CLEVELAND, Ohio – Voting to determine the finalists for Northeast Ohio’s Best Mexican Restaurant contest began Tuesday and Mexican food lovers have logged 2,700 votes so far.
Don’t see your favorite near the top? Have no fear, you still have time to help your favorite advance to the Top 20 and secure a visit from cleveland.com. Simply cast your vote in the poll below. You may vote hourly until voting ends on Tuesday, April 9 at 9 a.m.
We will be visiting each of the finalists. We are excited to see, taste, and drink what everyone has to offer. Everything from burritos and margaritas to fried ice cream.
Not only will we be sampling all of the delicious foods, but we will be sharing with you our favorites through words and pictures. We will also be posting our schedule so that you can join us if you are available and in the area.
Here are the 44 establishments who are hoping to snag the title of Northeast Ohio’s Best Mexican Restaurant. You can help them by voting, as the Top 20 advance to the final round.
If you’re viewing this on a mobile device and don’t see the poll graphic below, please go to cleveland.com/best. From there, click on the first article and scroll down to see the poll.
CONTEST DETAILS
Once you -- our readers -- have determined the finalists, Cleveland’s Best reporting team of Brenda Cain and Yadi Rodriguez will hit the road to visit your choices April 16-May 13. We will take in the whole experience, everything from the chips and salsa to the atmosphere, fajitas and flan. We will publish our opinions on the foods, along with lots of photos and video from each restaurant.
We hope you’ll join us along the way (and help us eat all the food!), so we will publish our schedule of visits in mid-April.
In the end, we will name an ultimate winner, the Top 10 and the Best of the Rest. We will also have lots of delicious superlative winners such as Best Guacamoles, Best Margaritas and Best Chimichangas.
WHO’S IN THIS FIRST ROUND OF VOTING?
Here’s a list of the 44 Best Mexican Restaurant contenders, listed in alphabetical order, including the city in which they are located. Remember to vote in the poll above.
A-K: Blue Habanero Street Tacos & Tequila, Cleveland; Casa Del Rio, Wadsworth; Compadres, multiple locations; Coyote Mexican Grill & Cantina, Chagrin Falls; Cozumel, multiple locations; Don Ramon, multiple locations; Don Tequila, multiple locations; Dos Coronas, Northfield; El Camino, Aurora; El Campesino, multiple locations; El Carnicero, Lakewood; El Jalapeno, Barberton; El Palenque, Eastlake; El Rincon, multiple locations; El Rodeo Family Mexican Restaurant, North Olmsted; El Tren Grill, Tallmadge; Fiesta Jalapenos Mexican Grill, multiple locations; Gran Fiesta, Strongsville.
L-Z: La Casa Tequila, Brooklyn; La Fiesta, Richmond Heights; La Mesa, Mentor; La Mexicana, Painesville; La Plaza Supermarket, Cleveland; Las Cazueles, Avon Lake; Lopez, Cleveland Heights; Los Arcos, University Heights; Los Gallos, Seville; Luchita’s, Cleveland; Maya Restaurant, Parma; Momocho, Cleveland; Mucho Buenos, Brunswick; Nuevo Acapulco, Fairview Park (formerly in North Olmsted); Plaza Nueva Mexican Grill, Brooklyn; Puente Viejo, Cleveland; Senorita Bonitas, Solon; Si Senor, multiple locations; Tacos Mexicanos, Macedonia; Tapatias Taqueria, Cleveland; Taqueria Junction, Olmsted Falls; Taqueria La Loma, Akron; Tres Potrillos, multiple locations; Uncle Tito’s Mexican Grill, Akron; Villa y Zapata, Cleveland; Zocalo Tequileria, Cleveland.
WHERE SHOULD WE ALL CELEBRATE CINCO DE MAYO?
Once the list of finalists is published around April 12, you can vote in an another online poll to tell us where we should hold a Cinco de Mayo celebration on May 5. You’ll vote, and, hopefully, will join us at the party -- either at the restaurant or by watching the fiesta on cleveland.com’s Facebook page!