It’s exciting to be one of the Press’ two new Food Whisperers. Truth be told, the real culinary expert in our house is my husband, who loves to cook (the more complicated the better). However, I do know how to make great reservations, and can’t wait to try some new places, revisit some familiar favorites, and share my thoughts with the Press community.
To get started, on a recent rainy Friday, my eldest daughter and I ventured to West Concord for dinner at Adelita, one of three restaurants in The Farm at Woods Hill family (of course the superb Woods Hill Table down the street from Adelita is another, with Woods Hill Pier 4 in the Seaport the third). All three use sustainably sourced local ingredients with menus that feature grass-fed proteins, sustainably caught fish, raw milk cheeses, and organic produce.
And Adelita serves great tacos!
Ah, tacos. With roots in Mexico as the favored meal of 18th-century silver miners and with a long street-food history, the taco has become so popular in the U.S. it is celebrated weekly (Taco Tuesday). Taco options here have come a long way from the hard-shell boxed kits that were a staple when we had young kids and needed to figure out seven dinners a week.
At Adelita there are nine varieties of tacos on the regular menu, ranging from the fairly standard pulled pork, chicken, beef, and shrimp to the more exotic chorizo, lamb, and al Pastor—adobo marinated pork with pineapple. There is also a vegetarian option: buttermilk fried delicata squash. All are served as plates of three, with soft corn or flour tortillas. Pickled red onions are featured in several taco choices as well as in several other entrees.
When we entered the restaurant around 6:15 p.m., the place was almost full, but we were seated quickly, admiring the fun décor as we walked to our table. Almost immediately, a basket of chips and salsa arrived. My daughter declared them a “10 out of 10.”
To start, my daughter chose a mojito passion made with Mexican rum and passion fruit served in a glass that looked like a small terracotta urn. It was tasty, a bit sweet. I had the Adelita margarita, a not-too-sweet cocktail with a mild tequila taste (it’s made with a reposado tequila, which means it has been barrel-aged).
The night we visited, the special was swordfish tacos with pickled red onions and pickled mustard seeds on corn tortillas, which my daughter ordered. These were delicious and unusual. The swordfish was smoked, which really came across, though the pickled onions were a nice counterbalance. The pickled mustard seeds added a bit of crunch.
While Adelita’s logo proclaims “Tacos and Margaritas” and the front window sports a lighted ‘TACOS’ sign, they offer a few other options. I chose the chicken enchiladas with green sauce—three corn tortillas with flavorful chicken, drizzled with just enough queso sauce. The refried beans were creamy and the rice fluffy.
We also ordered Mexican street corn, which was great, again a smoky flavor with a delicious crema sauce. We each could manage only one half-cob-sized piece, taking the rest home to the real food whisperer of the family who also gave a “very good” rating.
Coming back to the drinks. Beyond 10 or so margarita choices, Adelita offers other cocktails, sangria, beer, and wine. Most intriguing is the restaurant’s separate menu outlining tequila options on one side—about 20—and mezcal options on the other—again about 20. Later I learned that both are made from the agave plant, but tequila can be made only with Blue Weber agave (which is apparently cultivated). Mezcal can be made from any kind of agave plant (wild or cultivated). Mezcal tends to be more “small batch,” meaning lots of potential variations, while the tequila process yields more consistency and is more conducive to mass production. (For more, see Food & Wine’s January 2023 article “What’s the Difference Between Tequila and Mezcal?”)
We were reluctant to venture back into the rain, so we hung out awhile to enjoy the vibe, which is slightly dark, with string lights and Monrovian star lanterns sharing ceiling space with extra-large Mexican banners (papel picado, or punched paper). Wall décor is eclectic, ranging from an array of succulents to vintage travel posters to a huge dream-like painting: a faded, intentionally obscured in places, scene of a deer, rabbit, penguin, and wolf around a table sharing watermelon. That caught our eye as we left, as did a neighboring table’s plate of nachos, which looked superb.
Adelita also offers catering and private events. Catering options include a make-your-own taco bar that apparently can be “leveled up” to a whole pig roast!
Alice Bartram leaves much of the cooking to her husband, though she has many Instagram-saved recipes that she’ll get to one day as, really, she finds eating out more fun than cooking.
