How much do I loooove Cinco de Mayo? Let me count the ways—preferably in tacos, measured in tequila shots, and garnished with a side of mariachi-induced euphoria. Every May 5th, I mentally (and occasionally physically) salsa-dive into the streets of Tacoma’s Proctor District, sombrero askew, flinging chimichangas and unsolicited hydration like a culinary piñata exploded. Yes, it’s become a national amateur hour of questionable tequila decisions and sad sombrero selfies, but beneath the sugar-rimmed chaos lies a rather noble truth.
Because Cinco de Mayo isn’t just an excuse to chase mezcal with regret. It’s history, darling. Real, revolution-soaked, France-thwarting history. Picture it: 1862. A scrappy band of 4,000 Mexican soldiers, likely fueled by guile, grit, and maybe a little ghost pepper, handed the French army—who were basically there to repo Mexico—an unexpected ass-whooping in the Battle of Puebla. It wasn’t independence, but it was iconic. Think of it as the international equivalent of slapping a croissant out of someone’s hand with a taco.
And if that isn’t worth celebrating with copious food and frothy fermented grains, I don’t know what is.
Enter: The Bayview School of Cooking in Olympia, which is blessing us with a beer dinner so decadently divine it deserves its own altar of limes and hops. They’re pairing up with Hop Valley Brewing from Eugene—those wizards of wheat, those prophets of Pacific Northwest potion—for a five-course descent into Mexican culinary glory.
Margarita shrimp bites flirt with hoppy guac and Alphadelic IPA. Then, the Mexican meatball soup—cue warm ancestral memories—dances with Proxima IPA. A fiesta salad winks behind a veil of orange and ale vinaigrette, lifted by Citrus Mistress (not your ex, we promise). Then come the sausage and rice stuffed poblanos—creamy, spicy, life-affirming—matched with the celestial gravity of Alpha Centauri IPA. And for the final bow: a mango-lime tart so zesty it’ll have your tongue whispering thank you notes, paired with Double D Blonde, because dessert deserves both sass and balance.
Oh, and just when you think the ride is over—bam! Chocolate. VIP Vanilla-Infused Porter. Because you’re worth it. Because life is short. Because Hop Valley Sales Director Karl Biedritzky will be there, handing out bear hugs and beer lore like a benevolent bearded Buddha.
Cinco de Mayo, baby. Come for the tacos, stay for the enlightenment. O-freaking-le.
DOS DE MAYO WITH HOP VALLEY BREWING, 6:30-9 p.m., Saturday, May 2, Bayview School of Cooking, 516 W. Fourth Ave., Olympia, $75, RSVP 360.754.1448
