Travel Tips & Adventures

When you’re traveling in Tucson, it seems natural to want to eat native food.  Since Tucson was briefly part of Mexico, it seems only natural to eat Mexican food.  They come by it honestly.

Want to eat where a president – US President, that is – and other celebrities have eaten?

Head to…

Mi Nidito

An unprepossessing restaurant in an area of town where most tourists would never travel, Mi Nidito (“My little nest”), has good food at reasonable prices and speedy service.  But, the restaurant’s popularity may make you wait a while – which we did for almost an hour on a Saturday.  The place was hopping!  Even though it was larger than it looks from the outside, there were a lot of people enjoying the cuisine.

Mi Nidito had the pleasure of serving President Bill Clinton a few years ago.  We didn’t get to sit where Bill did, but I had the pleasure of choosing the same menu item that the President had eaten.  Inside the front door, the restaurant proudly displays photos of noted former patrons of the restaurant.  (Julio Iglesias, Madeline Albright, etc.)

Aptly named the “President’s Plate,” the platter arrived steaming hot, with more than I thought I’d be able to eat.  Partly because we waited so long to be seated, I was hungry and made a passable attempt to try everything.

The large plate included Bean Tostada, Birria (spiced shredded beef) Taco, Chile Relleno, Chicken Enchilada and Beef Tamale.  I always try a tamale when it is available, as it’s a great indicator of the capability of the kitchen. Tamales take a lot of time to make.  When they’re good, they are flavorful with abundant filling.  When they’re bad, they’re pasty and you’re trying to find the filling. Mi Nidito’s tamale was great.  All that for $12.50 – a great deal and a good sampling of many menu choices.

If you’re looking for a quiet meal, that won’t happen at Mi Nidito.  The throngs have discovered the restaurant, so expect a wait.  But you will have good food to reward you.

The restaurant has been around in the same family since 1952.

Another Tucson restaurant that has been around even longer isEl Minuto Café

Located just south of the Convention Center, El Minuto Café has been open since 1936.  The décor is typical Mexican with hanging decorations, especially during the holidays.

Our server was extremely cordial and very efficient.  We were dining during a very quiet mid-afternoon.  There were only about four parties eating scattered in the two dining rooms, but you got the sense that the lull was only temporary.

First, we were served tortilla and salsa, which were great. We were offered a second bowl of the chips and put a good dent in them, too.  The chips were crispy and not greasy. The salsa was fairly mild, but flavorful.

We tried two of the soups.  My albondiga soup (a meatball soup) had a little too much spice for me; my husband’s tortilla soup was mellow and terrific.

My $9.95 combination plate had a tamale, an enchilada, a taco, refried beans and sauce.  Actually, too much sauce, but that seems to be typical of all Mexican restaurants. One of these days, I’ll ask Mexican restaurants not to cover everything on the plate with sauce.  However, everything was great and I ate it all.  Even the beans, which can be blah, were rich tasting and I ate every morsel.

We can see why the restaurant has survived all of these years.  Not fancy, El Minuto Café is an example of good, authentic food served well.

Mi Nidito

http://www.minidito.net

El Minuto Café

http://www.elminutocafe.com/

Come back tomorrow for a holiday visit.

Tags: Arizona, Food, Historic, Mexican food, Restaurants, Southwest, Travel

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 24th, 2009 at 6:00 am and is filed under Arizona, Food, Historic, Restaurant, Southwest, Travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.