Review: Hacienda Mexican Restaurant
Author: WIBIA | Filed under: Food Reviews, Recommended: Hall of Fame
Hacienda Mexican Restaurant
2148 North Karwick Road
Michigan City, IN 46360
http://www.haciendafiesta.com/
You probably know this by now, but Mexican is my favorite type of food. When it is done well, you just can’t beat it. I usually look down upon Americanized Mexican or chains like Don Pablo’s, On the Border (they do have killer tortilla chips at the grocery store though) etc. However this small chain based out of South Bend, IN has a secret weapon, meet the “Wet Burrito.”
What I Ate: Wet Burrito. Smaller, Shredded Pork $ 8.50
This bad boy is stuffed with pork, refried beans, lettuce, tomatoes and topped with cheese and a secret “Hacienda” sauce. I am well-versed in mexican cuisine, but I still have no clue how to replicate the secret Hacienda sauce. They have me hook line and sinker.
The burrito is outstanding, what else can I say? I should hate it though, it is about as mild as Frank Calliendo and as authentic as…well…Frank Calliendo. The cheese offers little flavor, but it does glue everything together.
I would recommend the larger size for a $1.00 more. The small still packs in over 500 calories and 27 grams of fat. Complete nutrition information is listed on their site. My recommendation, skip the shredded beef and chicken, try the ground beef or shredded pork.
Would I Buy It Again? Yes. Hall of Fame too! The closest Hacienda to my house is an hour away in Kokomo, IN. Once in a while I can talk my wife into making the drive. She likes Hacienda ok, but complains (a lot) about the pureed salsa. She said it is salsa for 85 year olds that can’t chew and it reminds her of ketchup. Look at this pic, she has a point!
This is for you babe!
Oh yeah, I ate some Churros too. They come with a chocolate syrup and caramel. Pretty Good.
-WIBIA
Tags: Burrito, churros, Food, hacienda mexican restaurant, Indiana, Mexican Food, Michigan City, salsa
I could go for a churro right about now. Mexican is my favorite type of food too.
Too funny on the salsa. Those churros look epic.
Let me ask you though…have you ever truly had bad Mexican? It’s pretty hard to mess up…although I must admit I don’t care for the “wet” option normally.
What’s your worst Mexican food experience?
Agreed…tough to screw up Mexican food. Worst experience was my own fault…I went for a salsa in my burrito at Chipotle that was way too hot for me. I’m a wimp…I tap out at the medium corn salsa and mild pico de gallo mixed…it’s tasty and non-painful.
I haven’t had a real bad Mexican experience. Occasional stomach monkeys from time to time.
I would agree that Mexican is hard to screw up, but check out the Roscoe Tacos review in the archive for a lame taco. I have a review of my favorite tacos in Indy coming up next week. Stay tuned!
Ryan…wow, that is lame. I had the Habenero salsa @ Qdoba on Cinco De Mayo and it was spicy, but not crazy hot. Indianapolis Eater and I are preparing to eat 16 of the hottest wings this week to get our picture on the wall. (part of the rules are you can;t take a drink in between) It is going to hurt! Tempted to video, but you will get the pics…. I am still looking for the right mask!
Dude! You’ve got to video it….that would be awesome!
Wow, the yellow cheese was confusing to me but I will take your word for it. I always love a good wet burrito.
I’ve eaten at the original location in South Bend…which is reputed to be haunted!
You can’t talk about Hacienda and not mention the RANCH! It’s the best ranch dressing in the world…I think they put crack in it.
But this ranch ain’t for salads…you dip your chips in it…salsa and ranch or just ranch…it is THE. BOMB.
In fact, I have a craving now. Going to Elkhart this weekend, might have to pick up a stash!
Stacy, you bring up a good point. The ranch/salsa combination is so weird, but it is not as bad as it sounds! A lot of people do this, but I usually stick to the salsa without ranch. They have another salsa at Hacienda, but I am not a fan of it.
You MUST put ranch in the salsa. As my hubby correctly states, I hate the salsa at hacienda…. I would qualify it as screwing up Mexican Food! However, I do agree the wet burrito is very yummy. It is definitely worth the trip to Kokomo (yes I will admit it hon)!
As a South Bend native Hacienda is OK. But as a true Mexican if you want some good Mexican food in South Bend head on down McKinley Ave into Mishawaka to Mazatlan’s. They have the best Mexican food in the area. I live in Cali now and recently went for a visit after 5 years and luckily was not disappointed. It was as good as I remembered. Also for Italian in Mishawaka Papa Vino’s is my favorite there. Small Chain from Quality Dining only in OH, MI, and IN.