Lindo Michoacan ******

 

702.735.6828

2655 East Dessert Inn Road

Las Vegas, Nevada

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It was night number two in Vegas and I wanted to get some quality Mexican food while I was somewhat close to the border. I didn’t want hoity toity, expensive Mexican food on the strip though. I wanted authentic Mexican at a reasonable price and so I turned to my dear friend, Google, to help me find a place. My search returned a restaurant by the name of Lindo Moachan and Yelp helped me to confirm that this was in fact a good, if not the best, spot to get Mexican “off the strip” in Vegas. One look at the menu and I was sold, so I hopped in a Taxi with my friend and the two of us headed out on a 15-20 minute drive outside of the city.

With only the first 5 minutes of the drive behind us, I started to get leery of our destination based on surrounding neighborhood, which was quickly turning into dingy strip malls and impoverished dessert homes. But then I noticed that all of the store signs were in Spanish and I knew we were getting the real deal—this was going to be a Mexican fiesta. Sure enough, we walk in and are just about the only gringos in the place. A mariachi band is playing to the left of the bar, a quincenera fills half of the dining room, and everyone is rolling their “r”s as they talk a very quick Spanish.

I take a seat, order a Javier Margarita on the rocks with salt and sit back in my booth with a smile. What more could one ask for?

Oh, yes…. homemade corn chips served with salsa and a spicy black bean dip! 100% complimentary and amazing, but I also had to order the Guacamole ($8.25), which was made to order at the table! My friend and I ate the entire serving, which included nearly 3 beautifully ripened avocados!

Round numero dos on margs.

For an entrée, we decided to share the Chicken Mole Poblano ($14.95) and 2 of the Carne Asada Tacos ($3.75 ea.). Mole, a traditional Mexican sauce made with dried chilies and a strong chocolate flavor, sauce can be a massive hit or miss depending where you get it. However, I was willing to take my chances at this place and I am so glad that I did, because it was the best mole that I have ever tasted. The chicken was pounded out nice and thin and the sauce, which is thick almost like a gravy, was ladled on top. The dish was accompanied by refried beans and seasoned yellow rice.

The carne asada taco was also incredible, with tender and well-seasoned beef in a soft flour tortilla—simple and good.

It was time for round numero tres on margs and then it hit me that we were out in a random strip mall in the middle of the dessert and finding a cab probably wouldn’t be the easiest task in the world (especially after a third margarita!). And that is when Lindo Moichan solidified their number one ranking in my book. Upon asking my server about the likelihood of catching a cab back, he informed me that they offered a free driving service back to the strip for tourists that made the trek out to their restaurant!!! Seriously?!?!

Ohhhh and they let us take margs to go for the ride home! The driver wouldn’t even accept a tip from us when we got out of the shuttle car.

Amazing meal and service. I will definitely be back!

Las Adelitas *****

 

(+420) 222-542-031

Amerika 8, Vinohrady

Prague, Czech. Republic

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Pop on your sombrero and pump out the tequila, because this place knows how to do Mexican grub RIGHT!

When I first arrived in Prague this summer, I had absolutely no idea what to expect. I figured that there was a famous bridge, an arc de triumph, and a few beautiful cathedrals (as this goes pretty much without saying in all European cities), but I certainly did not anticipate that I would find the most incredible and authentic Mexican food tucked away in landlocked, Central Europe.

And then I met Fernando.

Fernando is a food enthusiast from California, that decided to settle in Prague and open up Las Adelitas Cocina Mexicana with a few of his friends. My friends and I were lucky enough to meet this crew out at the bar on one of our first nights in Praha, and after a few good beers and some drunken Macarena dance moves, we got an invite to have dinner at the restaurant later in the week (while watching a couple of futbol games, of course!). Now I am always down for Mexican grub, but I was particularly excited for this meal, having consumed nothing but dumplings and goulash the previous five days.

The Macarena Dancing....I was not kidding!

