Taco Bell BEER Now Exists… But There’s a Catch

What are 3 typical foods served on Cinco de Mayo?

Molé, chilaquiles, and tamales are all typical foods found at a Cinco de Mayo celebration.

What is a good menu for Cinco de Mayo?

A good Cinco de Mayo menu includes a range of authentic Mexican recipes – from carnitas to tamales, you can also put your own twist on each dish!

What is the most popular food eaten on Cinco de Mayo in Mexico?

Authentic dishes like Molé Poblano, chalupas, enchiladas, tacos, and chilaquiles are all popular Mexican foods eaten on Cinco de Mayo.

What can I bring to a Cinco de Mayo party?

Bringing delicious meals, either authentic ones or ones with more modern twists, are welcome at a Cinco de Mayo party. Scroll for an array of recipe ideas to bring to the celebration!

Pineapple Pico de Gallo

Sweet and spicy is just a combo we can't pass up. This chunky salsa will accommodate each guest at your Cinco de Mayo parties with bites full of fresh veggies and fruit. (via Cozy Cravings)

Elote

This tasty street food snack is so fun to eat. Grilling gives the corn a nice char and smokey flavor. However, they're getting slathered in mayonnaise and cotija cheese, so they're bound to please any way you make them. (via Sunday Supper Movement)

Crispy Chicken Taquitos with Avocado Crema

These chicken taquitos are the ideal finger food for a Cinco de Mayo party. The contents are inside a rolled tortilla and make a great portable bite for those times when your favorite song comes on and you *have* to bust a move. (via A Cozy Kitchen)

Healthy Seven Layer Taco Dip

Dips really keep the world turning since they're so tasty and easy to scoop up with the swipe of a chip. Stock up on your dippable chips, because this taco dip recipe won't last long. (via Rachl Mansfield)

Brisket Sopes

If you love tacos, you’ll adore sopes. They’re a traditional Mexican dish made from thick rounds of fried masa, and this version is topped with ultra-tender slow-cooked brisket. Crack open a cold cerveza and enjoy. (viaMuy Bueno Cookbook)

Pollo Asado

Savor in the deep, smoky notes of this popular Mexican recipe – pollo asado. Each bite is crusted in spices for a never-boring bite. (via A Spicy Perspective)

Cheesy Avocado Quesadillas

If you’re short on time but still want to party, these quesadillas are just the dish for you. Upgrade the basic cheese ‘dillas you know and love from childhood with avocado slices and seasoned ground beef, for a hearty bite that’s easy to make but still tastes impressive. (via Damn Delicious)

Avocado, Mango, and Shrimp Ceviche

Ceviche is always super light and fresh, and when served during the summery day of Cinco de Mayo, everyone will have you to thank for bringing such a mouthwatering dish to the party. (via Pink Owl Kitchen)

Tomatillo Avocado Salsa with Baked Tortilla Chips

This creamy salsa is like a cross between salsa verde and guacamole. This means it’s highly addictive, so you better have a lot of chips handy. Try it on top of tacos, nachos or even on a torta — this salsa tastes good on *everything*. (via Muy Bueno Cookbook)

Skinny Chile Rellenos

Chile rellenos are stuffed green chiles that then get battered and fried in the best way. Enjoy yours for Cinco de Mayo alongside some rice and beans! (via The Girl On Bloor)

Vegan Mexican Street Corn (Vegan Elote)

If you have some vegan pals pulling up to the party, serve them some plant-based elote for Cinco de Mayo. This recipe retains all the good textures and flavors, too! (via The Edgy Veg)

Easy Restaurant Style White Queso

This ooey, gooey white queso is bound to steal the show at any party thanks to a fiery kick from red pepper flakes and pickled jalapeños. (viaThe Cookie Rookie)

Black Bean and Veggie Tortilla Pizza

Quash two cravings at once with Mexican Pizza. Though it's hard to pinpoint many similarities between this dish and actual pizza (save for its round, open-faced nature), once you take a bite, you'll get it. Cut into slices and share with the fam… or don't share at all. (via Snixy Kitchen)

