Javi's Food Truck

It's been a bad week, like a legitimately bad week topped off with a preschool tantrum as I was trying to find something to make for dinner in the grocery aisle of Target tonight. I trucked through Target to the checkout without a clue what the little screamer and I were going to eat for dinner. I loaded my son and shopping bags into my truck and a few minutes down the road he was asleep (tired explains the Target tantrum!), meaning I had resigned myself to the reality of fast food drive thru being the only real option with a sleeping kiddo. In my frustration I saw it, like a beacon of hope, in the parking lot of Granma's Pancakes in Dunlap, Javi's taco truck and I knew there was hope of having a dinner that I didn't totally regret.

 I parked close to the taco truck so I could watch my car with my little sleeper, cracked a window, and locked the doors as I hopped in line. I was beyond excited to see that fish/pescado was a meat option for the tacos, I gladly ordered one along with a chicken/pollo and steak/carne asada. The Carne Asada was perfectly seasoned and moist, the fish was well cooked and delicious, and while the chicken had a great flavor it was a little on the dry side, but good enough that I would order it again. All three tacos were just like I like them in corn tortillas with onions and cilantro.

Despite hubby grilling hotdogs for a bonfire, when I saw the Philly Cheese steak made with carne asada, I knew he would want to try it, and I was right! He took one bite and proclaimed his sandwich to be "really frickin' good," which is something he rarely says. With the same, delicious carne asada that adorned my taco, green peppers, and cheese on a crusty roll he was a happy man. By the way, the sandwich does come with onions, like a traditional Philly cheese steak, but the hubby isn't a fan.

You are probably wondering about the salsa, I tried both the red and green salsa and both were entirely too spicy for me, but still had a good flavor. Along with tacos, you can also get a torta, quesadilla, or burrito at Javi's where they are set up Friday and Saturday from 4pm to 1am and also on Sunday afternoons. I only have two regrets about Javi's; 1) I didn't order more tacos and 2) I won't be able to get their tacos during the week.

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.

Puerto Vallarta Express

We are big fans of the build your own burrito style restaurants, and while I do think Chipotle has a great concept and delicious food, we aim to eat local and support local business, I mean what better way to pour into your community and local economy, right? So we were excited to find yet another local version of the Chipotle chain, Puerto Vallarta Express, which was definitely more authentic and had more options.

My hubby jumped right in to build his shelless burrito, with Spanish rice, Carne asada, cheese sauce, black olives, cilantro, salsa verde, black beans, shredded cheese, tomatoes, and, of course guacamole. His bowl was huge, and from the bite (or three) that I stole of his carne asada I can tell you it was delicious. Heck, any time the man can have guacamole and black olives he is a happy camper!

 

I love chimichangas, so when I saw it on their special board I jumped on the opportunity to have a chorizo chimichanga, a dream come true that I don't think I have ever seen on another restaurant menu. While the chorizo was a little greasy, it had an excellent flavor and just a little kick to it, and was great in the crispy tortilla. I was also impressed with the Spanish rice I got on the side and would probably choose that over Chipotle's cilantro lime rice, it was cooked perfectly and had a wonderful flavor.

We also got a side of chips and guacamole that was delicious, the guacamole had a very fresh, natural taste, and though it had a few jalapenos it wasn't overly spicy. Puerto Vallarta Express really was a great fusion, of what I guess to be an American concept, the build your own burrito restaurant and traditional Mexican cooking. Next time you need a meal that is quick, but not fast food or are craving a giant burrito, look off the beaten path (or Hickory Road in this case) for Puerto Vallarta Express, South Bend's local alternative to Chipotle.