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I love Italian food. I’ve always loved it, but I miss the variety of cuisines available to me back in Medford. Although most of the restaurants were tiny and didn’t have the best quality, I could get any type of food I wanted at any time. Davis Square in Somerville MA is a short ten-minute drive, where varieties of cuisines are available. From Italian to Japanese to Mexican I could have any kind of food I wanted, and my go to restaurant was always Tenoch.  

Tenoch Mexican Taqueria has three locations, in Somerville, Boston, and one in my hometown, Medford. At least once a week I would ask my mom to drive me to Tenoch to get my favorite meals, either a rice and bean burrito, or fish tacos. We would always go to the restaurant in Medford, not wanting to deal with the struggle of parking in Davis Square, and take our order to go to be able to eat and watch some of our favorite movies.  

This was one of the many traditions my mom and I share. With my sister off at college it is just the two of us in the house, and because we had such busy schedules some nights, we couldn’t eat dinner together. Instead of making dinner after a long day, my mom would ask me what I wanted for takeout. Usually this would be on Saturday nights after I spent five hours at dance lessons, and my mom spent the day doing errands and chores around the house. She would pick me up in Arlington, ask me what I wanted to eat, and drive back to Medford to pick up the food. 

Usually I would still be in my dance clothes, and I was too embarrassed to go into the restaurant with my mom to order the food, so I sat in the car and waited for her to come back with our meals. The delicious, savory smell would fill the car, and for the short drive home I would get antsy, eager to dig into my meal. 

My two favorite meals to order at Tenoch are a fish taco, and a rice and bean burrito. I’ve tried other options on the menu, such as a fish torta, but being a pescatarian I couldn’t really try all the other meat options. 

The fish taco is always my go to after a long day, when I need a big meal with lots of protein. The taco was served in a soft corn tortilla, heated up and chipotle sauce spread lightly. On top there’s a slice of fish cooked with a light layer of breading on top. Covering the fish is a creamy, spicy layer of chipotle mayo, with cilantro, onions, and cucumber slices on top. The tacos are always served with slices of lime on the side, to add extra (but not needed) flavor.  

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When you bite into the taco you hear a nice crunch from the breaded crispy fish, and the fresh cucumber. The chipotle mayo balanced the crispiness of the fish, making sure the dish was not dry, but moist. The mayo also added an extra layer of spiciness. The onion and cilantro offer an aromatic flavor to the dish, making it feel like a cultural immersion. 

The rice and bean burrito, although simple, is filled with flavor-just like everything on the menu. I’ve tried many rice and bean burritos from a variety of Mexican restaurants finding most of them to be bland, but the burrito from Tenoch makes me so happy. The black beans are soaked in a sauce. Although it hasn’t been revealed what is in the sauce, it makes the beans salty, savory, and adds the extra flavor of onion.  

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The rice was flavored nicely, adding a bright orange and red color to the burrito. Personally, I hate mixing cheese and guacamole in my burritos, I hate the texture of it, and my family always makes fun of me for that. Instead I like to jam pack the rest of my burrito with better toppings such as guacamole, Pico de Gallo, lettuce, corn, and carrots. Because I don’t get any meat in my burritos, the workers add extra rice and beans really stuffing the burrito. 

The restaurant also serves tortas, their most popular dish. I’ve only gotten the torta once, it was a fish torta, and although it was delicious, I still prefer the fish tacos. 

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Although there is diversity in the cuisine here in Florence, I have not found a good Mexican restaurant. I’ve tried lots of Asian style restaurants, American style food, and of course Italian, but I really do miss the comfort of Tenoch. Maybe it’s not just the food that I miss, maybe it’s the memories associated with the restaurant, and this is my way of admitting that I am a little homesick, but I would love to have a good fish taco or rice and bean burrito right now.