The Painted Burro

While S and I have an undying love for Posto, we've decided that we should occasionally branch  out and try some new places around where we work.  So the last time that we got together, we chose The Painted Burro, a Mexican restaurant and tequila bar in Davis Square.  To be fair, it is owned by the same people behind Posto, but we're still going to pat ourselves on the back for trying something new.  Luckily, our sense of adventure was rewarded and the food was fabulous, and the atmosphere, chill and fun.  We started off with  margaritas and chips and guac, of course.

Is there anything that tastes better than a margarita after a long day at work?  Why, yes there is, thank you for asking, and it's a cucumber margarita.  So refreshing and crisp, and it counts as a serving of vegetables, right?  The Painted Burro has an impressive margarita menu, including the cucumber option, which I loved, and a spicy margarita, which S opted for.  That was also very good, but not for the faint of heart. When we had demolished a few buckets of chips (hey, they were small buckets, okay?), we moved on to the main event.  S went for the Baja-Style Fish taco and a kale salad, which was absolutely huge.  I was a good friend and helped her eat it.

I was in the mood for tacos, so I went for the Gulf Shrimp "Diablo Rojo" and the Pork Carnitas taco.

The Pork Carnitas, with picked red onion, poblano salsa verde, and Mexican crema, was a bit disappointing.  Overall, it just wasn't as flavorful as I had hoped and the meat was salty and a little dry.  The shrimp taco, however, was divine.  With guac and habanero and mango salsa, it was the perfect, punchy combination of flavors. We soon decided that we were in need of another round of margs, so S went for the Strawberry/Melon while I chose Mango.

This was the perfect dessert margartia...sweet and fruity and smooth.  However, I rarely only drink dessert, so S and I ordered some other sweet treats as well.  We decided to split the churros with chocolate sauce....

and the peach flan.

 I have a rather unnatural love for churros and have to order them whenever I find them on a menu.  They were good, but the flan was the real standout. It's creamy texture was perfect, as was its caramelly flavor.  It was a great finale to cleanse the palate after all the salty chips and spicy food.

If you want to try the Painted Burro and are planning on going during the weekend, I'd recommend making a reservation if you're going for dinner.  During the week, you shouldn't have too much trouble getting a table without one.  If you're more in the mood to just work your way through their margarita selection or are a tequila connoisseur, the bar area also has a fun vibe with bright red, comfy stools.  Go and have one for me!  On the rocks with salt, obviously. 

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