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City by the Lake.org, The Voice of Michigan City, Indiana _ City Living _ RAVE: El Nopal

Posted by: southsider2k7 Mar 27 2007, 07:13 AM

Friday was the first time I had been in this place, and I was impressed. It is hard to find "real" Mexican food outside of the big cities and the border states, and this place is very authentic in my opinion. I am not a huge adventurer when it comes to my food, and when I go somewhere for the first time, I usually stick with a staple favorite by which to judge the place. I had a taco, which was very good, and the salsa for the chips was even authentic as it was watery, and not the chunky American knock-off. El Nopal also had a nice little enviorment to it. It was smallish, so it was fairly intimate. The restaraunt is located on 9th Street, in between Washington and Franklin Streets. I do know that they are planning Dingus Day and Cinco De Mayo celebrations, so those might be worth checking out, but it is a nice place to eat, even on a ordinary night.

Check it out if you get the chance.

Posted by: Ang Mar 27 2007, 10:06 AM

I ate there and wasn't extremely impressed, but I wasn't sorely disappointed either. The food was okay. A little bland in my opinion. To me, El Nopal is one of those places I wouldn't suggest, but if someone else did, I would go there.

Posted by: southsider2k7 Mar 27 2007, 10:45 AM

In my experiences, "authentic" Mexican food was always a little more bland than the Americanized versions. Plus I have a bland pallet, so not really hot is good for me.

Posted by: Max Main Mar 28 2007, 10:54 AM

By bland, do you mean just not hot (in Spanish picante)? Mexican food should be very flavorful, not necessarily picante, but certainly not bland, which I take to mean rather devoid of flavor. Could you guys be a little more specific about what you ate, how it was prepared, etc.? Have often thought of having a restaurant review site...

Posted by: Ang Mar 28 2007, 11:29 AM

I had a burrito with ground beef, refried beans and cheese. The refried beans were very pale and didn't have much flavor at all-they definitely needed salt. The seasoning on the ground beef was very bland, the meat tasted like meat with a slight tomato tang to it. The "spanish rice" may as well have just been rice with a reddish tint to it for all the flavor it had. Honestly, I think the menu would have had more flavor than the food I ate. The best part about my meal was the Dr. Pepper. Although, I will admit that the complimentary salsa and chips were very good. Since that was the first thing I ate, I had high expectations about the rest of the food so I was very disappointed with what I got.

Posted by: Max Main Mar 29 2007, 08:09 AM

Wow! Good description! lol re dr. p.

I have not eaten there, but I have heard from some who have and enjoyed it. Should I try it? that is the question.

Posted by: RedDevilMC Mar 29 2007, 09:41 AM

From living in Florida and Texas, I find this restaurant is authentic. To say the least, I like it. It's not the best but it one of very few in the area. Most mexican dishes are not spicy, the Tex-mex or the american version. It's quaint and typical of restuarant I went to in Houston and San Antonio.

Posted by: southsider2k7 Mar 29 2007, 09:54 AM

That's exactly what I felt about the place. Most "Mexican" food you get is what I call "Ammex" because it is very Americanized. This is definately more authentic compared to what I ate down in Texas as well. I guess it all depends on what you are used to.

Posted by: RedDevilMC Mar 29 2007, 10:22 AM

Before anyone checks me on it, I should have used spell check! Arggh!

Posted by: Max Main Apr 2 2007, 09:01 AM

How would you compare it to El Bracero? And please give some details on what you ate.

Posted by: southsider2k7 Apr 3 2007, 01:24 PM

You like details don't you Max?

Nothing wrong with that I suppose.

Posted by: Max Main Apr 4 2007, 09:13 AM

In a parallel lifetime, I am a restaurant critic! So I like to see some detail about dishes etc.