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.

Mi Ranchito Mexican Restaurant - Where have you been all my Tyler life?

Mi Ranchito Mexican Restaurant

Beef and barbacoa tacos.

Caldo de Res

This is a little place off of Front street just west of downtown Tyler.  It isn't much to look at from the street.  There are some colorful murals/drawing painted on the windows and a small parking lot out front.  On the inside, there isn't much more.  There are a 10-15 tables with a few Mexican themed decorations.  My first reaction when rolling up on the place was that it was a little "sketchy".  I was heading over to BBQ Hernandez/Taco Y Mas, but they were closed (this is the second time I have been over there and it was closed, please don't tell me they have shut down).

The spread:  The menu reminds of the little hole in the wall places back in Houston that I love.  They have several different types of soups (caldos) - beef, pork, menudo (on weekends).  They offer tortas, enchiladas, tostadas, etc.  They also offer tacos with your choice of beef, chicken, al pastor and barbacoa.  There were a few more items that I hadn't heard of before and I am looking forward to coming back and trying.

The verdict:  Ah....finally a place that knows how to cook good Mexican food on the cheap.  The flour and corn tortillas were made fresh to order.  The chips were dense and crispy with two types of sauce - red (hot) and green (not so hot) - both excellent.  I knew when the chips came out that I was in for a treat.  I had the caldo de res (beef soup) which comes with tortillas, rice, cilantro and limes.  The broth was rich and well seasoned, the beef tender and delicious.  I also tried the beef, barbacoa and al pastor tacos, and all three were excellent.  Interestingly, most places have a salty, not so great beef/fajita taco meat, but that was not the case here.  The meat was tender and had a great balanced season to it.  The barbacoa was juicy and tender.  The al pastor was also great.  Overall, this is one of the best first food impressions I have had of a place in Tyler.

Edible Tyler Roses:  5 out of 5; First impressions matter, and I love this place.

Wienerland - Walking in a Winter Wienerland

Wienerland



Weinerland is a little hot dog stand just off of 5th street across from Tyler Junior College.  It really stands out from the road with a unique architecture where the drive through is right through the middle of the building.  They also have a small outside seating area to dig into the grub.  They are locally owned and operated and have been in business for 45 years!  There is something to be said about that.

The spread:  Well I was expecting nothing but hotdogs, but in addition to various kinds of hot dogs, they also offer burritos, tacos, and nachos.  In fact, on their facebook page they list themselves as a Tex-mex/fast-food place.

The verdict:  Well this is really a guilty pleasure of mine.  They are likely kept in business due to their proximity to Tyler Junior college and the medical center.  I really enjoyed their hot dogs and nachos, not because they were haute cuisine, but because the food is good, the prices are right and their is definitely a since of nostalgia when eating here.

Edible Tyler Roses:  4 out of 5, give Wienerland a try and take a trip down memory lane.

Super Mercado Monterrey

Super Mercado Monterrey



Super Mercado Monterrey, which is basically a Hispanic super market just off the loop and Highway 31 on the west side of town.  If you are looking for any ingredient for authentic Mexican and/or other hispanic type cooking, this is the place to go.  The vegetables are fresh and cheap.  They have a real butcher shop.  You may have to be able to speak a little Spanish to get through a shopping trip.  They also have a little restaurant in one corner of the store that puts out some good food.

The spread:  They offer tacos, tortas and burritos with different kinds of meats.  They also offer rice and beans, combo plates, enchiladas, tamales, and different kinds of soups.  They have multiple large containers of aguas frescas - which are Mexican style fruit drinks of different kinds: pineapple, mango, etc.

The verdict:  This is another one of my favorite holes in the wall.  The prices are cheap, the food is good and the service is friendly.  You know it is good food when you are the only non-Hispanic in the place.  Avoid the tamales, as they are set out early and tend to be dry.  I will occasionally make huge batches of salsa and can them and I love to come to Super Mercado Monterrey to get the ingredients as they are always fresh and cheap.  Give the restaurant a try if you are in the store.

Edible Tyler Roses:  4 out of 5.  Worth the hassle of having to speak a little Spanish.