Mexican Hot Pot with Avocado Crema

For a more hearty addition to your Cinco de Mayo platter, this Mexican hot pot is sure to please anyone. (via Half Baked Harvest)

Ceviche

Use sushi-grade fish for the best taste and peace of mind. Though you’ll be marinating the fish in lime juice, you’ll still want the freshest, best quality product you can get. (via Feasting at Home)

Roasted Vegetable Torta

Celebrate Cinco de Mayo with the most delicious Mexican sandwich around. Some of the bread is scooped out to make extra room for fillings like refried beans, guacamole and cheese. We're okay with that, and we might even suggest saving those bread fillings for sopping up any sandwich spillage. You're welcome. (via Easy Cheesy Vegetarian)

Mexican Street Corn Salad

Forgo the corn on a stick for a less-messy, easy-to-eat elote salad. Add black beans, red onions and bell peppers to make it more salad-like and colorful. Bonus: The dressing uses yogurt instead of mayonnaise and sour cream for a healthy twist. (via Live Eat Learn)

Pozole Rojo

This traditional Mexican soup is full of tender stewed beef, hominy (dried maize) and a super flavorful red chili sauce. It’d be nice if you had leftovers after your Cinco de Mayo festivities, but don’t count on it — this soup doesn’t play around. (via Muy Delish)

Homemade Chalupas

These chalupas are nothing like the kind you'll find at your local Taco Bell. Set out toppings like shredded beef, avocado, salsa and cheese, and let everyone assemble their own. (via The Stay at Home Chef)

Chicken Enchiladas with Salsa Verde

These saucy enchiladas take a little patience to prepare, but they're totally worth it. Invite some friends to make the process fly by. You'll need to fry the tortillas, dunk them in sauce, fill and roll, so you might need to enlist all the kiddos to help. (via Tasting Table)

Delicious Dessert Recipes For Cinco de Mayo Parties

Toasted Rice Horchata with Salted Caramel Drizzle and Coconut Charcoal Whipped Cream

This is technically a drink, but with all of the sugar-infused additions, we must classify it as a totally delectable dessert. Horchata is a rice-based sip that's served with Mexican food, and this upgrade looks phenomenal. (via No Eggs Or Ham)

Churros with Chocolate and Espresso Sauce

What’s better than fried dough and chocolate? If you can come up with something, good for you — we’ll be over here munching on these churros. These amazing, crispy treats are coated in cinnamon sugar and paired with a velvety chocolate and espresso dipping sauce you won’t be able to get enough of. (via Drizzle and Drip)

Churro Ice Cream Cake

Enjoy all the best parts of a churro, but in cake form. Baked churro layers are doused in a sweet, sugary icing for maximum yum factor. (via Amanda Wilens)

Mexican Buñuelos

This Mexican puff pastry cannot be missed at your next Cinco celebration. It's fried, then coated in an addictive cinnamon sugar sprinkling, just like churros. (via Cilantro Parsley)

Drink Recipes To Sip On For Cinco de Mayo

Jade Mezcal Margarita

This bold take on a classic Mexican margarita will keep you going with punchy flavors from lime and jalapeño. (via Gastroplant)

Agua de Jamaica

Feel a sense of refreshment flow over you with this delicious drink recipe that'd perfect for Cinco celebrations. Make sure to prep a big batch to share with everyone! (via Culinary Hill)

Key Lime Margarita

We could never pass up a traditional marg. This one gets prepped with key limes that add amazing falvor notes. (via Barley & Sage)

Pineapple Margarita

Sip your way to the shores of your dream beach destination with the pineapple-y tastes of this drink. It'll also cool you down in all the right ways during hot Cinco de Mayo days! (via Amanda Wilens)

Champagne Margarita (Mexican 75)

Get the best of both worlds with this summertime sipper, a margarita made with champagne. (via The Endless Meal)

We're thrilled to kick off our new Jetset Journeys series, where we turn the best U.S. cities to explore this year into our own personal playgrounds. This is not just a travel guide but a way to spark your creativity and your wanderlust for weekend and week-long travel. Pack your bags , join us here every week, and get jetsetty this summer.

