Best spin on a beer-and-wine-only license
A beer-and-wine-only license usually is enough to make you groan at any establishment - never mind at a Mexican restaurant, where margaritas feel less like an option and more like required drinking. However, Tu y Yo manages to transform this potential liability into a selling point. In addition to a number of traditional Mexican beers and Spanish, Chilean, and Mexican wines, the tiny fonda in Somerville's Powderhouse Square offers a number of delicioso beverages worth a special trip.

There, you'll find frutada - or beer with seasonal fruit - and three types of sangria: a spicy traditional version; a sangria blanca made with white wine and orange peel; and one featuring seasonal fruits. The Xi Tlalic ("Queen of the Stars") features either red wine with orange juice and strawberries or white wine with orange juice and mango. Michelada - or beer with salt, pepper, Tabasco, and lime juice - is a particularly spicy treat. But it's the chelada - beer with salt and lime - that satisfies margarita cravings.

Tu y Yo, 858 Broadway, Somerville, (617) 623-5411; www.tuyyomexicanfonda.com.