EL MESON
LOCATION: 248 Northgate Park and 2204 Hamilton Place Blvd.OPEN: Sunday-Thursday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Friday-Saturday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.CALL: Hixson location at 423-710-1201 or the Hamilton Place location at 423-894-8726
According to Tony Ruiz, menudo, which is a traditional Mexican soup, is famous for its ability to cure hangovers - though the recipe's name does have a second claim to fame.
"Menudo! Like Ricky Martin's group!" said Tony, owner of El Meson's Hixson location, referring to the Puerto Rican boy band from the 1970s.
The soup (not the group) features a subtly spicy broth made with red chili pepper. Tony describes it as rich and hydrating. Other ingredients include hominy, tripe, cilantro, oregano and other spices.
"People with hangovers like to resort to soups because [soups] are light," Tony said.
The menudo is offered on El Meson's everyday menu, alongside other revitalizing sopa options such as tortilla soup, pozole, cold-served coctel de camarones, or a cup or bowl of El Meson's ever-rotating soup of the day. Special soups in the past have included meatball soup, egg soup and the best-selling caldo de res, aka Mexican beef soup, which is a hearty dish made with beef shanks and chopped veggies.
But more than just potential hangover remedies, El Meson's soups are also antidotes to the frigid temperatures - especially the chili, served as mild or as spicy as one prefers.
"None of our soups are really, really spicy," Tony told me. "But we have this habanero sauce that you can add if you want to make any of them spicier."
Si, El Meson's soups may already be shining brightly this time of year, but, as Tony reminds us, bowl season is only now approaching.
"We are big football fans at El Meson," Tony likes to say.
Recently, the bars at both El Meson locations were remodeled to include more seating and more flat-screen TVs - meaning more opportunities to screen all the big games. El Meson offers both college football and NFL Sunday tickets. During games, the restaurants feature a number of food and drink specials, and on the morning after, don't forget the menudo.