Like a lot of places in Birmingham, The Plough on Harborne High Street has been on my list of places to visit for some time. So when I was invited to try their Boca Grande Tacos evening (every Wednesday), how could I say no?

The Plough is already well known for its pizzas and also for their regular events next door. In a way, to get you over #HumpDay, they’ve now introduced Boca Grande Tacos to bring a bit of zing to the midweek, just outside of the city.

They don’t half go all out on the spice too! To accompany your choice of tacos, there is a large selection of hot sauces from tongue tingler to fire extinguisher.  I chose a special sauce which we’ll come back to shortly…

The menu is short on length, but full on flavour, with soft corn tacos:

• Spiced Pork Belly with Slow-Cooked Apple, Pickled Red Cabbage and Caramelised Cashew Nuts
• Hot Smoked Salmon with Ripped Herbs, Fresh Chilli and Ginger Lime Yoghurt
• Buffalo Chicken with Celery, Blue Cheese Cream and Guindillas Chilli
• Mixed Bean Chili with Feta, Crushed Avocado, Lime and Sour Cream (V)
• Slow Cooked Brisket with Blue Cheese and Chimichurri

Wifey and I couldn’t decide on what tacos to go for so we went for a mix of all the choices. What we did decide on, however, was one specific Chilli Sauce! We’ve always been a fan of Pip at BG Towers and she’s made an amazing Boca Grande sauce  to partner the night.

Sauce grabbed, it was time to nosh on down as our tacos had arrived!

Onto the tacos and sides.

• Pork Belly – my absolute favourite of the evening. The combination of sweet pork and cashews opposite the pickle of the red cabbage gave it a surprising depth of flavour.

• Smoked Salmon – Wifey was the only one to try this and pretty much demolished it without me getting a look in! Her report was it was very fresh and airy with a sweet chilli style after taste.

• Buffalo Chicken with Celery, Blue Cheese Cream and Guindillas Chilli – this was creamy with the blue cheese coming through under the spicy-sour buffalo sauce, and spicy chilli to top off the palate. This was the most savoury out of the lot.

• Mixed Bean Chili with Feta – this was a big combination of soft textures of feta, avocado and sour cream combining together.  At the back end, there’s a big hit of spice from the chilli to liven things up.
• Beef Brisket – this was perhaps the most decadent of the tacos with the salty blue cheese giving a high note to the smoky beef.

• The guacamole was really nice and obviously made with fresh avocados, whilst the sour cream had a citrus lime flavour.

Pip’s Hot Sauce had a pleasant pineapple flavour with a combination of sweet and spicy, and enough heat to pack a punch.

On the beverage side, there was a different twist to the usual Mexican tipple of choice, Tequila, this time mixed with Malbec to make it a Sangria.

It sounds a curious coupling.  The tequilas are listed in order of maturity of the time in the cask so if you prefer a more tanning flavour, go for the Anejo which has been aged for longest. If not, go for the Blanco which isn’t aged at all.  The Reposado sits in the middle of the two.  Wifey and I chose a Blanco and a Reposado, which were similar in flavour with the Reposado being the slightly mellower of the two.

The flavour of the cocktail was very fruity with the Malbec dominating at the start and the tequila coming through to finish.

Boca Grande Tacos are available Wednesdays at The Plough, I’d advise you to book as it was super busy when we went!

Disclaimer: For this visit, Wifey and I were guests of The Plough, this provides no bias to the post. This blog is my own personal opinion and strives to provide an independent view, promoting, enjoying and reviewing the range of exciting food and venues in and around Birmingham.

When: 14/03/2017

Where: The Plough, 21 High St, Birmingham B17 9NT

Who: The Plough, Pip’s Hot Sauce