The dark red, brown and chrome interior makes the restaurant feel more like an upscale tapas bar than a family taco joint. That’s not to say it’s not family friendly – there’s a kids’ menu, and when I was there on Tuesday night, there were several families with young children scarfing down taco salad bowls.

Fish tacos from Swanky's Taco Shop

I ordered the grilled fish tacos. They were two big fish fillets covered in pico de gallo, resting on unfurled tortillas. They came with tasty cilantro lime rice and some steamed vegetables. Chips and salsa aren’t complimentary, but they’re fairly inexpensive. The chips are seasoned with a sort of dry rub that goes particularly well with the guacamole.

Chips and guacamole from Swanky's

At lunch, the service at Swanky’s is diner style. You place your order at the counter, picking out the ingredients for your tacos or taco salad bowl. At dinner, the restaurant switches to full table service.

Swanky’s has two Memphis locations. The one at Poplar and Kirby has live music from some of Memphis’ best up and coming acts on most weekends (some of the only times those bands play outside of Midtown).

Go There:

Swanky’s Taco Shop

On the recommendation of my friend Stacey, I drove out to Hickory Hill to try Tacos Borolas for lunch.

Spicy Pork taco from Tacos Borolas

The menu is loaded with authentic Mexican snacks. The tacos are $1.75 each, and they come with your choice of meat: spicy pork, Mexican sausage, tripe, beef tongue, beef tripe or steak.  My spicy pork taco came to the table naked, but I added cilantro, onions and lime juice from a tray that the waitress brought over.

I also tried a spicy pork sope, a thick tortilla loaded with beans, meat, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes and sour cream.

Spicy pork sope from Tacos Borolas

If you’re going for atmosphere, Tacos Borolas probably won’t be the place for you. The decor is a little sparse, but the staff is completely friendly and the food is inexpensive (the total for my meal and drink was $6.28).

Tacos Borolas is open daily from 9 a.m. (they have breakfast!) to 9 p.m. On Friday and Saturday nights, they’re open until 11 p.m.  For dessert, stop by Panaderia de Ilusion, the bakery / party supply shop next door.

Go There:

Tacos Borolas

It’s incredibly fresh and chunky. It’s not a big red soupy mess like a lot of salsa – it’s totally possible identify the individual vegetables. The salsa has a little kick to it, but not so much that you’ll drink all of your water before the food shows up.

And when the food shows up, watch out.

Chicken especial from Fuego Maya's, Memphis, Tenn.

I wasn’t sure what to order – the menu is three pages full of standard Mexican restaurant offerings (burritos, chimichangas) and more exotic fare (ceviche, various meats covered in sauce).  Our waitress suggested the chicken especial, which is a grilled chicken breast smothered in cheesy sour cream sauce served with rice, guacamole, and an inexplicable piece of very crispy bacon. It was delicious – the cheesy sour cream sauce was so good that I felt like I’d been lied to by every other Mexican restaurant I’ve ever tried. Matthew (my husband) ordered the Chile Rellenos, which he said were absolutely perfect.

Fuego Maya's, Memphis, Tenn.

The restaurant itself is interesting and a little quirkier than, say, El Porton. First of all, there was almost no one there at dinner last night. Secondly, there’s mariachi music playing over the speakers. That’s not so strange, I guess. But every few minutes, the Fuego Maya’s theme music plays, and a man speaking Spanish talks excitedly about the restaurant. Essentially, it’s a commercial for the place that you’ve already chosen to patronize.

Fuego Maya’s has fountain Pepsi products, but skip that and order a Coke instead. They’ll bring you a tall glass bottle full of Mexican Coke, which is made with cane sugar, not corn syrup.

My friend Memphis Jones went to check out Fuego Maya’s for Backbeat Memphis. He’s totally A-list – the mariachi band let him sit in:

The restaurant can be a little tricky to find (especially since their sign was burned out last night). It’s on Macon Road, at the intersection of Macon and Wells Station. It’s in the little shopping center on the North East corner, next to the laundromat.

Go There:

Fuego Maya’s

4308 Macon Road
Memphis, TN 38122

“Love love LOVE the food there but I can definitely skip the talk about the freshness of the food. I can tell when I eat it.”

So, at her request, I’m not going to talk about how fresh all of the ingredients in my tacos were. Instead, you can see it for yourself.

Fish Tacos from Las Tortugas, Memphis, Tenn.

I had an order of fish tacos (made with red snapper) topped with cilantro, avocado, and some creamy, spicy green sauce wrapped in palm-sized corn tortillas. The tacos came with a side of chips, pico de gallo and more of the tasty green sauce.

Las Tortugas prides itself on serving the sort of authentic dishes that you would find at an upscale taqueria or torteria in Mexico City. There are no burritos, no chalupas, and don’t even think about asking if the staff could add sour cream on the side. Instead, the restaurant serves tacos and tortas (Mexican sandwiches), elote (corn on the cob covered in mayo and cheese), and frescas (refreshing fruit drinks).

The tiny, popular restaurant is run by native Mexican Pepe and his son Jonathan (who is completely cute and charming). There are posters on the wall of Pepe skydiving, laminated copies of articles about the restaurant and signs that note that the staff doesn’t care where you’re from or what kind of Mexican food you’re used to – this is their shop, and that if you just give it a try, you’ll love it.

Deli Mexicana, Memphis, Tenn.

Go There:

Las Tortugas Deli Mexicana