Ándale, ándale to Davis Square
PHOTOS BY CHRIS SANCHEZ @IAMCHRISSANCHEZ // @TWOFATKIDSBLOG
By the time we showed up at Davis, just before 5 pm on a seemingly innocuous Tuesday evening, there was already a line forming, everyone eagerly anticipating the opening of the doors and the promise of plates piled high with chili rellenos, Mexican street corn, and, of course, tacos. And it was a good thing we were among them, because by 6 pm it was a full house and the homemade chips and tequila were flowing generously
… if we remember correctly.
The décor at The Painted Burro is simple, rustic—rough-hewn salvaged doors serve as tables under exposed wooden beam ceilings, and red and white walls are adorned with branches, live plants, and Dia de los Muertos-style murals, including a particularly spunky unicorn-donkey hybrid (a unikey? Donkorn? Whatever.). The bar is re-purposed timber and pressed tin, and an old door from a Mexican church hangs stoically on a wall.
Chef Dante Bua, formerly of Mistral, is manning the kitchen with a menu that he says stems from an exploratory trip to Mexico that owner Joe Cassinelli (also owner of nearby Posto) took to discover some traditional dishes. Dante did some very delicious research of his own to come up with his own unique spin on the Latin flavors, including not-gonna-find-em-everywhere ingredients like roasted plum mole, tamarind butter, and ever-popular lamb necks.
Starters run the gamut from tame salads with twists like tomatillo/agave vinaigrette and papaya tostadas all the way to the slightly more adventurous and quite firm chilled octopus and shrimp salad with charro beans and epazote (an herb known as “Mexican tea”) dressing ($13). We also sampled a creamy guacamole with gigantic slabs of chewy pork belly on top ($13)—we were glad they included a spoon because the chips were no use against so much heft. The real standout for us was the ceviche del mar ($14), a pinch-you-in-the-back-of-the-throat delight of Maine redfish, red snapper, scallops and crunchy radishes submerged in a succulent citrus bath.
Let’s talk taco.
The Painted Burro has several varieties to choose from, each heaped upon a few small tortillas that make them perfect for sharing or straight-up solo gobbling. Choose from tempters like the chorizo de la casa with a sunny-side up farm egg and potatoes ($12) or zucchini and nopales (prickly pear) with charred lemon mayo ($11). The Big Dog, however, is the Chupacabra—three monstrous tacos swollen with chorizo, lamb neck barbacoa, slow-roasted pork, skirt steak, pickled cabbage, and two different kinds of mayo ($21). Note: This is not a sexy first date dish, unless your date is a competitive eater.
The entrees are not to be forgotten, mind you—possibly one of the best things we tried was the mouth-watering street cart chicken with achiote-citrus marinade, kale, fried plantain, and sweet tamarind butter ($19). Plus, there are other contenders like a grilled mahi mahi Veracruzana ($23), short rib barbacoa with poblano and Oaxaca grits ($26), and a duck leg cazuela (“cooking pot”) with braised root veggies ($19).
Oh, and did we mention there’s tequila? Lots of it.
Around 100 different varieties, to be exact, which you can order uno a uno or in flights of three with a tasty little sangrita on the side—basically the juices of everything in pico de gallo—to clear you palate in between sips. If you like your booze masked like a Mexican wrestler, you can go for a margarita or cocktail like a watermelon-ginger martini or a frozen burro colada, or there’s always the cerveza, which comes in a paper bag. Because we’re fancy like that.
THE PAINTED BURRO
219 ELM ST.
SOMERVILLE
617.776.0005.
OPEN EVERY DAY AT 5PM
@THEPAINTEDBURRO
THEPAINTEDBURRO.COM