This article appears in the January issue of 400 Life.

One of the ways Tacos & Tequilas Mexican Grill owners Diego and Beatriz Velasquez knew they could differentiate their restaurant from competitors when it opened in Cumming eight years ago was by the quality of their drinks and food. It couldn’t taste “corporate.” It had to taste fresh and natural, with menu items made from scratch daily using the best ingredients.

Tacos & Tequilas’s success speaks for itself. Their brand of authentic Mexican cuisine is a hit, whether at their restaurant (which also has locations in Buckhead, Buford and across from Ponce City Market), their food truck or their catering business. 

“We really take pride in the drinks that we make and food that we prepared,” said Blanca Elena, managing director with Tacos & Tequilas. 

If you’re the health-conscious type, here are six things to order that will fill you up without the guilt. 

Veggie tacos

Last year, Tacos & Tequilas incorporated more vegetarian options into their menu in response to increased interest from customers. Now, they have a whole section of vegetarian items, including fajitas, chimichanga, burritos, quesadillas and more.

But start with the veggie tacos. You’ll get three filled with sautéed onions, mushrooms, cauliflower and zucchini served with green rice. 

For the gluten-free eaters in the crowd, Tacos & Tequilas can build your veggie taco in a tortilla made from corn instead of flour.

Skinny tacos

But even if vegetarian isn’t your thing, you don’t have to sacrifice nutrition for taste with Taco & Tequilas’s regular menu items. Just go skinny — skinny tacos, that is.

These tacos come wrapped not in tortillas but romaine lettuce leaves. Choose either grilled marinated chicken breast or sautéed tilapia. All three skinny tacos will be topped with avocado, pico de gallo and cilantro and served with black beans.

T&T Chicken Salad

At first glance, the T&T Chicken Salad doesn’t seem like a menu item designed for those on a diet simply because it’s a monster of a salad. 

All together, you get flame-grilled chicken strips served on a bed of iceberg and romaine lettuce with red cabbage, carrots, tomatoes, avocado, bacon, shredded cheese and corn tortilla strips with three choices of dressing (agave lime ranch, mango vinaigrette and chipotle vinaigrette).

But nutrition buffs will take advantage of the salad’s adaptability. You can order it without the bacon. Or without the cheese. Or without both! Then use mango vinaigrette dressing, and you’ve got something delicious and nutritious.

Hand-crafted drinks

No, Tacos & Tequilas doesn’t sacrifice nutrition when it comes to their hand-crafted margaritas.

For instance, it uses freshly-squeezed orange juice in one of its most popular drinks — for women and men, according to Blanca Elena — the skinny margarita.

There’s also the tamarindo margarita, which uses fruit from the tamarind tree with a unique blend of sour and sweet flavors that’s a staple in candies in Latin America, Elena said.

Their coconut margarita uses fresh coconut shavings. The spicy habanero berry margarita uses fresh blackberries.

And all of Tacos & Tequilas’ hand-crafted drinks are sweetened with agave nectar, not the simple syrup many restaurants use.

“You can taste the difference of a house margarita and our hand-crafted margarita,” Elena said.

For more information on Tacos & Tequilas Mexican Grill, visit tandtatlanta.com.