Although Mi Pueblo might seem off of your usual path, the restaurant is anything but a hole in the wall. Instead, it's a large stand alone structure that looks more like a chain restaurant than a Mexican restaurant started by a brother and sister in a neighborhood home and bordered by a rail yard. Don't be fooled though, while additions have been made to the original structure over the years, the restaurant is still mighty tasty and in my completely non-Mexican Jewish American opinion, as authentic as any other Mexican restaurant around.
Meanwhile, the place is packed at peak times and while it seats up to 150, a line forms in the waiting area, especially during Sunday brunch. The restaurant opens with the waiting area to the right and a counter to the left where patrons can purchase Mi Pueblo t-shirts and other paraphernalia. One of the dining rooms is through the door to the left, while a gazebo style bar and another dining room are straight ahead. The clientele at lunch time consists of business men and women from downtown on their lunch breaks, while Spanish speaking locals consistently frequent the restaurant no matter the time of day.
Before the meal you are greeted with two different kinds of salsa, which are both great. I've heard that they taste like some bizarre spicy variation of spaghetti sauce, but if that's the case, I don't taste it. Even if they do, I'm not conceding the fact that the salsas are top notch.
Mi Pueblo Taqueria has any Mexican dish you can think of. Items include burritos, gringas, quesadiallas, torta, tosdadas, meats "a la parilla" aka on the grill, seafood, traditional Mexican soup, chiles rellenas, milanesa, tamales and Mexican breakfast including huevos (eggs) and chorizo, potatoes and ranchera sauce. Everything is cheap, except for the drinks. Even ordering Coca Cola can add up in price, as soda comes in individual cans ie no refills.
Although all of the food is very good, the main reason for choosing to eat at Mi Pueblo Taqueria over Mexican Village staples such as Los Galanes or Xochimilco are the tacos. Mi Pueblo calls itself a taqueria and it lives up to its name. Not every Mexican place on the Southwest side has cheap, good tacos, but there is no doubt that Mi Pueblo does. A place in Chicago called La Pasadita makes the best tacos that I've ever had. Although the tacos at Mi Pueblo can't live up to the legend that is Pasadita, the tacos at Mi Pueblo definitely hit the spot and are well worth the trip.
Taco choices include ham (jamon), beef steak (suadero), Mexican sausage (chorizo), chicken (pollo), deep fried pork (carnitas), shredded pork loin (lomo deshebrado), beef tongue (lengua), marinated pork (al pastor), pig stomach (buche), beef head (cabeza), spicy chicken breast (tinga de pollo), marinated chicken breast (pastor de pollo), and marinated beef (birria).
Not only are the taco filling choices inclusive, but you can get a three corn taco dinner which includes rice and beans for only $5.20, or $6.05 with cheese. You can get flour tacos for a more expensive price, but in general I would never recommend flour over corn, nor would I recommend getting anything else on the tacos besides onions and cilantro.
The meats are moist and tasty, although I'm not necessarily sure that I can tell the difference between the spicy chicken and the marinated. The chorizo is top notch, as is the al pastor. Interestingly enough though, Mi Pueblo Taqueria does not have carne asada as a choice for taco filling. Instead, they have marinated beef (Birria) and beef steak (Suadero), in addition to beef head (cabeza), which at this point, I'm not willing to try.
Mi Pueblo Taqueria is a very good restaurant, and it is worth leaving the confines of "Mexican Village" to indulge in a few tasty tacos. With gas prices so high, it's hard to recommend going out of your way to visit any restaurant, especially if you have a long trip. Yet, with very few Mexicans in the metro area in general, and a dearth of good Mexican restaurants, I'm going to go ahead and tell you to go anyway. The food is good, the tacos are satisfying, the clientele is real, and everything is cheap. It's hard to argue with a combination like that.
Taqueria Mi Pueblo
7278 Dix Rd, Detroit, MI 48209
E-mail contact@mipueblorestaurant.com
Phone: (313) 841-3315
Taqueria Mi Pueblo
For the complete Flickr set click here Taqueria Mi Pueblo Flickr Set
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