Olivia and I met up for the second lunch in our Monthly Lunch Club. Last month we went to Blackbird. This month we went to De Cero. I love De Cero so much. All I have ever gotten there is a la carte tacos. The tacos are delicious but De Cero also has a lot of sentimental value to me because when I worked at FeedBurner we used to go to De Cero for every occasion. It was appropriate that we also had our FeedBurner reunion there over the summer, which was the last time I was at the restaurant. I was due for a visit. Olivia had never been to De Cero. Hopefully she enjoyed it as much as I do.
Pictured above from back to front above, I had:
- al pastor, tender chile seared pork with onion, pineapple, cilantro and lime (great spicy/sweet combo)
- avocado, with white onion, roasted garlic, cilantro, and crema (least best this time, it was cold and the onions very raw)
- vegetarian black beans, with garlic, avocado, cilantro, and crema (a favorite taco)
Not pictured, Olivia had:
- rajas, hot and mild roasted peppers, potatoes, cream, and cotija queso
- braised duck, with sweet corn salsa
- tilapia, special taco of the day
It’s nice that Olivia and I are seeing each other more regularly now and that the time doesn’t slip by and we say “oh, we should hang out” and then never do. I’m having fun trying these restaurants and getting to know her better. One by one we plan to meet monthly and peck off these higher-end restaurants that may be too pricey for dinner, but are affordable for lunch. For next month we talked about maybe going to Bayless’ place. Anyone have any other suggestions?
You can’t go wrong with Frontera Grill (Bayless’ place) except I don’t think they take reservations.
I saw Mercat a la Planxa on Check Please! — looks good. Or in the opposite direction I always enjoyed Coco Pazzo Cafe.
Thanks for the suggestions, Lynn. I haven’t been to either of those places. I will have to look into them more.
I should note that I work downtown and Olivia is in Pilsen. So far she’s been driving up and giving me a ride from my office to lunch and back. I should also note that I keep it at an hour or less for lunch. I normally just eat a packed lunch at my desk so I don’t feel so bad going out for an hour once/month.