You could visit Los Angeles, California 100 times and have 100 totally different experiences. With a city as sprawling and diverse as LA, it's naive to arrive at LAX and expect to cover it all over a weekend. On the flip side, once you start researching what to do in LA, it can be overwhelming to decide what to prioritize for your 48-hour getaway.

That's where I come in. I relocated from New York to Los Angeles — I know, how original — six years ago. In my time planting roots on the west coast and rebuilding my community in this eternally-sunny city, I've been lucky enough to experience the countless wonders that make Los Angeles such an essential travel destination (and home to some 3.8 million residents). Between lush hiking trails that lead to the ocean, rich cultural histories and Hollywood lore at every corner, and some of the best food on the planet, there's a lot to take in.

I've also played host to many friends and family over the last six years and have nearly perfected the 48-hour itinerary for a satisfying trip to Los Angeles. If you're seeking an adventure outside of the typical tourist traps, keep reading for some of my favorite local haunts to add to your Los Angeles bucket list.

Where To Stay In LA: Silver Lake Pool & Inn

First things first, where should you stay when visiting LA? I recommend choosing a hotel central to all of your saved spots to avoid spending your trip stuck in traffic. As a Silver Lake resident, many of my recs are on the east side of Los Angeles. With that in mind, if you're not crashing with friends or family, I definitely recommend you check out Silver Lake Pool & Inn. The Pali Society property opened in Silver Lake a few years ago and has everything you need for a restful and comfortable stay. Situated in hip Sunset Junction, you're footsteps away from Erewhon (try the Hailey Bieber Strawberry Glaze smoothie, you won't regret it), Intelligentsia Coffee, Cafe Stella, and Donald Glover's new boba shop, Jellyman. In addition to gorgeous rooms, an elevated pool deck, and an Italian outdoor restaurant on the property, Silver Lake Pool & Inn also hosts Marco Polo Late Nights on Fridays with DJs and cocktail specials flowing until 1 a.m.

The Best Coffee Shops In LA: Canyon Coffee

Next on the agenda: where to go for a good cup of coffee in Los Angeles? Well friend, you'll be spoiled for choice in this caffeinated wonderland. Los Angeles boasts some of the most aesthetically-pleasing and well-reviewed coffee shops in America, so switch it up each morning by trying out a variety of our local faves. At Canyon Coffee in Echo Park (pictured above), it's not uncommon to be standing in line between chatty French tourists and off-duty models. It's the cool-kid choice for good reason, with delish oat chai lattes on draught, solid drip coffee, and effortless toast toppings like cinnamon butter and cacao nibs. Other crowd-pleasers includeMaru Coffee, which is famous for their cloud cream foam tops. They have three locations in Los Feliz, Arts District and Beverly Hills. Cafe Nido is another Silver Lake hotspot with an indoor-outdoor design that takes inspiration from Mexico City with canopied trees, wood paneling, and teal-tiled benches. You can't go wrong with a pastry or baguette with your go-to coffee order.

What To Do In Los Angeles: Mid-Century Modern Architecture Tours

If you're looking for a culturally-rich experience to add to your LA itinerary, get tickets for a 30-minute architecture tour of Richard Neutra's VDL House located in Silver Lake. With a $15 donation, you can immerse yourself in gorgeous mid-century modern design and learn something new.

The Best Free Museum In LA: MOCA

The Museum of Contemporary Art in DTLA is one of my favorite destinations for a creative reset in Los Angeles. General admission is always free, and you can delight in some of truly neat exhibitions like Carlos Cruz-Diez' Chromosaturation light and color experience, pictured above.

Where To Experience Nature In LA: Silver Lake Reservoir

The VDL House is conveniently located across the street from the Silver Lake reservoir. Post-tour, walk the stunning (and mostly flat) two-mile loop for a breath of fresh air and fun people watching. Silver Lake is home to many industry folks, actors, and musicians, so keep an eye out for a rare celeb sighting!

