614 East Oltorf Street
Austin, Texas 78704
512-444-0012
www.currasgrill.com
I love the avocado. Pretty much everything about it. I even love the strong presence of its color in 70s home décor. I refer of course to the memories of my hideous -yet fabulous- childhood sofa, which oddly enough can now be found in your local Urban Outfitters for a cool $600. Why hipsters now opt for a sofa style that I barfed on when I was six eludes me, but I digress…. I also like that the avocado is making itself known. Avocado even has its own marketing campaign, which is almost as good as the effort to re-launch the prune as “dried plums,” or California cows as “happy cows” (read: cows whose husbands have bought them fake breasticles, a white Range Rover and a lifetime supply of Valium). As a side note, in doing a little research, I found that Texas is home to three of the top five avocado consuming cities in the US.
And deep in the heart of Texas, we relish few things as much as the Dallas Cowboys, Creationism and table side guacamole. I’ve even come across breaded, deep-fried avocados stuffed with shredded chicken and cheese. Yes. Oh, yes. But I’m here to tell you about a match made in Heaven. It’s like the culinary equivalent to Fred and Ginger. Or Tim Burton and Helena Bonham Carter. Well, something like that. I refer of course to the avocado margarita.
Tequila and a vegetable serving with heart-healthy Omega-3 fatty acids? Yes. Oh, yes. Sure, it sounds like a terrible combination. However, somehow Curra’s pulls off this unlikely pairing with flying colors. The drinks are served frozen, with the avocado blended right in. The rich, fattiness of avocado makes for a smoother, almost creamy margarita. Somehow, it tempers the kick of the Triple Sec without completely owning it.
This little libation gem can be found at Curra’s Grill; the self-proclaimed “Mother of All Mex.” Fortunately, the food is fantastic as well. In addition to avocado margaritas, I came across perhaps the best veggie tamales ever and phenomenal shrimp flautas. To be honest, the vegetarian tacos left a little to be desired, but we figured two out of three ain’t bad.
Sitting on the patio we noticed the large, tacky, neon sign announcing Curra’s Interior Mexican Cuisine. Which brings me to one final question: just what the hell is Interior Mexican Cuisine? Anyone? This sparked a discussion at our dinner table, at which my sisters and I noticed that this type of declaration is not made in the Dallas area. Sure, it’s Texas, so Dallas Mexican restaurants are a dime a dozen. But they are generally non-descript. Whereas in Austin, you can’t seem to swing a drag queen’s wig without hitting a damn restaurant specializing in Interior Mexican Cuisine.
Sure I could easily look up a Wiki article on Interior Mexican Cuisine; but then I’d have no good excuse to make the walk to Curra’s for further investigation of this mysterious food faction…. and a little avocado margarita.
by Phyllis Anastasia Gasper
[Photo: Chappy Sinclaire from tacotown.org]
