Friday, December 11, 2009
News / Restaurant openings Hola, Chica! Taco Mamacita Has Arrived
Posted by Dana Kopp Franklin on Fri, Dec 11, 2009 at 2:57 PM
"Funky fusion" Mexican joint Taco Mamacita opened today in the Edgehill Village space vacated by Rosario's.
The "very eclectic" taco restaurant is a spinoff of a popular Chattanooga eatery. It's owned by Mike Monen, a former partner in the Sticky Fingers barbecue chain, his wife Taylor Monen, and managing partner Chad Phillips.
The Monens completely gutted and expanded the Edgehill Village corner lot that once held Rosario's. The restaurant now seats 150.
Mike Monen studied with one of the luminaries of Mexican cuisine, New York chef Roberto Santibañez, to learn classic Mexican technique. Then he got creative with fusion elements. The menu includes things as basic as fresh chicken tortilla soup (prepared tableside) or as novel as the Asian-influenced General Homeboy taco (panko-breaded shrimp with sweet Thai chili sauce, shredded Napa cabbage, sliced radish, green onions and cilantro).
Another specialty is Peruvian-style rotisserie chicken, with lime juice and seasonings. Virtually everything on the menu appears to be $12.99 or less. (The Peruvian feast, which includes chicken, salad and two side dishes, feeds 3-4 people and is $26.99.)
The restaurant also lures the thirsty with signature cocktails made with premium tequilas and fresh-squeezed juices.
As for beer, Taco Mamacita will start out serving only a select menu of high-alcohol beers, including local Yazoo Sue on draft. The Monens are confident they will eventually get permission to serve regular lower-alcohol beer, which due to complicated local laws is a separate, and often more difficult, process.
Taco Mamacita is at 1200 Villa Place (730-8552).
Comments (3)
Showing 1-3 of 3
I ran into Dana last night, just after she'd been to dinner at Mamacita. She said they served the best Margarita she had ever had.
like
dislike
I guess that makes me sound easily impressed. But it was Mamacita's Cadillac version of their margarita, with Patron reposado, Grand Marnier and fresh lime juice over shaved ice. Yum.
I disagree -- I think it's a tribute to how good a mrgarita can be, but never it. I had a handmade margarita at tayst -- it was just unbelievable. On the other hand, the last time we were at La Hacienda, the margarita-mix-from-a-bottle was just terrible and I've stopped getting them.
