National Tequila Day!

Sunday, July 24th! Yes, this is a real holiday and you should definitely join us for it! We’re celebrating at all Arizona locations with Create Your Own Margaritas for $8.00!

Step 1: Select Your Premium Tequila: 1800 Reposado, Don Julio Blanco, Partida Blanco or Sauza Blue Reposado

Step 2: Choose Your Ingredients

Rim: Salt, Sugar or None

Muddle: Cilantro, Cucumber, Mint, Serrano, Strawberry, Watermelon 

Flavor: Desert Pear, Mango, Peach, Pineapple, Strawberry 

Float: Cointreau, Ginger Beer, Grand Marnier 

That’s right…it’s up to you! Don’t worry, you make the selections and our team takes care of the hard part – making it! See you all Sunday!

Happy 1 Year Macayo’s Mexican Grill & Cantina!

MACAYO’S R&D TEST-KITCHEN, MACAYO’S MEXICAN GRILL & CANTINA 
Has it already been a year?! This day, 365 days ago, was a big day for us as we quietly reopened our Scottsdale & Shea location as our R&D test-kitchen with a soft-opening on May 19th, 2015. Looks like it has indeed been a full year, and what a year it has been! 
As you all may know, over the last few years we have been on a journey, a Culinary Evolution. This strategy has truly been in the spirit of Woody Johnson, our original founder, who without a doubt was one of the most innovative men of his time. When it came to Mexican food, outstanding hospitality and restaurant operations, no one set groundbreaking standards like him. 70 years later as Woody’s children carry on his legacy, they enjoy doing so buy continuing that innovative spirit. 

THE LAST 12 MONTHS
Let’s take a look back! Culinary Additions: 

  • Chile Trio Cheese Crisp . Pulled Chicken Cheese Crisp 
  • Queso Fundido . Deconstructed Nachos 
  • Jicama Shrimp Tacos . Fire-Roasted Albondigas 
  • Fried Avocado . Mexican Corn 
  • Latin Chopped Salad . Grilled Chicken Taco Salad 
  • Short Rib Enchiladas . Tinga Quesadilla 
  • Chicken Tinga Street Tacos . Short Rib Street Tacos 
  • Green Chile Pork Stew . Rolled Tacos 
  • Verde y Roja . Bosio’s Shrimp 
  • Homemade Churros . Dulce de Leche 

Being able to use our Scottsdale & Shea location as a test-kitchen for the entire company has been extremely beneficial, and a lot of fun too! Just recently we featured a special menu at all locations, our Oldies from Woody & Chef Inspired menu. The Chef Inspired side featured several of the most popular new items from the test-kitchen. We were very proud to see you all enjoy them! 

We want to thank our entire team at our test-kitchen for all their hard work, energy and commitment to this journey. We could not do any of this without them! 

Thank You!

Thank You for Making Us Your Arizona Tradition for the Last 70 Years! 
As we celebrate this milestone, and look forward to our next 70 years, we want to thank our amazing team, loyal guests and the communities that have helped us thrive. We look forward to seeing you again soon!

With Cinco de Mayo and Mother’s Day in the same week, this last week has been one for the record books! Taking a look back at these last seven days and 70 years truly brings a smile to our faces. And that is because of all of you! We would not be where we are today without each and every one of you; our Macayo team and family, the best guests on earth and the most welcoming communities across Arizona.

We are so honored and thankful to everyone who joined us to celebrate these two holidays.
Looking forward to spending many, many more with you all! 

Cheese Crisp

 Spinach con Queso

Cinco de Macayo!

    • Cinco FB Post JPEGIt’ the most wonderful time of the year! Well besides the November, December Holiday season…Cinco de Mayo is almost here and as we celebrate our 70th year, we could not be more excited!
    • Our 5 Days of Cinco de Macayo will be back in full affect from
    • May 1st to 5th with some awesome beverage specials!
    • We will also be inviting everyone to try a brand new enchilada plate, the Enchiladas Bandido! This delicious dish is the perfect opportunity to sample our homemade red chile, green chile pork stew and Baja spinach! Is your mouth watering yet?
    • Join us at one of our 12 Arizona locations!
    • Sunday, May 1st through Thursday, May 5th!

Margarita Monday! Create Your Own!

As you all know, National Margarita Day is among one of our favorite holidays of the year! This year we decided to try something a little different and offered a Create Your Own Margarita special. The results are in, our wonderful guests have spoken and it was a HUGE HIT! We are so happy that you all enjoyed it so much! It is so exciting for us to find something that truly excites our guests!
With that, we have decided to continue this special for Margarita Monday EVERY Monday! Join us and become your own mixologist! Don’t worry, we’ll do all the hardwork! But with this Create Your Own Margarita you get to select your own rim, tequila, flavor, muddle and float!
Come help us celebrate Margarita Mondays! Available at all Arizona locations.

Sherbet Victoria, YUM!

A delicious new cocktail, inspired by our original founder Woody Johnson!

WHERE IT CAME FROM
As many of you may know, we are currently featuring a special menu at all Arizona locations. Our Oldies from Woody menu features some of Woody Johnson’s original creations, still loved and requested by guests today! While putting this special menu together, our team had an amazing time going through old menus and recipe books. As we did, we noticed that Woody almost always had Fruit Cocktail and Sherbet on his menus in the dessert section. Then, we came across a menu from the early 60’s where he took his Sherbet to the next level with the Sherbet Victoria, an ode to his high school sweetheart Victoria. The Sherbet Victoria was a unique item as he added an orange liqueur and cinnamon.

