Villa Azteca
157 Main St., Salinas
(831) 256-2669, villa-azteca.res-menu.com
If Villa Azteca were to design a game of Lotería – iconic for its depiction of everyday items on playing cards – the family-run restaurant would probably depict things like their handmade tortillas using different types of heirloom corn, a nopal which they lovingly prepare as a taco filling, a margarita (pink from a prickly pear), a molcajete (pestle and mortar) that they use to make their variety of fresh salsa, and perhaps a cazuela (a traditional Mexican clay dish). It would be a fun deck of cards. In real life, Villa Azteca brings familiar Mexican flavors with a modern and playful flare. That is as colorful as a game of Lotería, but much more edible.
