Why eat at a chain Wednesday: Mi Mexico

Mexican food is one cuisine I could literally eat every day, actually the same can be said for Chinese, which is somewhat ironic as I used to work at restaurants where I had the opportunity to consume both on a daily basis. Anyway, more to today’s point, I was craving Mexican when discussing where to eat with a friend for lunch. I went through a few searches, referencing Des Moines Alive and the typical Google search. Yet, I was not able to find a Mexican joint that I hadn’t been to that was not a chain for this feature. Luckily, after searching our site, I realized I hadn’t posted about Mi Mexico before – even though I had eaten there numerous times. So, our decision was made – Mi Mexico!

Mi Mexico is over in Clive right where it seems every car in Des Moines is during the lunch hour – the traffic over there is incredible. If you don’t know where over there is, it is just west of 114^th Street in Clive and south of University Ave. There are a few other restaurants over in that neck of the woods, but all are national chains, which I obviously try to avoid like the plague. I believe the building where Mi Mexico resides has been a few other concepts in the past, but the design has been altered to make it look like Mexican was the intended concept when it was built. The walls have the plaster look that fit in great after a coat of paint was added with the traditional Mexican colors to add to the experience.

Mi Mexico is a pretty traditional American-Mexican restaurant, featuring a menu with tacos, burritos, chimi’s, enchilada’s as their main-stay items. Yet, they also have hamburgers, Grilled Ham & Cheese, and a Garden Salad to diversify their menu. I decided to go with the Expresso Burrito, which included a flour tortilla with chicken, guacamole, tomatoes, onions, black beans, and rice, all topped with 4 Mexican cheeses. I stress the burrito was pretty traditional, but that was exactly what I was looking for. The chicken was very tender and even though the burrito appeared to be smothered in the red sauce, it did not have an overwhelming strong flavor, which was a nice balance with the rice-bean combo inside the tortilla.

I also have it on high regard to recommend any of the Margarita’s at Mi Mexico, during Happy Hour or at any point – really, are highly recommended.  Also, I have heard you should really try the Shaker (drink) when you go for your next visit.

After all, why would you want to eat at a chain when you can eat at Mi Mexico? What is your favorite item on their menu?