Saturday, May 17, 2008

Avila's Grocery and Taquería

When most people think of Northern Indiana, the first thing that comes to mind most definitely is not incredible, authentic Mexican food. It just so happens that the best Mexican food I have EVER consumed is available in my home town of Warsaw, Indiana. The food is actually the only thing I look forward to when I come home during breaks in the school year.

Avila's Mexican Grocery and Taquería is a small grocery store, bakery, carnicería, and taquería located on Lake street in Warsaw, Indiana. They brag about having "El Mejor pan Mexicano de Warsaw", and I can attest to that. I've had their Tortas, and they're quite impressive, but I'll save that for another post.















The first time I walked in to Avila's I was pleasantly surprised to see them cooking Al Pastor, right on the spit! With pineapple too! I have been a vegetarian for almost four years and nothing had tempted me much until I saw that gigantic, rotating slab of meat. Of course, being the sucker for authenticity that I am, I ordered a few tacos al pastor and was BLOWN AWAY. Their al pastor is incredible. It has an initially sweet flavor and it quickly melts in your mouth, revealing the delicious spices of the marinade.

Today I decided to try a small Quesadilla al pastor. The tortilla is grilled with white quesadilla cheese in it. The meat is grilled separately and then added and the quesadilla is flipped shut and grilled more on both sides. Once its grilled they add sour cream, lettuce and tomato. When they packed it up for me to go, the quesadilla was picture perfect, I almost didn't want to eat it, but I'm definitely glad I did. It was INCREDIBLE, the sour cream and tomato compliment the spicy hotness of the al pastor perfectly. This was my first time trying an Al Pastor quesadilla from Avila's and I was very impressed. I'm definitely going to order this again!

La Primera Post

Hello. Anyone who knows me well knows that I love Mexican food, more than anything, really. I would sell my youngest sister into slavery for nothing more than some good al pastor and an ice cold bottle of Jarritos. I've decided to channel my love for la comida Mexicana in a more constructive way than just clogging my arteries with taco grease. As of now, I'm planning on using this space to review and talk about my favorite taquerias, and Mexican restaurants and grocery stores around where I live and also to keep record of all of the food I'll be eating on my upcoming trip to Oaxaca. I leave this Monday for Mexico and won't be back until June, but I have just enough time to get things started off right!