When we arrived at the restaurant, there was a large table covered in assorted plates of food and I became truly beside myself. We were given a sampling of almost every style dish on the menu (my dream come true)!! We started with homemade tortilla chips accompanied by salsa verde and salsa Adelitas (red salsa), as well as Cilantro infused Guacamole. The chips were fresh and crunchy and the Guacamole was delicious, with large chunks of chopped tomato and onion.

Cue the first round of drinks–Margaritas!

Margaritas on the rocks and by the pitcher! Absolutely amazing with a spicy pepper rimmed glass!

Next we shared an order of Chicken Nachos with shredded tinge chicken, melted cheese, jalapeños, salsa verde, black beans, and sour cream. Finally, a nacho platter done right: no pump cheese in sight, a proper serving of chicken, and an even distribution of toppings. Nothing artificial on the plate. Ohh, and the homemade salsas, take this classic dish over the top!

Cue next round of drinks–Tequila shots!

Las Adelitas has a ridiculous selection of imported tequilas that will have you singing La Vida Loca as you stumble on out the door.

The next thing we ate were the Flautas–3 crispy corn tortillas stuffed with shredded chicken stew “Tinga,” topped with melted cheese, sour cream, pickled red onion, and fresh lettuce. The chicken was very tender and the juices in the stew helped to keep the meat moist, compared to regular shredded chicken. I had never had meat “Tinga-style” before Las Adelitas, but I quickly fell in love with the spicy and smokey chipotle flavors. This spice was subdued and nicely contrasted by the sour cream and cheese garnish!

After the flautas were polished off, we began noshing on an assortment of Quesadillas; (1) Quesadillas de Tinga with stewed shredded chicken, onion, and tomato, (2) Quesadillas de Cochinita with achiote marinated pork meat, and (3) Quesadillas Vegetarianas with season mushrooms. All of the quesadillas were made with homemade corn tortillas, topped with sour cream and cheese, and served with refried beans and rice!  I’d have to say that my favorite quesadilla was the pork-filled one, which was followed by the vegetarian option, as the mushrooms were a nice change-up of flavor.

The homemade tortillas were really what made this dish special though. It seems that the quality of Mexican food (especially in America) is going to shit anymore; pump cheese is taking over, meat quality is deteriorating so burritos can be made larger and for cheaper, salsas are jarred, and chips and tortillas are no longer a made on site. Las Adelitas has preserved the art of homemade corn tortillas, delivering a truly authentic cuisine to their diners.

Cue next round of Margaritas (and one foot on the floor at bedtime!)

Next we sampled some Crispy Corn Tostadas, one of which was topped with stewed chicken Tinga and the other which was topped with Achiote marinated pork meat. They were both garnished with pickled red onion, and accompanied by a serving of seasoned rice and refried beans. I am a sucker for all things pork, so I gravitated towards that one in terms of preference, but both were phenomenal. The meat was very, very tender and well-seasoned.

All in all, we had an incredible meal and an unforgettable night! If you are lucky enough to be in Prague, definitely go check out Las Adelitas (they even deliver!).

I would not hesitate to make the statement that Las Adelitas is hands down the BEST Mexican grub I have ever had the privilege of eating. Worth another trip to Prague!

Fabrica del Tacos *

 

Gorriti 5062

Buenos Aires, Argentina

Palermo SOHO

(+54) 4833.3534

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The other night Ariana and I were having a serious dicussion as to how long we each planned to stay in Argentina. When I asked for her thoughts on the matter, she replied, “I guess I’ll stay until I miss Chipotle too much…” I burst out laughing, and then realized that there was some level of truth to this statement….yes, that is just how seriously we take our Mexican food.