The Best Restaurants For Dinner In LA: Saffy's

All of that adventuring will no doubt have you working up an appetite. For dinner, I highly recommend Saffy's LA in Virgil Village. This Middle Eastern restaurant is ideal for enjoying shared plates and trying a little bit of everything. Menu standouts include two unique hummus dishes, the little gem salad, and the beef skewers prepared at a wood-burning hearth with superb flavor. The design beautifully blends art deco architecture with Moroccan flair, making the ambiance and the feast all the more worth savoring.

Where To Eat In Los Angeles: Quarter Sheets

Quarter Sheets in Echo Park is one of the best restaurants to pop up in LA in recent years. Don't believe me? The New York Times even said so! As many like to tease, LA can be hit or miss when it comes to pizza. But the Quarter Sheets pizza parlor, founded by Aaron Lindell and Hannah Ziskin, knocks it out of the park with their thick, Sicilian-style pan pies and crave-able desserts.

My New Yorker husband and New Yorker father-in-law both agree Quarter Sheets is the best pizza they've ever had. Now if that ain't praise, I don't know what is! Pro tip: go early if you want to avoid the weekend lines. And order all of the desserts. Take 'em home if you have to, but don't leave without trying the Princess Cake or divine choco chip cookie.

Best Tacos In Los Angeles

It's impossible to talk about what to do in LA without hyping up the authentic Mexican food scene. While most of the best taco joints are locals-only hidden gems that line boulevards in unbranded taco tracks, or sit parked outside of car washes, there are a few must-hit taco spots everyone should know about in Los Angeles.

Guisados is lauded as one of the best taquerias in LA, for good reason. With multiple locations throughout the city, Guisados can be enjoyed for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Their handmade tortillas make every bite all the more flavorful. They also have one of the best horchatas if you want a sip of something deliciously sweet. For Tijuana-style tacos, Tacos 1986 is another easy grab and go bite. Their mushroom taco is an all-time fave for me. If you're looking for something more off-the-beaten path, head to DTLA and traverse the back alley of Mexican restaurant Damian to discover Ditriot Taqueria(pictured above), which boasts a delicious Mexico City-inspired flair. Whatever you do, do not leave Los Angeles without grabbing a street taco (or two!).

Where To Shop In Los Angeles: Larchmont Village

If you're like me and you can't visit a city without bopping around to a few cute little shops, head to Larchmont Village. It's inspired by the New York neighborhood of the same name and is a neat row of beauty stores, bookshops, cafes, and unique boutiques. Shorthand is a color-coded stationery store worth adding to your list, as is the Black-founded beauty boutique, Thirteen Lune. Chevalier Books (LA's oldest indie bookstore) is another can't-miss spot to explore on your shopping crawl in Larchmont Village.

​In which episode does JJ die?

JJ dies at the end of Outer Banks season 4 episode 10, "The Blue Crown" after rescuing Kiara from his father Chandler Groff. "I feel mad, betrayed, disappointed and heartbroken to say the least," Bruder adds. "JJ went through a lot of crap through the show and he was the one character who deserved his happy ending the most. When the series first came out, people fell in love with JJ and [Kiara]."

While the cast obviously found out about the ending while filming, fans are frustrated with how they chose to promote the show. "Obviously the cast can’t spoil a character death, but to blatantly lie and mislead fans by saying that Jiara was 'evergrowing' and fans would be happy with how the season plays out?" Bruder says. "Jiara fans deserved so much better than what we got, ESPECIALLY when they knew they were killing JJ off."

Why are Outer Banks fans so upset?

The show is the kind of phenomenon that made instant stars out of its cast, but it also made waves because of how the first season portrayed issues like classism, substance abuse, and domestic abuse. "As someone who has been around domestic abuse, I think the handling of the character JJ was detrimental culturally," another fan (who would like to remain anonymous) says. "The character suffered abuse at the hands of a man who was not even his biological father, and the writers almost framed it as if that was okay because in the beginning, his father loved him. Instead of telling a story to victims of abuse about hope and making it through trials, the writers went the opposite way. I also find it interesting that they stated this was a planned death. I think writing a character who is suffering from anxiety and clear mental health issues as well as abuse who is very young like JJ only to let him fall in love and kill him right when he starts to feel happiness doesn’t necessarily make a lot of sense narratively."

