If you're looking for San Francisco's primary Cinco de Mayo event tomorrow the 5th of May, unfortunately you've missed it. The Civic Center Plaza hosted a celebration this past weekend with food and three stages offering different Latin flavors including mariachis, folkloric dancers, and live bands from salsa to soca play. The holiday has become a celebration of Mexican culture, of food, music and customs unique to Mexico. Annual festivals across America commemorate the Battle of Puebla which took place on May 5, 1862.
Today, Cinco de Mayo celebrates solidarity among Mexican and Latino immigrants to the USA.
San Francisco is rich with Mexican and Latin American roots.
To get a taste of the city's "rugged elegant" places of taste we can recommend a few for Cinco de Mayo 2004:
Latin & Mexican Food
For good food in a casual setting, we suggest the Marina's Andale Taqueria. Andale offers outdoor seating and a fireplace along with some of the better burritos in town.
La Luna - 3126 24th @ Shotwell, San Francisco
La Luna Restaurant (415.282.7110) in the heart of the Mission District, is another top recommendation.
La Luna's Proprietor and Chef, Odette Carmona has created an exotic blend of traditional Latin American dishes often using French techniques. In honor of Cinco de Mayo, she will be serving Asada and Chicken Jalapeno for dinner from 5:30-10:30pm.
La Luna's Asada is grilled steak over black beans topped with ancho chile aioli and roasted tomato salsa. The ($13.95) dish is served with sliced avocado and tortilla chips.
Chicken with Creamy Onion-Jalapeņo Sauce is served with garlic mashed potatoes for $12.00.
You can also expect Caribbean, Spanish and Argentinean flavors at La Luna. Their flavors are exotic and vibrant, well-spiced but not "too hot."
Two Mexican beers are available: Corona and Negro Modelo.
Sierra Nevada, Spaten, Heineken, Rio Claro (from El Salvador), and the non-alcholic beer, Buckler are also served, in addition to a nice selection of Argentinean, Chilean, California and Spanish wines, as well as Sangria.
If you're on the go, one of our favorite Mexican take-outs is Burrito Express (1812 Divisadero at Bush, 415.776.4246 or 1601 Taraval at 26th, 415.566.8300). Their "Vegetarian Special" homestyle burrito is the best we have discovered in the city to-date.
Mexican Jewelry & Latin American Objects d'Art
Xanadu Gallery on Maiden Lane in Union Square carries a beautiful selection of Mexican silver and baskets.
From Pre-Columbian archeological artifacts to the finest ongoing traditional craftsmanship, Xanadu also offers a millennial array of objects that tell the history of Latin America's many cultures.
SF's Only Frank Lloyd Wright Building Houses Xanadu Gallery
Xanadu (415.392.9999) is open Mon-Sat 10am-6pm.
For a selection of "rugged elegant" places of taste in the city, go to: SF.RuggedElegance.com and select the Genre, "Latin" or "Mexican."
For a history of Cinco de Mayo and The Battle of Puebla, go to: MexOnline.com
For a full online profile, exact address and hours to Select RuggedElegance.com Establishments in this story, click on each highlighted establishment name.
Muchas Gracias!
~Jennifer King
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