138759 Fri May 06 09:58:12 -0700 2005 4 11 South 0 743064 Last evening, for Cinco de Mayo, we tried La Michoacana, which is located at 2007 University Dr NW, across from the Books-A-Million. The room is a little disheveled, the booths have definitely seen better days, and the waitresses speak only a smattering of English. However, the food was actually fantastic. We started off with some homemade salsa, which was watery and not very flavorful. I was starting to regret my choice, especially since this place was only half full on May 5th. But, we ordered a round of Carta Blancas and placed our order. I ordered three tacos off of the menu - barbacoa, al pastor, and chorizo - as well as a de buche taco off of the Spanish-only specials list on the wall. (It also listed a shrimp ceviche, pozole, menudo, and several shrimp and seafood soups.) Well, the tacos were actually way better than expected - served on two white corn tortillas with a side of cilantro, onions, and limes. But the meats were expertly prepared and grilled - the barbacoa (goat) gamey and moist, but not too much so - perfect. The chorizo was crumbled, but flavorful, the de buche (pig cheek) ver bacony, but mild and crisp, and the only (mild) disappointment was the al pastor, which was heavily sauced, but still OK. (If I was in the mood for al pastor tacos, I would order it again.) I believe these were all priced at between $1 and $2, while some of the specials topped out at around $8.99. (A friend had the costillas con salsa verde - short ribs in green sauce - which were tremendously flavorful and nicely spicy.) The one note - while the salsa served with the chips is rather boring, the salsa roja served with the tacos is complex and smoky, with a wonderfully suttle mouth burn at the back of your tongue - great stuff. I would order (or just request) a side of this for use with the tortilla chips next time. Other menu items include grilled steaks and fish, including a parillada - which seemed to be a take, though not an exact replica, of the Argentine dish of the same name. I would highly recommend this place to anyone looking for authentic Mexican in Huntsville. (On a side note - the grocery store next door is great, too, with lots of imported sodas, beers, groceries, etc. Had a decent mamey popsicle there - good stuff.) Fri May 06 09:58:12 -0700 2005 0 Lambretta76 1 743264 Hey, thanks for this nice review. I'll give the place a dinner-time try! Mon May 16 09:30:13 -0700 2005 743064 0 Liz 2 743331 Sounds great - I'd love to hear your opinion! Wed May 18 08:23:20 -0700 2005 743264 0 Lambretta76 3 743337 So what are the popsicles next door like? Anything as good as those at Las Paletas in Nashville? ( See my post 5/10/05). They are the greatest!!! Wed May 18 11:17:51 -0700 2005 743331 0 Liz 4 743455 They're quite tasty, but nothing as off beat as the place in Nashville - they had coconut, guanabana, mamey, and tamarind, among others - but no off the wall flavors like olive oil. (I do love the olive oil gelato at Otto here in NYC, though...) Mon May 23 09:49:04 -0700 2005 743337 0 Lambretta76