Cinco de-licioso: 20(ish) of our favorite Mexican dishes around town

There's plenty going on next weekend. You might be at Beale Street Music Festival, you might be at a Kentucky Derby party, or you might be out celebrating Cinco de Mayo and wondering just what to eat.

We got this.

There are countless Mexican restaurants around town. Some are better than others, of course, but we knew that. We set out not to find the places as much as the dishes, and after weeks of slaving over baskets of chips and bowls of salsa, after leaving more than a few places with a sigh of defeat when something just didn't live up, we have here a nice list for you. Enjoy, then tell us what we missed because while Cinco de Mayo comes but once a year, a year rolls around pretty fast.

Breakfast and pastries at Caminos de Michoacan (3896 Macon Road; 901-609-7853): While Caminos de Michoacan has a full lunch and dinner menu, it opens at 7 a.m. each day and might be one of the city’s best breakfast spots in any cuisine. For a simple, deeply satisfying day-starter, you can’t go wrong with Huevos con Chorizo y Papa, eggs scrambled with spicy chorizo sausage and chopped (not diced) potatoes. Pro-tip: Use the salsa verde on the eggs to make breakfast tacos, the salsa roja on the beans and rice. Michoacan is also a full panaderia, with one wall lined with self-serve bakery cases and a self-serve coffee table. You can get banderas (multi-colored cookies), conchas (cookie-crusted rolls so-named for their shell-like appearance), coyotas (stuffed pastries) filled with cajeta (a goat’s milk caramel), vanilla or cheese, empanadas (sweet or savory), orejas (flaky/sticky folded pastries so-named for their ear-like appearance), and lots more. — Chris Herrington

California burrito at Elena’s Taco Shop (6105 Summer Ave.; 901-417-7915): Typically, “meat and potatoes” isn’t associated with either Mexican food or California, but the “California burrito,” which includes carne asada and french fries as primary fillings, is a relatively recent guilty pleasure concocted in San Diego, and you can get it at Elena’s, which promotes itself as SoCal-style Mexican. Want this combo in a more elegant form? Elena’s more celebrated carne asada fries are a hardier nachos. Want to go lighter? There’s a good fish taco. Whichever way, make liberal use of Elena’s good salsa bar. — C.H.

Carne asada at Los Comales (4774 Summer Ave.; 901-683-9530): Brothers own the local chain but one owns two of them and one, maybe two others own the other two, so I'm confining this to the Summer Avenue restaurant only as the menus are a little different. Here the carne asada is clearly given a good marinade as the meat is infused with garlic and a bit of chile flavor. A lightly grilled tangle of onions and a jalapeno top it off, and there's the excellent green sauce on the table you can add to your liking. This isn't a traditional salsa verde, but a creamier, spicy version made with peppers and garlic. — Jennifer Biggs

Carne asada chilaquiles in salsa verde at La Guadalupana (4818 Summer Ave.; 901-685-6857): If we’re being real, everything on the La Guadalupana menu makes my taste buds sing, but my go-to orders are either chicken enchiladas or the carne asada chilaquiles. Chilaquiles are a dish of fried corn tortilla pieces (aka chips) simmered in sauce, topped with a protein. Sometimes this yields a result too close to nachos, but at La Guadalupana the sauce fully infuses the tortillas, giving a more intense flavor. The tangy brightness of the salsa verde makes a nice pairing with the solidity of the chopped, seared steak. — C.H.

Carnitas at Casa Perez (4880 Summer Ave.; 901-683-0505): Is it fair to send you to a place that only has carnitas on weekends, that you have to get there early to get, and there's not really even a place to eat in at this tiny grocery? Well, give 'em a try then tell me if I misled you. I love this pork dish traditionally prepared by frying hunks of meat in vats of lard, and it's hard to find them prepared the authentic way. (Disclaimer: They can be good even if there are shortcuts taken.) But at Casa Perez — which is about the size of a convenience store but includes a super clean butcher counter (you can get homemade beef jerky there), a small produce section and a kitchen at the back of the store — they do it the real way. Get them to go with red or green salsa, and eat them like they're served or treat yourself to even better carnitas. When you get them home, tear them apart a little and run them under the broiler to get a few crisp bits. Watch it — you don't want to dry them out. — J.B.

Changuirongo at Maciel’s Highland (525 S. Highland Ave.; 901-504-4584): The recently opened Maciel’s location on the Highland Strip is a good place to get a drink. (And while the bar’s nice, the back patio is better if the weather’s right.) They’ve got you covered on beer, wine and margaritas. But early visit hits have included the changuirongo (tequila, lime and a bottle of Jarritos Mexican soda; flavor choice here: tamarindo), a Mezcal mojito, and a Paloma (essentially a grapefruit margarita). But there are plenty of other “craft” and “cantina” cocktails from which to choose. Because it’s wise to pair food with your liquor, consider sopa de pollo or garlic shrimp tacos. —C.H.

