Rebecca Weger

While it’s true that we cook a lot and eat at home a lot, sometimes we don’t. Sometimes we’re lazy, and sometimes we’re cheap. Tonight was one of those nights.

A few times a year I have to work really long hours to meet deadlines at work. This is one of those times. At 7:00 pm I decided it was time for a break. A quick phone call settled the matter and Joseph went to grab a place in line for us at Viva!.

Viva! is a local Mexican-ish restaurant (that’s my disclaimer for those of you who have really authentic Mexican restaurants in your neighborhood) that is usually pretty crowded. It has a strong reputation for good food, inexpensive food, and a great vegetarian selection. They also know what the ingredients are in all of their food, which makes it easy to navigate for those of us on restricted diets.

Viva! has an interesting setup in that there are really two restaurants in one. On one side you find the taqueria. It’s cheap, with a lot of food for your money. Like, the burritos are between $2.50 and $8. Folks mostly get takeout, but there are perhaps 10 tables – of the colorful hand-painted sort.

One the other side you find the cantina. This was our destination tonight. There is a full bar that specializes in tequila (you can order tequila flights), and a sit-down restaurant with table service. No reservations, and they won’t seat you until your entire party is present. The prices are a little higher on items that are similar to those in the taqueria, but the overall menu has a much broader selection. Everything on the menu is vegetarian except the meats and the Caesar dressing. Most menu items let you choose your filling – with calabacitas, marinated tofu, and beans all as options.

We weren’t hugely hungry tonight, but we had plenty of food, there was one margarita at our table and we tend to be generous tippers. The total for the two of us was $24.