Say Hello to an Avocado Margarita at Tellos Grill and Cafe

While avocados may have hit the health scene over the last several years, subsequently sneaking in many ways into my diet — sliced on sandwiches, chunked up in salads, mashed up for the traditional guacamole chip dip — there was one place I truly never thought I'd find the fatty fruit.

Enter: the avocado margarita, served at in Port Washington.

No, it's not a dream; it's not a figment of your of imagination. It's a real beverage, and something that Tellos' owner Angel Tello said is actually a relatively traditional drink in Mexico, just one of the country's many "flavorful margaritas," he said.

The avocado margarita contains fresh avocado, ice, white tequila, a touch of Boulaine Anisette and a bit of agave nector, "for the sweetness," Tello said. All of the ingredients are thrown in a shaker and, well, shook until the avocado breaks up.

Served on the rocks, the avocado margarita sells at just under $9 a pop. It is delicious, and its worth the dinero splurge.

In my months as a Port resident, I have grown to greatly appreciate Tellos — it seems to suit the needs of large groups of people, all with different ordering tastes. Plus, the food is affordable, with gracious portions, and most dishes are purely delicious.

The only problem is — the menu is huge. It features both Mexican and Greek food, and sometimes I just cannot choose.

Tello said the restaurant's Greek influence comes from his more than 15 years of work at a Greek restaurant in the Chicago area; the Mexican food is influenced by his heritage. The blend is something that Tello thought about long before bringing the idea to fruition.

"That was always in the back of my mind, (that) in the future I’d like to have a combination of both Mexican and Greek," he said. "And people love it, people like it a lot."

But because the menu is so huge, I've often found myself sending the waitress away several times before actually being able to place my order. No, I need a few more minutes.

To add even more weight to my decision platter, Tellos also offers typical American cuisine as well as serves breakfast all day. Seriously, the menu is at least eight pages.

So when I sat down with owner Angel Tello — I asked him to help narrow the slate and give me some of his favorites. His list includes three:

Going Greek? Tello recommends either the Greek Style Chicken or the Gyro Dinner Plate. His gyro meat, he said, comes from Chicago, and no other restaurants within a 10-mile radius serve the lamb meat of this quality.

Going Mexican? Tello said he'd go with a the traditional Carne a la Tampiquena. Tampico is a state in Mexico, and Tampiquena simply means the meat is cooked in a style that is typical of that made in Tampico.

Sticking with the margarita mood, I decided to continue playing with my Mexican taste buds and ordered the Carne a la Tampiquena.

Now, several years back, I studied in Cuernavaca, Mexico, for six weeks. Tacos there are nothing like tacos served here in the United States. I have yet to find a taco that was so traditional in taste since being back in the states, until I ordered the Carne a la Tampiquena — with corn tortillas. So, thumbs up to Tellos. Plus, it was so much food, I'll be reliving the experience tonight.

Tellos has been in Port for just about five years, and Tello said he's glad to have his restaurant here.

"(It's a) great community, we love it," he said. "We adopted the community and the community are adopting us really well."