In fact, I have concluded after all of my travels this summer, that I cannot permanently reside anywhere that does not have good Mexican grub near by. I crave the spice, the tender shredded beef, the cheesy goodness, and last but not least, the guac!! I am struggling here in Argentina to find such flavors, because they don’t really like spicy foods or beans. Your hard pressed to find a bottle of tobasco (I now carry my own in my hand bag…BYOT style) in a country where pepper shakers don’t even make an appearance on the table. This was my defining moment of culture shock. I had never been to a country that seemed to be void of black pepper. To see salt without the pepper was like bread without butter, coffee without the cream, fountain soda without the ice!!! It was all wrong. Some things in the world just go together; salt and pepper are one of them.

Anyways, I had one of my Mexican cravings the other night and I was on the hunt for something gut-dropping and heart-stopping. Ariana had heard something about a little taco stand in Palermo and thats exactly where we headed. It seemed authentic enough from the outside–flashing red christmas lights, reggaeton music, brightly colored walls, ect… But as I have learned, you can never judge a restaurant by its appearance. The food was far from authentic, and far from delicious.

Let me expand upon my grievances with this Mexican restaurant. To start, I ordered the guacamole and chips. The guac was not terrible (in fact, I dare to say it was the best item served that night), but it was rather difficult to enjoy on the stale nacho chips, which were like razor blades in my mouth.

In an attempt to wash it down, I ordered a margarita on the rocks and there was no surprise at all when a frozen margarita slushy arrived at the table–“on the rocks” always gets lost in translation for some reason. The mix was bad, and the price was expensive for the size of the glass–dissappointment numero dos.

The third and final strike though, was my entree, the Tacos Carnitas. Carnitas are one of those things that I order whenever I am unsure about the quality of a restaurant. The meat is so fatty and delicious that it is difficult to make poorly, but fabrica del tacos managed to make them disgusting. In fact, they weren’t even really carnitas, they were shaved gyro meat from the spinning pork cooker (like the ones at kebab places). And this was terrible quality gyro meat at that. I pushed my food around and stole bites of Ariana’s Chicken Flautas whenever I could. The flautas were decent, but I think that might just have been the case because anything would have been an improvement compared to my appalling meal.

Overall, I left the meal feeling cheated out of my 60 pesos (the equivalent of 2 locros and an empanada from La Cocina…sad face). I hate paying for bad food, so I don’t think I will be returning to Fabrica del Tacos anytime in the near future.

Food Truck Heaven

Every Tuesday around 12 O’clock in the afternoon, my phone starts blowing up with mass tweets discussing the South Florida food trucks. I read things like; “last call for melty goodness” tweeted by CheeseMeMobile, “I’m about to attack you” @JefesOriginal, “Live Music and Fresh Food” # BTTR. For weeks I have been getting these messages and thinking to myself, I want melty goodness and fresh food, but what the heck is BTTR?!?

I still don’t know what the abbreviation stands for, but today I found out what BTTR is all about. Basically, it is what I envision heaven will be like for me–about 40 different food/dessert trucks lined up within a very small walking area. And these aren’t your average food trucks, these are gourmet “miniature restaurants,” offering incredible homemade delicacies at a ridiculously reasonable price. Try the McShane grilled cheese at CheeseMeMobile, which includes Pulled BBQ Pork, Ruthie’s Cole Slaw, Vintage Cheddar Cheese, all pressed on Garlicked Texas Toast. Or perhaps, you want a Chorizo, Chuck, and Sirloin Burger topped with Oaxaca Cheese, Caramelized Onions, Jalapenos, Avocado Sauce, and Red Pepper Mayo (goes by the name of Latin Macho) at LatinBurger. With a million different types of food all within walking distance from one another, anyone and everyone can create their custom fantasy meal.

The McShane Grilled Cheese from CheeseMeMobile

Image taken from BurgerBeast.com

Latin Macho from LatinBurger

Image taken from BurgerBeast.com

What was mine, you ask?

I’ll share with you, gladly!

