HERRADURA TEQUILA DINNER

The month of September brings many events here in Chicago, and one that’s enjoyed by many is Mexican Independence Day on September 16th. In honor of this Mexican holiday, MAGO GRILL & CANTINA along with HERRADURA tequila, hosted a lovely 4 course dinner at the new South Loop location.

The Herradura Brand Manager, Jeronimo Rodriguez, welcomed a room full of guests and gave some background on the brand. It’s the oldest tequila distiller, founded in 1870 by Félix López. Yes, 1870! Jeronimo then walked us through the evening’s meal and the pours that were at each place setting.

With each food course, the paired tequila cocktail was even better. The pairings were so well done and complemented each other as perfectly as I could’ve wished. There was even a spicy one in there… my new favorite. 🙂

CENA DEL GRITO PAIRING DINNER MENU

CEVICHE DE MANGO | citrus-marinated shrimp and calamari, tomatoes, red onions, cilantro, passion fruit, mango, leche de tigre

paired with EL JEFE {Herradura blanco, orange liqueur, fresh lime juice}

GORDITA DE CHICHARRON | pork confit stuffed corn pastry, tomatillo green salsa, queso fresco, baby arugula, onions

paired with EL MELON {Herradura blanco, cantaloupe juice, basil, fresh lime juice}

CHILE ENOGADA | fire roasted poblano pepper stuffed with veal picadillo, sherry walnut cream sauce, pomegranate seeds

paired with MARACUYA PICOSA {Herradura reposada, pineapple juice, passion fruit, jalapeno}

PAN DULCE | horchata french toast, guava butter, herradura caramelized berries

paired with CAFE DE OLLA {mexican coffee, cinnamon, anise, piloncillo, orange zest, Herradura anejo}

Both the dinner dishes and their tequila cocktail pairings were delicious! MAGO did a great job of creating tasty dishes, focusing on traditional ingredients and flavors, while complementing the cocktails. My favorite dish of the evening was the ceviche in the first course. It was light, citrus-y, and the calamari was the perfect texture. My favorite cocktail of the evening was the Maracuya Picosa in the third course. I typically choose tequila blanco over tequila reposada, but in this cocktail, the reposada with the jalapeno was the perfect combinatino. I have this thing with spicy cocktails lately, and this one had just enough bite. Needless to say, 4 tequila cocktails plus pours later… we were in high spirits! :-p Add in the mariachi band playing music in the background and it made for one very festive Mexican Independence Day celebration!

>> Thank you to my dear friend, Nikki Lee of MAGO, for the invitation, and to my new friend, Jeronimo, for the awesome introduction to the Herradura brand.