I was in Sonoma County a couple of weeks ago as one of the judges in a wine competition. My four-person panel evaluated 50 Viogniers, and 59 Pinot Noirs, followed in short order over the next couple of days by (among other things) 65 Sauvignon Blancs, a multitude of Grenaches and a boatload of Rieslings. By the end of the week what do you suppose we wanted to drink with dinner? Silky Sonoma Chardonnay and high end California Cab? Absolutely not. After a steady diet of wine tasting, some of us were craving–tequila!
With this in mind, a handful of fellow judges and I took ourselves to Mateo’s Cocina Latina for dinner. Recently voted one of Healdsburg’s ten best new restaurants, this popular eatery is the gastronomic brainchild of Mateo Granados, spun off from his tamale truck and his acclaimed 
mobile pop-up restaurant (a favorite at several local wineries). Tequila is very much a specialty at Mateo’s, which offers some 50 Blancos, Reposados and Anejos, as well as Reserve Tequilas and Mezcales.
I can tell you from personal experience that Mateo’s Meyer Lemon Margarita is as refreshing as, say, a racy Sauvignon Blanc. It is just the thing to have with some of the restaurant’s delicious appetizers such as the Little Gem lettuce salad with citrus, pomegranate seeds and blue cheese dressing, or chili-infused steamed mussels. A heftier and more intense Paloma Hermosa (St. Germain elderflower liqueur, lime and grapefruit juices, smoky Del Maguey Vida Mezcal) had the right complexity and depth of flavor to be a rhapsodic accompaniment to Mateo’s Yucatecan inspired specialties such as rock cod tacos with Hopi blue corn and pumpkin seed-bell pepper sauce, or suckling pig marinated in annatto seed.
For wine lovers who don’t need a palate-cleansing break there is plenty of good wine to 
choose from in bottle, barrel or on tap. Some of the more obscure offerings include Bjornstad Cellars Chardonnay, Cartograph Gewurztraminer, and Acorn Syrah. Among the many notable labels you’ll recognize are Paul Dolan, Groom, Quivera, Nalle. And there are many beers in barrel or bottle, or on tap. But whichever beverage suits your mood for it will be terrific with the meal, for Mateo Granados devotes a lot of attention to selecting food-friendly libations: “Every drink here goes with my food,” he told me. “The wines, the tequilas, and of course the beers–I’ve chosen everything here on the basis of how well it goes with food.”
Mateo’s Cocina Latina
214 Healdsburg Avenue, Healdsburg
707 433-1520
7