At first I was overwhelmed by the variety of food choices, so I began by going to the only truck I recognized from my Twitter feed–Jefe’s Original.  Ensenada Style Fish Tacos, which is beer batter crispy fish, shaved fresh green cabbage, authentic pico de gallo, and house made crema served on a soft fresh corn tortilla. Tacos Carnitas, with seasoned chunks of slow roasted pork, chopped onions and cilantro, and roasted salsa verde served on fresh corn tortilla. Each taco was served with a wedge of lime and a side of hot sauce (and I mean no-joke hot) for just $2.35. I was absolutely blown away by the fish taco, which had incredible crunch and flavor and no strong fishy taste. I wouldn’t have even known it was fish had I been blind sampling. After devouring my first taco, I moved onto my carnita taco, which had a tough act to follow. It was also good, but not nearly as amazing as the fish one. Moral of the story: savor the unique fish taco experience at Jefe’s and get your carnita fix at Chipotle another day.

Jefe’s Original Esenada Style Fish Tacos

Jefe’s Original Tacos Carnitas

The next truck I stopped at was Slow Food Truck (SFT) because their seasonal and local menu caught my eye. This truck is certainly for carnivores, offering a variety of thick juicy burgers and pulled pork, short rib, and tender chicken sandwiches. I ordered the Beef Short Rib specialty sandwich, which was braised beef short rib, organic arugala, queso blanco, and crispy fried onions served warm on baguette. Basically, a super sophisticated Philly Cheesesteak, and let me tell you that this sandwich put a whole lot of Philly Cheesesteak places to shame. I rarely enjoy a steak sandwich outside of the 215 area code, and I had not one bad thing to say about this sandwich. In fact, I had not one thing at all to say because I was too busy eating! It was perfection from the salty onions to the tender meat to the warm bread….greasy, finger-licking goodness.

SFT’s Beef Short Rib Sandwich with Queso Blanco, Arugala, and Crispy Fried Onions

Ariana also ordered the “Fatty Burger” Special from SFT, which was a ground sirloin patty stuffed with bacon, and topped with cheddar cheese and crispy fried onions. It was one of the most fattening burgers (or shall I say food items period) that I have ever put to my lips, but it was worth every artery-clogging bite that I stole from her! So bad for you, but so good.

SFT’s Fatty Burger with Cheddar Cheese, Bacon, and Crispy Fried Onions

Image taken from BurgerBeast.com

Next I was ready for some dessert, but I needed something on the lighter side after all that greasy beef. I decided on Italian ice from The Chill Stop, which is an all-natural, handmade, mobile ice company that uses seasonal ingredients and local produce right from the Miami area. I ordered the Mint Chocolate Chip flavor, which was NOT green much to my surprise and delight! Since the Chill Stop does not use any artificial preservatives, flavors, or colorings, their mint chip ice was fresh crushed ice infused with natural pieces of spearmint leaf. It was super refreshing and tasted very clean. Without doubt has changed my perception of water ice forevermore–no more Rita’s for me!

The Chill Stop

The Chill Stop’s Mint Chip Italian Ice

Overall, I say watch out LA because the food truck scene has taken Miami by storm and our trucks are getting it right! The crowd may be a little strange, and the neighborhood a little rough, but the food bring served up at BTTR is outrageously good. If you want to read about all of the different food trucks in Miami, I suggest that you check out BurgerBeast.com, which is a website run by a local Miami foodie. If you follow BurgerBeast on Twitter, they Tweet the food truck’s various daily locations!

Mercadito ***

Tacos Pescados, which were tilapia, chile poblano, and tomatillo-garlic mojo

786.369.0430

3252 NE 1st Ave

Miami, Fl 33137

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My roommate, Ariana, and I are always looking to get a deal—we call it finagling. We finagle our way into clubs and shows without paying, we finagle lower prices at clothing stores, and we love to finagle free food (this may be the reason that Whole Foods in Sunset stopped offering samples, our apologies!). However, when we can’t finagle food for free, we at least try to get it at a better price. So this week Ariana spent some time researching (a.k.a googling) weeknight food specials at local restaurants. She knew he found a winner when she came across Mercadito’s Taco Tuesdays! Mercadito is a very popular and trendy restaurant located in midtown, directly next to Sugarcane Raw Bar Grill. They are known for their wide variety and changing seasonal menu of tacos, guacamoles, and salsas. The prices are fairly steep for Mexican fair—with pre-fix dinner costing $35 per person and lunch tacos costing 3 for $10.50—but on Tuesday nights you can get tacos for just $2.50 (minimum 2) and margaritas for $5. This was in our budget and so we tried it out for our first time this past Tuesday.

