast, and bacon-wrapped shrimp) wasn't groundbreaking, but hit all the right notes. The rice and beans that come with standard plates are a flavorful addition rather than an afterthought.
Tequila Village offers some great specials, like $5.20 margs all day Mondays and Wednesdays and $2.10 street tacos on Tuesdays. With lots of confidently executed options for both food and drink, this restaurant is worth a visit.
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Hey hey tequila village is local to me. Had the best mezcal old fashioned there.