Another viewer adds that ending JJ's story that way felt "disrespectful...especially when in an interview following the episode, one of the creators literally referred to his death as pointless." She even says "it feels almost like the show died along with him."

Actress Madelyn Cline (Sarah Cameron) called JJ the "heart of Outer Banks"and for a lot of fans, JJ also became a beacon of hope, a reminder that you can endure, persevere, and come out stronger on the other side. Since the first season of the show dropped during April 2020, it's been one consistent, fun thing for TV fans since the COVID-19 pandemic began, which makes the loss feel even greater.

"Seeing him die at the hands of another abusive father was honestly kind of sickening," the viewer adds. "It’s also unfortunate that his death didn’t seem to mean anything. A character death like this would be one thing if it meant something. If he had died protecting his friends or actively protecting Kiara, rather than having already saved her and then getting killed afterward, it might’ve be easier to get past."

"It’s like a connection to something good and steady was just broken," X user @onlykiep4l says. "Killing a character that has literally gone trough so much trauma and was finally happy just doesn’t make sense. It’s not just the character that’s gone — it feels like a part of the show has ended too."

Why does JJ get killed off?

Rumors have been circulating for years about behind-the-scenes drama between actors Rudy Pankow and Madison Bailey, which has fans believing Rudy asked to be written off the show(for the record, Outer Banks creators Josh & Jonas Pate and Shannon Burke have said it was the plan from the beginning). With Rudy's exit, the writers had a difficult choice in front of them. JJ isn't the kind of guy to abandon his friends, meaning the writers obviously felt like killing him was the only option. But according to an additional viewer, "Outer Banks hasn't been that type of show."

"To attempt to turn this fun, summer, boat show into some dark, depressing story where the heart of the show is gone destroys everything that the show started out as," she says.

Another anonymous fan calls the choice "a character assassination," adding other moments from the season that feel like a different character than the one fans have come to love: barely reacting to John B. and Sarah's pregnancy announcement, or to the fact Rafe had come to talk to Kiara — especially after his reaction to Rafe catcalling Kie in the first season is a moment that led fans to ship them in the first place.

The fan continues by calling JJ's treatment a "lack of respect" toward the character. "The fact that the writers tried to make us dislike him, to soften the blow of him dying. It didn’t work. It has everyone distraught because many people’s favorite character ended up dying after 'finding happiness' for about 10 minutes in Episode 10."

​Does Sarah get pregnant in Outer Banks season 4?

But JJ's death isn't the only moment that has fans reeling. In addition to the fact viewers are saying the Pogues barely reacted to the death of their lifelong best friend, Pope is now a murderer and Kiara makes an absolutely chilling vow to get revenge on Groff — a far cry from the characters we fell in love with in season 1.

"Outside of the JJ of it all, a lot of plot lines/dynamics in part 2 felt off," one of our anonymous fans continues. "Sarah’s pregnancy plot line, especially when coupled with the quote from a creator about ‘giving her a baby specifically because she wasn’t ready’ feels incredibly tone deaf given the current state of things here in the US. The fact that there wasn’t even a conversation of if she wanted to continue with the pregnancy felt very icky. Overall, episodes 1-4 of this season did feel like Outer Banks, but everything after that felt like it was from an entirely different piece of media."

However, some fans are excited to see where the show goes from here. "JJ was such a strong character and his presence will obviously be missed, [but] I am excited to see how the Pogues react and what they do to get revenge on Groff," Virginia McGrew says in an email. "I also think that the scene of JJ dying with Kiara was extremely well done and emotional, making his passing even sadder. I ultimately believe that JJ’s passing serves as a reminder of the themes the show."

"JJ made the group even more aware of friendship, the importance of chosen family, and loyalty, which was seen throughout the season and especially in the finale," she continues. "Now that he is gone, the other Pogues will have to step up even more, creating a shift in their dynamic. While many believe that Outer Banks might not be worth watching after this finale, I truly think that it is only going to get even deeper and more interesting."