$7 Margarita, 7 Days a Week

Zocalos is a popular Mexican restaurant with a great atmosphere and great happy hour. They're located on a happening corner with great people watching opportunities from their outdoor seating areas. Their blackberry margarita is hands-down the best in town and it is the best happy hour special along with their nachos or $2 tacos. They have happy hour seven days a week so if you're looking for something different to do or just to get out a house walk over to Zocalo's and grab yourself a margarita. And if you can't make it for happy hour, they are willing and able to accommadate gluten free requests off of their regular dinner menu. 

Mayahuel: Upscale Mexican

My husband and I decided that with our busy little schedules that it was a good idea to have a mid-week date, so we went to check out a semi-new place on the revitalized strip of K Street in downtown Sacramento. I had been to Mayahuel for happy hour in the last couple of months, but I had only tired out their base margarita. Now I am rather proud of this feat, but I managed to go to a Mexican restaurant, have a very satisfying meal, and not eat any grains (corn or rice, which if you think about most Mexican entrees contain). What was nice is that their

 menu specifics what dishes on the menu are gluten free, and they were very accommodating on any additional requests I had. 

My husband had the shrimp enchiladas and I had the fish tacos without the tortillas. While there is rice in my photo, I did not touch it. The three pieces of fish, with sauted veggies on top, and a sweet, semi-tangy glaze was delicious on its on. Overall I give the food a B+. I had a glass of house wine, although good, I felt it was a little pricey. I liked the atmosphere, and could go professional or romantic, depending on who and why you're going.

La Terraza

All those deal sites: Living Social, Groupon, Daily Deals, CBS Local, I could go on but you get the point; they all have something in common: you have a 50/50 shot of the deal being totally awesome, a great score, or a bust, a failing business trying to hold on for dear life. Unfortunately, that's kind of how I felt about the purchase of my deal to La Terraza in Old Sacramento. A 60 oz margarita (pitcher and 2 glasses, roughly giving us each 3 full glasses), and a plate of house nachos for $20, supposedly a $40 value. In reality I don't think this was a $40 deal, and here's why: their drink menu did not have any prices, and when I asked how much the pitcher was normally, she said she'd check, but I never got a straight answer. Given that the nachos were $12, that would mean the margarita had to be $28- possible? Maybe, but seems unlikely. 

Now I bought this deal knowing this was my cheat day, as I have given up grains, by choice, and thus do what I can not to eat corn. This wasn't too much of a problem as their chips were wimpy, limp, and and so we really just ate the toppings off of them, and when needed, we used the "fresh" ones that were dropped of at our table with the salsa when we first arrived. The margarita was decent, it gave me a slight buzz, but that was after all three glasses. I know darn well that I could have bought a killer margarita elsewhere for $7 and been very content. The margarita seemed like it was more of a cheap slushy.  

Now let's talk about the atmosphere. Plastic cups, vinyl table cloths: those things are tricky enough to keep clean when camping, why would anyone use those at a restaurant? Dust, and miscellaneous air debre had clung to them, and the hostess looked more like a young club goer in bootie shorts. Let's also mention our waitress never came back to us with a check, so we just left. Oh, and my favorite part, when you go to the women's restroom, when you go into the stall and sit down there is a giant window that was open, so I felt like I was peeing out infront of everyone on the freeway, and if not the freeway, the people on the walkway just slightly below you, between the building and the freeway. 

My friend and I made the most of it, but hands down, this place is a dive! Certainly not allergy friendly, not customer friendly, and I sure would love to hear what Robert Irivine would say about this place.