Mama's Cafe - Mama I'm coming home!

Mama's Restaurant

Mama's cafe is a place off of 5th street near the loop in a little strip center.  It isn't much to look at from the outside, with somewhat limited parking out front.  I love the entrance, it has a unique feel to it, an elevated dining area and bar to the right and more elevated eating space to the left.  They have a beautiful mural in the bar area.

The spread:  You can check out their menu on their facebook page. Their menu is dichotomous with typical Southern diner fare (T-bone, chicken fried steak, pork chops, pot roast, etc) and typical Tex-mex selections (enchiladas, tacos, burritos, tamales, nachos, fajitas, etc.), and they have a breakfast menu and a dinner/lunch menu.  I stopped in for breakfast and tried a couple of tacos and the huevos rancheros.

The verdict:  I really like this place.  The service was friendly, there was an older group reminiscing about the good old days at the table next to me.  The mural was a nice touch.  The food did take a little longer than I would have anticipated, but when it arrived, it was hot, fresh and generous.  The eggs were cooked perfectly in the huevos rancheros and the beans were nice and creamy.  The chorizo and egg breakfast taco was a meal unto itself with a nice spicy chorizo and plenty of egg crammed into a flour tortilla.  My only criticisms were that the tortillas were not made fresh and the salsa was also not a fresh salsa (very ketchupy). 

Edible Tyler Roses:  4 out of 5; very good breakfast, worth a try for lunch/dinner.

La Michoacana - Cana get a pig toe? Yes you cana.

La Michoacana



La Michoacana is a Mexican supermarket just off of North Beckham and Line.  It is right in the middle of what I consider the "hispanic" part of Tyler.  There are always day laborers looking for work in the parking lots of various adjacent businesses.  La Michoacana is a chain that specializes in serving the hispanic community.

The spread:  In addition to a very good meat market, good prices on fresh veggies and plenty of Mexican/Latin American specific cooking ingredients, there is a little taqueria inside the place.  You have to order at the cash register, then bring your receipt over to the taqueria where they make your order.  BE PREPARED, you will most likely have to speak a little Spanish and have a working understanding of the menu to get what you want.  They offer a tacos with varying kinds of fillings, pozole (pork and hominy soup), Menudo (on weekends), tortas, pupusas, etc.

The verdict:  Well I ordered some pozole and a couple of tacos - one with barbacoa and one with cicharones.  The barbacoa was tender, juicy and great.  The cicharones consistent of cooked down fried pig skin and some sort of WICKED HOT sauce/gravy.  I took one bite and then just about cried for five minutes.  If you like pain, give it a try.  The pozole was the star of the show with tender chunks of pork and hominy floating in a rich spicy tomato based broth.  The only odd thing is that occasionally I would pull out a little piece of pig hoof/toe, which disturbed my gringo sensibilities.  Overall, it is worth grabbing a bite to eat when you are shopping for the special Latin American ingredients.

Edible Tyler Roses: 4 out of 5, don't be afraid, Hable some espanol and get some good food.

La Plazita - had a taste, can't wait to go back for more

La Plazita



La Plazita is just outside of town off of 64 heading towards Canton.  You can easily pass it up as there is a lot of foliage surrounding the place and you don't notice it until you are right up on it.  It looks inviting from the outside with vibrant colors and decorations.  There is a small parking lot out front and a larger one in the rear.

The spread:  Well I stopped by on our way out to Yesterland Farms (which is a lot of fun, but expensive) because I was craving a good breakfast taco and figured I would give it a shot.  The have a fairly large breakfast menu to include several different kinds of breakfast tacos as well as the more traditional Tex-mex fair (huevos rancheros, etc.).  I also peaked at their lunch/dinner menu and was surprised to see not only standard Tex-mex, but a few uncommon dishes on their menu that I would love to try (empanadas, mole enchiladas, and others).

The verdict:  Wow was I glad we stopped.  I got a bean, egg and cheese taco and an chorizo, egg and cheese taco.  The tortillas weren't made to order, but they were cooked well and very good.  They were also generous with the filling with a lot of eggs, cheese, chorizo and beans.  One would have been enough for a solid breakfast.  The chorizo taco was great, with a nice spicy variety that didn't overpower the whole taco.  The bean, egg and cheese also hit the spot.  If they hand made their tortillas to order, this would be heavenly, instead, they are just the best breakfast tacos I have had in Tyler.

Edible Tyler Roses: 4 out of 5; I'll reassess when I revisit the lunch/dinner menu - and I am looking forward to it.