Opening Week: Mi Mero Mole
Portland foodie-in-the-know Nick Zukin has opened the doors to his casual eatery offering Mexico City-style tacos de guisados, and Eat Beat has the photos and first bites.
Posted by: Allison Jones on Dec 06, 2011 at 11:00AM
2 Comments
Southeast Division has gained yet another new eatery, and this time there’s a salsa bar. Mi Mero Mole, Nick Zukin’s Mexico City-inspired eatery boasting homemade tortillas and a rotating selection of traditional stews and stir-fries, is refreshingly casual and bright—with prices that are bound to impress.
As promised in an Eat Beat interview in early November, Mi Mero Mole’s menu is nearly half vegetarian and vegan, rotating between 50 to 100 different guisados through the seasons.
Recent selections have included Albóndigas (beef and pork meatballs stuffed with egg and stewed in chipotle-tomato sauce), Cerdo en Mole Manchamanteles (pork stewed in a mix of fruits, nuts and dried chiles), and my favorite, Tinga de Calabacitas (stir-fried summer squash, onions, tomatoes and chipotle chiles).
Diners can choose between guisdado-filled tacos ($2.50-$3.50), burritos ($4.75-$6.75), quesadillas ($2.75-$3.75), and “Platos Machos” (any guisado served with rice, black beans, chips, and tortillas; $7:50-$10.50). The large board above the front counter displays the current guisados selections, with full descriptions on the paper menu.
Throughout the build-out and menu development process Zukin solicited suggestions from the army of foodie opinionists over at PortlandFood.org, crowd-sourcing the beer list and eclectic music selection.
On the liquid side of things, the aforementioned beer selection includes $3
pints (think Negra Modelo, Pacifico, Full Sail Session, Bridgeport IPA, and Deschutes Black Butte Porter).
Bartender-about-town Jacob Grier has put together a selection of creative cocktails, including the Señor Brown (Mezcal and Mexican green apple soda). There’s also a great list of $2 sodas and agua frescas, including horchata and Jamaica (hibiscus punch).
The help-yourself salsa bar offers four fresh sauces of various spicitude, along with fresh limes and pickled onions.
Mi Mero Mole means, literally, “My Own Mole” and figuratively, “My Thing” or “My Cup of Tea”. Head on over to SE 50th and Division to see if Mi Mero Mole is your thing.
Mi Mero Mole
5026 SE Division Street; 503-232-TACO
Tuesday through Thursday: 5 to 9 pm
Friday and Saturday: 5 to 10 pm
Lunch hours coming soon.
Twitter: @mmmtacospdx
Facebook: Mi Mero Mole
I visited Mi Mero Mole during their ‘soft opening’ and I’m super excited about this restaurant! I tried the Calabasitas Platos which were actually SPICY which can be tough to find in this town! Overall the flavors are fresh, unique and balanced. The beans were simply prepared and the perfect texture, the calabasitas cooked perfectly, the homemade tortillas held together beautifully and the salsas are fantastic! Oh, I almost forgot…ROCKIN MARGARITAS! I can’t wait to go back!
Sure glad you didn’t get me with my mouth full and/or stuffing my face. Ditto hubby. Too busy swooning over the food to notice you taking pictures. Just terrific.