La Esperanza

Chipotle, Hacienda they're good at what they do, but they just don't have the authentic cuisine that this area boasts. There are enough carnicerias, taquerias, and restaurants run by Latino families in this county that you could spend a good month eating nothing but tacos, enchiladas, carne asada, tamales, chorizo, guacamole, and well, I could go on and on, but the point is the Elkhart area has a plethora of delicious Mexican food. La Esperanza on Jackson in Elkhart was no exception to this rule! We started with delicious chips, that were seasoned with something more than salt, but I couldn't quite put my finger on what that was (we had take out so I couldn't ask) and some very fresh tasting guacamole, the salsa was good, too, but a little too spicy for my taste. Mr. Albert let me order his dinner as we didn't have a take out menu, so I chose a combo dinner with a chilli relleno (a pablano pepper stuffed with cheese, dipped in batter, and fried) and carne asada, accompanied by refried beans and rice. He was introduced to the chilli relleno by his dad and has searched for a good one in this area as long as he and I have been together, and La Esperanza's version did not disappoint. He really liked the carne asada, which was actually a steak and not the diced beef that we are accustomed to in our tacos. The beans looked a little runny, but he assured me that they were actually pretty good.

We are tamale lovers in this house so I was excited to find them on the menu, and though I love the thrill of unwrapping them from their corn husks, I have learned to love the unwrapped version and the red sauce many restaurants top them with. I had a pork tamale and a chicken one, the pork had a little bit of a kick to it, but both were incredibly tasty. I also really liked the rice on the side, it was delicious, although I skipped the refried beans as the texture of them doesn't do much for me.

Next time you are craving a burrito, just keep driving up Jackson street past Hacienda to La Esperanza where you will be greeted with delicious Mexican food in a clean and pleasant dining room.