When it’s Time to Celebrate

Written By: Luke Osteen | Issue: June 2023 | Photograph By: Susan Renfro

I believe it was the great Dorothy Parker who said, “Eating Mexican food is just like playing the accordion – you can’t help but be Happy!”

(I may be wrong on this. I’m pushing deadline and it’s late at night. A decent editor/restaurant reviewer would do a quick online search and verify this, but I don’t have a good wireless signal at the moment.)

Anyway, Tricia and I treated ourselves to a well-deserved meal at Los Vaqueros on Friday evening, the end of a workweek that had somehow dragged on for 17 days.

Sweetening the meal was the fact that this was May 5, Cinco de Mayo – ¡Ole! The dining room was packed, but the mood was buoyant, with tables lubricated by frosty mugs of cerveza and carefully calibrated margaritas.

For our little table, that meant the arrival of Negra Modelo and an astonishing Texas Margarita.

A Texas Margarita is distinguished from its staider brethren by the application of jalapeño agave. When that unique hot sweetness is blended with tequila and lime, well, it’s a sensation that’s the gustatory equivalent of a mariachi band setting up on your palate.

Now I’m on record for not liking the taste of alcohol, but this was simply irresistible. Adding to the seduction, the Large is truly Grande.

At the same time that our drinks arrived, we welcomed to the table bowls of chips and salsa, chips and queso, and chips and glorious guacamole.

We also noticed and called out to seven friends who’d arrived and scattered through the dining room. Los Vaqueros is that kind of place – eventually everyone shows up.

And complementing that exuberance and that alcohol-induced affability was our server Jasmine, who never lost sight of the fact that our meal was a celebration and was patient and relentlessly cheerful.

That’s kind of a hallmark of Los Vaqueros – that warm, attentive service makes it easier to treat your meal like a celebration. Owners Ivan and Rigo keep a close eye on the Dining Room to ensure that the servers are constantly moving, always gauging the mood of their tables.

We dined on Chiles Poblanos and Chori Pollo, a fantastic blending of Chorizo and Grilled Chicken, which had become our comfort foods from previous visits.

As I’ve noted before, the pressure is on in the kitchen of a Mexican Restaurant. The emphasis is on quick service.

But once more, even on this busiest of nights, Chef Francisco was at the top of his game, and each item prepared by his kitchen was obviously crafted with care.

So you see, when it’s time to relax, when it’s time to celebrate, when you need to sample something created by a clever bartender, Los Vaqueros is saving a table for you.

Oh, and as I’m wrapping this up, the power came back on, and the internet is flowing once more.

It turns out that Dorothy Parker never said anything about Mexican Food. That opening quote was the product of my tequila-fueled imagination.
by Luke Osteen photos by Susan Renfro