Flavor of Oklahoma: Tacos x Mezcal transports taste buds south of the border

A Tulsa restaurant is bringing authentic flavors of Mexico to Oklahoma.

Tacos x Mezcal offers unique tacos, authentic appetizers, and drinks made with high-quality spirits to transport taste buds south of the border.

The food and drink at Tacos x Mezcal will transport you to a Mexican beach, rain or shine.

“The vision was to bring something from Mexico that's a little different than what Tulsa’s doing in the cuisine department; in the spirit department, we do focus on the agave-driven bar,” said General Manager Steven Garcia.

He says TXMZ is all about simple, fresh ingredients done right.

“What I liked about here is that it was back to basics,” said Assistant General Manager Alberto Gallegos. “It's simple, but that makes a big difference in the quality and the freshness."

The restaurant is vibrant, playful, and laid-back, and the food is just as colorful, inspired by flavors from the Mexican Pacific coast, with most everything made in-house.

“Freshness is the way to go,” Garcia said.

When it comes to guacamole, simple meets creative with the optional addition of chapulines. Don’t freak out by that translation:

“We do a guac with crickets: crunchy, limey, salty,” said Garcia.

“It’s fresh mashed avocado; that's the way it's a lot in Mexico,” Gallegos said.

Simple avocado is garnished, and then the crickets make their debut.

“It's like a little pork rind, but it's a chapulines,” Garcia said.

We’ll come back to that. If you’re not as adventurous, try the skillet queso fundido.

“It’s just cheese melted on a skillet,” said Garcia.

It gets all bubbly and hot, and it’s best served wrapped in a warm tortilla.

“You kind of pinch and pull,” Gallegos said. “It's just so good.”

Another appetizer option is the tlayuda, which is like a Mexican pizza.

“Corn tortilla, refried beans, chorizo, chicken, avocado, jalapeños; you can't get it anywhere else around here.”

A crispy tortilla is stacked with all kinds of toppings and bursting with spice.

“It has so much flavor to it, so many layers of flavor,” said Gallegos.

The tacos are the star here at TXMZ, and there are a ton to choose from.

“She’s working on the sauté for the taco de salmón,” Garcia said.

There’s the glaze, which includes sautéed spinach and lime crema.

There’s also glazed pork belly, carne asada, al pastor with pineapple, and chicken tinga.

In fact, chefs made nearly all of them for us to sample, including the often-forgotten roasted beet taco.

“It’s a roasted beet taco, vegan option with cilantro, pesto, roasted beets, pickled carrot, mango-habanero salsa,” said Garcia.

It is a little sweet and delicious.

The beer-battered mahi-mahi taco is served with guac, slaw, and chipotle aioli. It’s crispy, but not too much.

You can’t forget about the mezcal part of Tacos x Mezcal. Each margarita is created with high-quality Mexican spirits and freshly squeezed juices.

Even the coconuts are cracked right at the restaurant. Bartender Bri knocks it out of the park, shaking a drink with the hibiscus mint and coconut margarita.

It's not too sweet, and you can taste how fresh it is, with a nice balance to it.

With a little liquid courage, we're coming back to the cricket guacamole. Don’t knock it until you try it!

TXMZ pushes the boundaries with its fun dishes, but the ingredients are key. With a fun environment and hospitality at the forefront, come here to try something new, and you may just be back for more.

“I strongly believe when you go to a place, you can have simple items,” Garcia said. “If it's done with good ingredients, it sets you apart.”

TXMZ is located at 39 E 18th St, Tulsa, OK 74119. Another location will soon be coming to Broken Arrow’s Rose District.

We’re always looking for unique, special restaurants all over Green Country. You can send an email to Kristen.Weaver@Griffin.news with your recommendations.

You can also follow @Kristeats on Instagram.