Belly Up The long fiesta

Whether you regard Cinco de Mayo as a cultural holiday or an excuse to down margaritas on an otherwise ordinary spring evening, you’ll find no shortage of celebration here in Madison. Tex Tubbs’ Taco Palace is stretching Cinco de Mayo from May 3 to May 5, at both its near-East Side and West Side locations. The specials encourage plenty of Tex-Mex rabble-rousing to begin with: $1.50 crispy tacos filled with ground beef; a variety of $2 soft tacos; $3 Mexican beers; $3 frozen margaritas; $4 house margaritas; and $5 Cuervo Traditional margaritas.

The Northside Farmers Market will ring in the holiday at its opening day on Sunday, May 3, from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Follow the sound of live music to the Northside Town Center where Sherman Avenue and Northport Drive meet, and you’ll be greeted by the smells of freshly cooked Hispanic foods from the market’s Mexican families and chefs.

Of course, we can't pretend that some folks won't go a somewhat cheesier route at the area's many pool-o'-refritos-type big-plate Mexican joints. Pedro's Restaurante’s East- and West-Side locations are marking the 5th with a gratuitous dinner-for-two deal. At $39.99, it includes thick, warm tortillas; chips and salsa; a jumbo house margarita or Dos Equis beer in a take-home glass; a choice of one of the restaurant’s combination platters, or chicken or steak fajitas; and finally, a dessert served with Kahlua and coffee. Fortuitously, Cinco de Mayo also falls on a Tuesday, which happens to be “half-price margarita day” at Pedro’s.

Fatsometer: 10. A full 72 hours of food, tequila and beer will take its toll on your ability to function come seis de Mayo. But at least you had the noble goal of honoring whatever big historical event happened way back whenever.