Bar BQ Hernandez

Bar BQ Hernandez



This is a little hole in the wall Mexican food place just off of Glennwood south of Front.  You might miss this driving by as there isn't much to mark this as a restaurant.  The parking lot consists of dirt underneath a big ole tree.  The place isn't much to look at from the outside.  In fact, it looks a little scary.  But the smells wafting from the kitchen are fantastic.  Don't judge a book by its cover on this one.  On the inside of the place, the people are friendly, the service is fast and it is clean.  I think this is also a cash only place, and the hours are a little irregular.

The spread:  They offer whole roast chickens, differnet kinds of fajitas, rice, beans and a couple of other traditional Mexican dishes.  This is definitely more of a traditional Mexican place and not a Tex-mex.  Don't expect frills and colorful decorations.  These people really only care about running a clean place and putting out delicious food.  The place is mainly take out, I seem to recall they have a couple of places to sit and eat, but I have only got food to go.

The verdict: This is my all time favorite hole in the wall place in Tyler.  The food is some of the best in Tyler and the value is great.  Everything is fresh, hand made and delicious.  You will have to power through your reservations of how this place looks from the outside, but it will be worth it.  Don't come in your Sunday best, but expect tasty, cheap food.

Edible Tyler Roses: 5 of 5, best Mexican hole in the wall in Tyler.

Fuzzy's Taco Shop

Fuzzy's Taco Shop
http://www.fuzzystacoshop.com/



Fuzzy's Taco Shop opened up about a year or so ago about the same time as Rusty Tacos.  Fuzzy's is located off of Troup north of the loop next to Bodacious BBQ.  The place has a nice hip vibe going with counter placed orders that come up at a pickup window. 

The spread: Well as you can imagine, the focus is on tacos.  They offer the standard Tex-mex appetizers: chips N queso, nachos, quesadillas.  They also offer several types of salads, sandwiches, tacos, burritos, etc.  The taco fillings range from fajita, chicken, shrimp and fish.  I tried a few of the tacos, as well as chips and salsa, a couple of their breakfast tacos and a torta.  They also offer a really good selection of draft beer for a taco shop.  Obviously, someone in there likes microbrews.

The verdict:  I like this place.  The decor is fun, the staff is friendly, the food is good and reasonably priced and the beer list is awesome for a taco shop.  Their tacos are very good.  If they hand made their own flour tortillas, the tacos would be some of the best in town.  The meats are aggressively seasoned and packed full of flavor.  The breakfast tacos are also very good. 

Edible Tyler Roses: 4 out of 5, of the two I prefer Fuzzy's.

Rowdy Taco - Name and menu change

UPDATE:  Rusty taco has changed its name to "Rowdy Taco" and has added a few menu items (salads, bowls, nachos and quesadillas I believe). I tried them again to see if there were any improvements.  For me there was no improvement in quality of the meat or other ingredients.  Oh yeah, they have flour tortillas, which did not taste super fresh.  No change in the rating, worth it if you are in the area and just have to have a decent, but not spectacular taco.

Rowdy Taco
https://www.facebook.com/RowdyTacoTyler



Rusty's is a relative new comer to Tyler, just off the corner of Beckham and 5th street south of the medical center area.  They opened at almost the same time as Fuzzy's Taco further south, so I had a little bit of a hard time distinguishing them.  And spent some time wondering who thought we needed two more taco shops.  The decor is spartan industrial with an open kitchen where you can see them throwing together your tacos.

The spread: Well as you can imagine, the focus is on tacos.  They offer brisket, fish, chicken, fajita, and pork as their meat fillings.  They also offer breakfast tacos that I would like to try out as I am always Jonesing for a good breakfast taco. I would say the food is more Cal-mex than Tex-mex.  When I went you could only choose corn tortillas for the tacos, which is ok, but I just prefer flour tortillas.  I tried a few of the tacos, as well as chips and salsa.

The verdict:  Well the food was prepared quickly and it was pretty good.  I had a big problem with not being able to choose flour tortillas.  The meat was flavorful and everything was well prepared.  The main problem I had is that it didn't have the familiar Tex-mex or mexican flavors that I am used to.  The meats were fine, but they just didn't have that deep rich flavor that comes from home-style cooking.  The food was just a little too Americanized for me.

Edible Tyler Roses: 3 out of 5, of the two I prefer Fuzzy's, but not a bad place to grab a quick taco.