I'm In Love ... With a Restaurant

Well, OK. I'm in love with DH too. He took me to my favorite restaurant yesterday.

Let me back up. Last week was rough. It was hectic, frantic, and just about any other -ic words you can think of. TGIF nearly took on a religious meaning. I was so glad when Friday rolled around that I brought in Mary Lou Donuts for our department. By the way, Mary Lou makes the best donuts - ever. Better than Dunkin' Donuts. You can keep your Krispie Kremes. Give me Mary Lou Donuts any day of the week. OK, if you did, I'd look like donut, but you get the picture.

There is this Mexican restaurant chain over here called Hacienda. There was one fifteen minutes away from the house I grew up in. There used to be one here in Lafayette - heck that's the reason I agreed to move here - but now the closest one is in Kokomo. It's only a 40 minute drive or so.

I am in love with Hacienda.

As far as being "authentic" in terms of Mexican fare, I have no idea. Don Pablos once tried to kill me with heartburn, so no, it's not necessarily spicy-hot.

Most of my co-horts love it for their margaritas. I agree. They are good. They have a dreamsicle orange one that is absolutely divine, but I digress. I do go for the food.

I always order the same thing every time too. A shredded beef wet burrito with extra cheese. Please forgive me for drooling. The beef is like the tenderest pot roast ever marinated in subtle Mexican seasonings. It's wrapped with beans (not a lot), tomatoes, lettuce and burrito sauce inside a flour tortilla and a mound of cheese is melted over the whole thing.

So good.

Lately we've become fans of the chili con queso sauce with chips as an appetizer, as if the regular chips and salsa were not good enough on their own. I never eat chips and salsa anywhere else. And yesterday (due to fate, I believe) their mudslide dessert was half price. That would be a big chocolate chip cookie baked fresh, covered with three scoops of vanilla ice cream and hot fudge sauce. We ordered one with three spoons. *Sigh*

I waddled when I left the restaurant, but I was one happy camper.

So if you're ever in Michigan City, Mishawaka, Goshen, Elkhart, Warsaw, Kokomo, Evansville or South Bend and see a sign for Hacienda, be sure to wave. I'll wave back, I promise.

http://www.haciendafiesta.com/