Cheese dip at Pancho's (717 N. White Station Road; 901-685-5404): Yep. I went there. I ate the cheese dip and salsa. Love it. My suggestion? Pair it with a margarita in the bar, but the place still fills up so there are folks who still appreciate the Mexican food of our youth. — J.B.

Choripollo at El Gallo Giro (3991 Lamar Ave.; 901-794-0609): Choripollo, sometimes seen on menus as choro pollo or pollo con chorizo, is fairly new to me. I think I first ate it about two years ago, but now I look for it at Mexican restaurants and dig the one at El Gallo Giro (where most everything is good). A pounded grilled chicken breast is covered with chorizo and lightly grilled onions, served with rice and beans and a dollop of sour cream. Although I prefer cheese "sauce" (it's cheese dip, no matter what it says on the menu) on my choripollo, you have to ask for it at El Gallo Giro. The main reason I like this dish better here than elsewhere is because the chorizo is very mild. That's not always a good thing for my palate, but for this dish, the mild sausage is great with the chicken, better than a real peppery blend. Just don't forget to ask for cheese "sauce" on top. — J.B.

Errrything at Las Tortugas Deli Mexicana (1215 S. Germantown Road; 901-751-1200 and 6300 Poplar; 901-623-3882). OK. So I'm cheating a little. Calm down; I'm going to tell you some specific things, but first I have to say that this place just keeps getting better. I've always liked it, but honestly, I don't think I've ever appreciated it as much as I do now. It's all so fresh, and it grows more creative every time I visit. You're gonna spend some money, but the king crab tacos are decadent. The elote, corn on the cob with lime, mayo and cotijo cheese slathered on it, is so simple yet so satisfying. But my latest jam is the steak tacos cooked in red chiles, or something close to that (it's not printed on the menu). Short ribs are braised in a combination of flavorful (but not hot) chile peppers until they're reduced to succulent bites of chile-infused beef. It does not get any better. And I can't forget the new guava-limeade agua fresca. Literally. Like I'm thinking about it and craving one right now. — J.B.

Guacamole and chips at Las Delicias (4002 Park Ave.; 901-458-9264): The tortilla chips from Las Delicias have quickly become one of the most beloved local food products. You can find them, by the bag, at several markets and grocers around the city (including at Emilio’s) as well as at the register at the restaurant. The chips are the thickest, flakiest, freshest and tastiest around. But the best way to have them is at Las Delicias with a bowl of guacamole, which they serve chopped, with onion, lots of tomato and a strong citrus flavor. While man can live on guacamole alone, we suggest pairing with a bowl of Las Delicias’ chipotle-spiked tortilla soup or intensely pork-flavored charro beans. — C.H.

Guacamole Cesar at Cocina Mexicana (2945 Millbranch; 901-730-0594): Yes, we know guacamole made the list twice, and a year or two ago, that couldn't have happened as Las Delicias wore the crown. But I'm telling you, this is the real deal, too. At this restaurant at the end of Millbranch (just off the interstate), be careful: Don't order regular guacamole (it's exactly that). Instead spring for the guacamole Cesar, which is made to order. It's smoother than Las Delicias but still has chunks of avocado in it, all lit up with lime juice, full of finely diced red onion, jalapeno pepper and tomatoes. Lordy. Everyone loves guacamole, so add this to your list. — J.B.

Huitlacoche quesadilla at Palmar (4069 Summer Ave.; 901-323-0363): If you think fungus sounds bad, don't call it fungus. Huitlacoche is also known as corn smut, so tell people you ate that for lunch instead. This is a case where obviously it is better than it sounds. Huitlacoche is a blue fungus that grows on untreated corn when conditions are right and it's considered a delicacy by many folks; I'm with them. You might not be — but it's something fun to try so you can see where you stand on it. If you like truffles, mushrooms, fish sauce and other super-umami foods, this smut might be for you, too. While you're at it, have a pumpkin flower quesadilla at Palmar, too. — J.B.

Ice cream or paletas at La Michoacana (4091 Summer Ave.; 901-555-1234): One of the Three M’s of Memphis Sweets (Muddy’s, MemPops and La Michoacana, natch), La Michoacana has expanded to a half dozen locations of its pastel-colored ice cream and paleta (and more) palaces. You can get all the most familiar flavors, in a cup or cone or on a stick, but the recommendation here is to be adventurous. For paletas, that could mean sharp (mango chile, cucumber chile) or mild (avocado, rice pudding). For ice cream, you could go with mamey (a salmon-colored fruit similar to papaya) or pineapple with cheese (try it), but I think my favorite is sweet corn, which transforms Mexico’s greatest gustatory gift to the world into cold, creamy perfection. — C.H.

Lamb tacos at El Mercadito (3766 Ridgeway Road; 901-365-3036): El Mercadito is more than a restaurant. Located inside a big-box store in Hickory Hill, it’s a full-scale market/cultural center. You can get new tires and new soccer cleats. You can play foosball and let the kids go climbing. You can get your nails and taxes done. There’s a restaurant in the back that has everything you’d expect and some things you wouldn’t. You can sample a lot of it when they’ve got a family-style buffet going, but the recommendation here is for lamb tacos only available on Saturdays and Sundays. The lamb is cooked similarly to pastor-style pork, spicy and with a nice charred texture. One of my favorite tacos I’ve had in town. — C.H.