We started off with an order of Traditional Margaritas and an Auntie Ox, which is green tea infused vodka, passion fruit, agave, orange, and guajillo. The margaritas were stronger when ordered from the table than the bar, and Ariana claimed that the Auntie Ox was the best drink that she has ever tried yet.

Mercadito Traditional Margarita

Auntie Ox

Next we ordered a Traditional Guacamole, made with avocado, garlic, key lime, cilantro, and tomatillo pico de gallo and a Habanero Salsa made with grilled tomato, garlic, chile habanero, and lemon. The guacamole was very good and a good portion, but I thought that it was kind of ridiculous to have to pay $3 per little dish of salsa. We went through two dishes among three people, and we didn’t even get to use it on our tacos. Despite our waiter’s warning about the heat of the habanero salsa (which does sounds intimidating), we all agreed that the salsa was not spicy! It had a great flavor, but I still needed tobasco sauce to get my spice.

Traditional Guacamole made with avocado, garlic, key lime, cilantro, and tomatillo pico de gallo

Habanero Salsa made with grilled tomato, garlic, chile habanero, and lemon

As far as tacos go, we pretty much ordered every kind on the menu. First we got the Chicken Tacos, with grilled chicken, cactus salad, tomatillo salsa, and avocado. This was my favorite taco because I felt like it had the most toppings and flavor. Each bite was juicy and flavorful.

Chicken Tacos, with grilled chicken, cactus salad, tomatillo salsa, and avocado

Next were the Carnitas Tacos, with Michoacan style braised pork, chile de arbol coleslaw, and toasted peanuts. The flavor was almost Asian inspired on this taco, with the crushed peanuts reminding me of pad thai. The pulled pork was very tender and flavorful but the coleslaw was lacking.

Carnitas Tacos, with Michoacan style braised pork, chile de arbol coleslaw, and toasted peanuts

Then came the Tacos al Pastor, with chile ancho rubbed pork, grilled pineapple, and chile de arbol salsa. There weren’t a lot of components to this taco but it was yummy in its simplicity. The spice of the salsa was a nice contrast with the pineapple and the meat was very good.

Tacos al Pastor, with chile ancho rubbed pork, grilled pineapple, and chile de arbol salsa

As I loosened up my belt a notch, the next order of tacos were brought to the table—Carne Tacos, with skirt steak, grilled pear, shaved brussel sprouts, chile de arbol vinaigrette, and crispy leeks. I was the most excited for this particular taco because of how many components the menu described, but I found it very disappointing, because I felt like a lot of those items were missing or undetectable when served.

Carne Tacos, with skirt steak, grilled pear, shaved brussel sprouts, chile de arbol vinaigrette, and crispy leeks

And last but not least, we got an order of the Tacos Pescados, which were tilapia, chile poblano, and tomatillo-garlic mojo. I am not that big into fish tacos, but these were tasty…still not my thing though (pictured at top).

Overall, I thought that the portions were very small and that although the tacos were good, they were not mind blowing or sensational. I would have been just as happy (and a little better off financially) if I had just eaten a burrito from Chipotle. Also had the prices not been happy hour specials, I would have been dumbfounded when the bill arrived, because even with the happy hour menu, we ended up paying $35 per person! I think that the food is good and that the atmosphere is very pleasant, but I do not think it deserves the price it commands. I would definitely suggest trying the Mercadito experience, but only on a Taco Tuesday night.