Chip Chip Hooray! JOTORO Saves the Day!

Welcome back to another Good Mood Food review! This week I had the pleasure of indulging in a delightful, mouth-watering meal at JOTORO Kitchen and Tequila Bar. If you are looking for a spin on your traditional taco and tequila nightspot and want to still have an enjoyable atmosphere, JOTORO is just the place for you. You can find this hidden gem neighborhood taco joint at the corner of Sparkman Wharf in downtown Tampa.

Unlike other popular Mexican restaurants in the Tampa Bay area, such as the fan-favorite Green Lemon, JOTORO offers outdoor seating options, reservations, tastebud satisfying unique mixes of margaritas, signature drink flights, a wide variety of cocktails to choose from as well as your traditional Mexican food but with a twist. The combination of both tacos and Tequila is my favorite by far. With the wide variety of flavors from the spices that are brought in throughout the dishes as well as the unique twists that are taken with tequila to make an array of drink options. These two combined never fail to put me in a good mood with a big smile across my face.

To start off with, they offer a wide selection of appetizers to choose from. The traditional chips can be paired with either salsa, guacamole, tex-mex queso, or a combination of all three. They also offer quesadillas, nachos, Mexican fried rice, and Mexican street corn. During my time there my friend and I started with the tex-mex queso and chips and they were delicious. The chips were light and airy yet still had a nice crunch to them and the queso was smooth and lightweight and was combined with a variety of spices which overall created a unique flavor. I could not stop going back for more.

After devouring the chips and queso, I glanced at the drink menu where I was presented with an overabundance of drinks to choose from. They had a wide selection of unique margaritas to choose from, a handful of specialty cocktails, as well as signature flights. After careful consideration and being unable to choose from all the margaritas offered, I went with the Fast and Furious margarita flight.

This flight consisted of three different types of margaritas. The Mi Casa, The Blue Wave Margarita, and The Prickly Pear. The Mi Casa was their spin on your traditional margarita and it was one of my top two favorites within the flight. If you find margaritas too sour, this margarita had just the right proportions and tasted "delicioso" . Next up is the Blue Wave margarita. This margarita was mixed with blue curacao, peach schnapps, and fresh-squeezed lime. Although it was unique, I was not fond of the flavors. The last margarita that was included in the flight, which was my personal all-time favorite was the Prickly Pear margarita. This margarita was unlike anything I have ever had before. The flavoring from the prickly pear syrup paired with the fresh lime brought about a refreshing sweet margarita with a light pink coloring paired with a slice of dragon fruit for garnishing. This margarita was so good that I ordered a regular-sized drink to enjoy it even more!

After sampling each of my margaritas, I was presented again with a plethora of choices to choose from but this time for my entree. My favorite Mexican dishes are tacos, burritos, enchiladas, and fajitas and unfortunately for me, they had three out of the four of those options, and with that, multiple kinds of each one, making it extremely difficult to choose. I ended up deciding on getting a burrito and was torn between the chicken fundido burrito and the classic east la style steak burrito. The chicken fundido burrito consisted of adobo chicken, queso fundido, rice, beans, crema, and chipotle hot sauce drizzle and the classic east la style steak burrito, which is a JOTORO favorite, consisted of salsa ranchero, rice, beans, cream, and cheese.

After pondering on the two for quite some time, I found myself choosing the chicken fundido burrito. It was beautifully prepared and full of vibrant colors throughout the dish. There was a bit of a bite to the burrito from the chipotle hot sauce that was drizzled on top but I enjoyed the kick. The spice was perfectly distributed throughout each bite and was not overpowering. The components inside of the burrito created flavorful bites with each one you took. The overall combination of everything that this burrito consisted of was phenomenal and I wish I could have it right now as I am writing this. I would highly suggest this or any of the other menu items offered to anyone looking for a twist on your traditional Mexican night. They all looked incredible, you will not be disappointed. Stay tuned for a possible part two of JOTORO shortly as I will be back for those other burritos and enchiladas sometime soon and I hope you will too!

Left to Right Drinks:

Blue Wave Margarita, Mi Casa, and Prickly Pear

Chicken Fundido Burrito

Left: Strawberry Margarita

Right: Prickly Pear Margarita