Mole (on anything) at Molly’s La Casita (2006 Madison Ave.; 901-726-1873): Mexican dining in Memphis has expanded and evolved to such an extent that a longtime standby like Molly’s might seem like a different genre to some. Molly’s has updated its menu over the years, but is still prized for comforting faves. Maybe for you that’s Mr. Bruce’s Nachos or half-and-half margaritas. For me it’s the mole sauce. Mole can mean different things, but it typically refers to a dark, nutty, chocolate-y chile sauce. Molly’s version is bittersweet with a thick, gritty texture. You could spackle with it, preferably applied to some chicken (pollo con mole, chicken simmered in the sauce) or some cheese enchiladas (the “T-Man Special”). Molly’s refried beans are also spiked with this goodness. — C.H.

Pollo al Carbon at Los Picosos (3937 Summer Ave.; 901-323-7003): I don’t know if Los Picosos is the only Mexican restaurant in Memphis that smokes chicken every day, but it’s the only one I’ve found and it offers a delicious detour from more common menu fare. In Memphis, we’re used to pairing smoked meats with a barbecue-style rub, but the chile-powered variation here and the full, smoky flavor and tenderness of the bird itself would make any pit master envious. You can order quarter, half or whole. It’s advertised as coming with rice, beans, salsa and tortillas, but every time I’ve had it, it’s come with a little extra. French fries one time, a little extra bowl of charro beans another. The tortillas are a little thicker than usual, suggesting a homemade freshness, and with the three salsa choices you can pull chicken to make your own tacos. Side note: Picosos also has the best pastor (spicy pork) tacos I’ve had in town. — C.H.

Posole at La Herradura (4090 Summer Ave.; 901-249-7817): Posole doesn't get the attention it deserves, but it's because you don't find it many places. Look, this spicy soup, with pork and hominy floating in a broth red with pepper and redolent of garlic, cumin, onion and all the good stuff, is a winner. At La Herradura, it's served every day and comes with diced onions, shredded lettuce, hard tortillas and a fiery oil to add to it. Crumble the tortillas in the soup, add the fresh toppings and be sparing with the oil. There's a full bar here and a market where you can shop for pottery, boots and general south-of-the-border knick-knacks. — J.B.

Puerco tamales at Emilio’s Grocery (2757 Getwell Road; 901-365-3015): I’ll confess that I tend to be a partisan of the Delta variation on the tamale rather than the more authentic versions. But these are the best traditional tamales I’ve had in Memphis. The masa’s not too dry. The pork fresh, tender and well spiced. Most importantly, these two elements are close to equally balanced; the former doesn’t overwhelm the latter. You can also get pollo, though I prefer the spice of the pork, and there’s a full salsa bar, offering plentiful avenues for adornment. And you can get either, in batches of half-a-dozen, wrapped in foil and ready to go at the register (along with whole roasted chickens and cinnamon-dusted churros). That’s not all you can get to go. If you’re inspired to take it to the house, Emilio’s is a small but plentifully stocked grocery, with a bright little restaurant (about 10 tables) tucked into one corner. Don’t miss the meat section at the other end of the store, maybe one of the best-kept food secrets in town. — C.H.

Tacos at Taqueria Rosticeria (2898 S. Perkins Road; 901-275-8033): If you know about this place, you are legit. I just found it this weekend, and you can expect to read more about it before too long. Let's just say for now that Los Picosos is not the only player in the smoked chicken game, and the one here is excellent, as are the pork ribs. But the tacos! Insane. One thing about street tacos, no matter where you get them, is they can be sparse with the toppings. Here — I swear — I could eat one and go away full for $2. But instead, we ordered three. Lengua (tongue), carnitas and barbacoa (beef) were equally good and generous. I'm certain each taco contained 3 ounces of meat and possibly more. The homemade salsa verde, a squeeze of lime and there you go. The restaurant is on the bottom floor and a church is on the top; just look for the outdoor smokers south of Los Comales on Perkins. — J.B.

Whole snapper at La Playita (6194 Macon Road; 901-377-2282): I have to stop short of declaring it my favorite Mexican restaurant in town only because I might be missing something, but La Playita is reliably good and I've been eating there for about 20 years. The ceviche, the tongue tacos, carne asada — all great, plus a killer michelada (my first michelada, in fact). Still, it's the impressive snapper that wins my heart. The fish is quickly deep fried and served whole (with maraschino cherries in the eyes) with rice and beans and a simple salad. I sometimes get it plain, sometimes in garlic sauce (it's basted in it after it's fried). The fish is scored so it's simple to eat in small pieces, and I've never ordered one I didn't think was as tender and flavorful as the last one. — J.B.