In the spirit of honoring Woody’s way and his innovative spirit, we have created today’s version of the Sherbet Victoria! A delicious new cocktail combining:

  • Orange Sherbet
  • Platinum X Vodka
  • Solerno Blood Orange liqueur
  • Freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • Freshly squeezed orange juice
  • Vanilla

We are so excited about this delicious cocktail! Reminds us of a creamsicle and truly brings you back to your childhood! Come try it with us today!

Mexican Chocolate Dessert Recipes

When a chocolate craving hits, it’s not something you can easily ignore. Your appetite simply won’t be satisfied until you’ve eaten some kind of chocolate dessert. But if a candy bar or a simple chocolate cake recipe just won’t hit the spot, the good news is that we’ve got some yummy and surprisingly simple Mexican chocolate dessert recipes for you to try!

Mexican Hot Chocolate

What’s better than a mug of hot chocolate, especially on a chilly night? This Mexican hot chocolate recipe will leave you wondering why you ever bought pre-packaged hot cocoa. With some simple ingredients, such as milk, cocoa powder, and chile powder, you can create a delicious and creamy mug of hot cocoa in no time. It’s as easy as combining the ingredients into a saucepan over medium heat until simmering. You can even add cornstarch for added thickness, if desired.

Churros With Chocolate Peppermint Syrup

Think the only way to get churros is to head out to your local Macayo’s location or wait for a fair to roll into town? Think again! With a little bit of sugar, flour, vegetable oil, and cinnamon, you can make your very own crispy and delicious churros at home. This particular recipe features churros paired with a delectable chocolate peppermint syrup that’s made with a little sugar, cocoa powder, corn syrup, chocolate chips, and peppermint extract. Perfect for dipping or drizzling!

Mexican Chocolate Guinness Cake

Love chocolate cake? Love Guinness beer? This recipe allows you to enjoy the best of both worlds with a sampling of both flavors! This bundt chocolate Guinness cake is perfect for serving up at your next gathering and is sure to be a crowd-pleaser. A small amount of Mexican chocolate and a cup of Guinness go a long way in developing the unique and delicious flavors of this recipe. With a bit of whipping cream, cream cheese, and powdered sugar, you can even create a homemade frosting to top this cake off and really wow your guests.

Salted Mexican Chocolate Chile Caramels

Even if you’ve had salted caramels in the past, you simply haven’t lived until you’ve enjoyed Mexican chocolate salted caramels. Trust us on this one! But wait; there’s no reason to rush out to your local Mexican grocery store to grab some of these for yourself. You might already have the basic ingredients on-hand to make these in the comfort of your own home. With a mixture of bittersweet and Mexican chocolate, dried red chiles, sugar, and heavy cream, you’ll be well on your way to creating these little squares of deliciousness. Just be sure to make these for a crowd; otherwise, you might find yourself finishing off an entire dish in one night. They’re that good.

These are just a few ideas for Mexican chocolate desserts to try out for yourself the next time you’re in the mood for something sweet with a little bit of a kick! From simple hot chocolate to salted Mexican chocolate chile caramels and everything in between, you really can’t go wrong with any of these unique and easy recipes.

DIY Christmas Tree Piñata

Most people agree that some of the best gifts are ones that come from the heart—not ones you can buy in stores. If you’re looking for a truly unique gift idea that you can customize to suit your loved one’s interests, then you’ll want to consider making and gifting DIY piñatas this holiday season. These fun piñatas can be made in the shape of a Christmas tree or any other holiday shape you desire! From there, you can fill them with candy, smaller gifts, or even booze (for those of-age)!

Not sure you can pull of a DIY Christmas tree piñata? No worries. We’ve got three different methods to try, so you can find the one that works for you, regardless of your crafting skills.

Confetti Burst Piñatas

This option is great because it comes with a free, printable template for you to start with! For this piñata, all you need is some sturdy cardboard, green streamers, tissue paper, mylar, paint, tape, confetti, and your choice of piñata filling! Essentially, this method involves cutting out two identical cardboard trees from the included template. Then, it’s a matter of cutting and taping a cardboard border around one template before attaching the second tree to create a 3-D shape. This is great for making a larger size piñata that could even be used for entertaining at a holiday party. Instructions.

Cute Mini Piñatas

If you’ve got multiple piñatas to make, we recommend this mini piñata tutorial, which is a little less time consuming and will allow you to make more piñatas in a shorter period of time. Rather than using intricate tree cutouts, this piñata design uses simple triangular shapes and relies on the streamers and mylar to create the appearance of a Christmas tree. Pretty clever! Plus, you can easily attach loops or hooks to the tops of each piñata so they can double as tree ornaments until it’s time to bust them open on Christmas morning and reveal the treats inside. Oh, and these can be made with simple cardstock; no need to mess with cardboard, which can be difficult to cut. Instructions.

Handmade Piñata Ornaments

We would recommend this DIY piñata design if you’re looking for an easier option that’s suited for younger children who might otherwise get frustrated or bored by the more tedious work involved in the other two tutorials. With this one, you can take any old cardboard container in your home, whether it be from a cereal box or some other packaging, and turn it into a cute piñata in a matter of minutes. Simply cut out identical versions of the shape you want from a colorful cardboard package (this will reduce the need to decorate it further if you’re doing this as a chldren’s craft). Of course, you can always add colorful streamer if desired! Instructions.

Once you give these piñata tutorials a try, you’ll see that making your very own piñata from scratch is easier than you may have previously thought. From there, you can gift customized versions of these cute designs to all of your loved ones and family members.