Condado: Royal Oak, MI

Now this one might come as a shock to any of those who know how much I despise "popular" things, but what type of Metro Detroiter would I be without reviewing something from Royal Oak? While I may hate the later nights where I end up staying until the Fifth Ave bar lights come on, I gotta say Royal Oak has some bomb food- so catchya later, hater!

Anyways, I think it's vital to note that my love of tacos is growing stronger everyday. Recently I have been making it a priority to try out as many taco places as I can (don't worry more reviews to come) and my quality of life has immensely improved. So yesterday I had to opportunity to try Condado, and boy am I impressed.

So the premise of this restaurant is that you make your own tacos (nachos and bowls are also available) . If you have the frozen yogurt syndrome and see all the available options and feel the need to overload everything onto your taco- whether or not it pairs well- you might want to stick to their taco suggestion page. For those of us who have self control, welcome to the coolest fucking place you've ever been too! You start by picking your shell, then your choice of protein, followed by your desired toppings, cheeses, salsas, and sauces. With hundreds of different possibilities, you're destined to try the taco of your dreams.

Unfortunately, for lent i gave up both cheese AND bread so I had to limit my options and was forced to skip out on the queso :'( but my taco creations were absolutely to die for. What is even better than their tacos might you ask? Their happy hour! If you dine in from 3-7pm Monday-Friday, you can receive half off their signature margaritas and $1 tacos. When I began to research a little more about this joint, I found out that all of the locations are street-art inspired and each restaurant (they have several throughout the Midwest) are designed by their staff and local artists! Everything from the decor to the tequila was on point here, make sure to pop in an enjoy some good nom noms.

Mushroom Rigatoni

Mushrooms we're always one of those things that I never really liked but had every intention of wanting to like. I kid you not, one day I woke up and tried a mushroom, loved it, and ever since then my life seems to make a little more sense. Now I make excuses to use mushrooms as much as possible and when the idea popped up in my head for a creamy mushroom rigatoni I simply couldn't resist. If you're someone who doesn't like mushrooms, try this recipe and learn to like them- it's cheaper than therapy! 

- 4 tbsp of Butter

- 2 tbsp of Olive Oil

- Fresh Chopped Garlic

- White Onion 

- 2 packaged of MUSHROOOOMS

- 1 cup of White Wine (I used my ~fav~ Sauv Blanc)

- 1/2 cup of Chicken Broth 

- 1/2 cup of Heavy Cream

- Package of Rigatoni Noodles

- 2 Tomatoes 

- Chives

- Parmesan Cheese

Instructions:

1. I read somewhere online once about how the flavor balance when you mix butter and olive oil together makes for a unique taste when making a simpler dish, so for this recipe I decided to mix the two. Heat both in the pan until the butter is melted and then throw in as much fresh chopped garlic and white onions as you desire. Cook until the onions have softened up.

2. Add the packages of mushrooms and cook until a nice golden brown color has developed.

3. Add white wine to the pan and let it cook until it has reduced to about half.

4. Then add the chicken broth and simmer until it has also reduced some.

5. Finally add the heavy cream and let boil until sauce thickens to desire consistency (if you want a thicker sauce, make a cornstarch and water slurry and add to the mixture).

6. While sauce thickens, boil rigatoni noodles.

7. When the sauce has finished add the sauce mixture to cooled noodles.

8. Plate the mushroom noodle mixture, top with fresh diced tomatoes, chives, and shaved parmesan cheese!