Recently in Mexican/Latin Category

Tres Hombres petaluma; Where to go for tequila in Petaluma? Tres Hombres. There's a separate margarita menu, featuring everything from blended fruit sippers to traditional shaken margaritas made with their premium tequilas, making this a weekend hotspot.

La Texanita on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives

BiteClub reviews Santa Rosa's first Puerto Rican eatery

How to make great guacamole? Start with avocados. Plus, restaurants in Sonoma County making great guacamole.

BBQ at Saint Rose, Nonni's, Casa Del Mar

El Coqui on the horizon

Number 42 on my ongoing must-eat list: birria, a Mexican meat stew usually made with lamb or goat. Along with pozole and menudo, it's one-dish comfort food that attracts the same kind of dedicated followers you find face-first in a...

Located well off the main square, Juanita, Juanita is everything a divey little spot should be: Ramshackle, weird, a little dusty around the edges, un-air conditioned and with politely detached wait staff. The Modern Tijanuana decor equals vibrant paint, faded pinatas, neon beer signs and hand-drawn pictures covering the walls. It's charming to the extreme--the kind of place visitors are thrilled to stumble upon for the "real" Sonoma experience. Whether locals appreciate that discovery is a whole other thing.

Time to tighten the money belt and suss out lunches with a slimmer economic profile. But hey, let's not get crazy. They've still got to taste, well, reasonably good.

Antojitos La Texanita: Located on Sebastopol Ave., Texanita is a perennial taqueria favorite for locals, with constantly changing daily specials. Avoid the obvious: A serious burritophile friend got burned by the lackluster pollo asado. Weekends are for serious eaters, with posole, menudo and goat on the menu.

One of my favorite taco spots in Santa Rosa

I don't speak Spanish. I do speak Fried. As in chicken, mozzarella sticks, zucchini, the occasional Blooming Onion, and once a Twinkie. In the universal language of crispy deliciousness, I am fluent.