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"Before I tell you about some of the beefiest birria tacos I’ve sampled recently, allow me to paint a tableau of what I’ve encountered over the years at Vida Verde, the Midtown West bar that serves them: Vengaboys and Shakira blasting through the sound system, lots of people eating cheesy nachos, lots of people hanging around the weekend DJ, lots of neon signage, giant frozen drink machines spinning red and orange margaritas, folks trying to sneak up to the rooftop bar even when it’s closed, an off-duty chef from a nearby hotel who asked if I wanted to do a line of coke with him in the bathroom, a disco ball that shines with such force your phone might not recognize the QR-code menu, a mural depicting Frida Kahlo with polychromatic succulents in outer space, and multiple televisions showing Pixar’s “Coco” on loop." - Ryan Sutton