Thursday, August 23, 2007

Mexican restaurants, Decatur and Bloomington

A reminder, the Lincoln Art and Balloon Festival is this weekend.

When B, H and I eat out, most of the time it's going to be Mexican food. It's yummy, relatively fast, and friendly for your wallet and your child.


The two places we like best are very different. Our longstanding favorite is Mi Pueblito in Decatur in Fairview plaza. Now there are many good Mexican restaurants in Decatur, but Mi Pueblito has the comfortable seating, the freshest chips, and awesome service. The owner David makes a point to get to know all the regulars and we have watched some of his 15 children grow from busing tables, to wait staff, to parents themselves.

Other Decatur area folks agree. Bob usually gets the Fajita Quesadilla which is widely loved by many of our friends. We have a Springfield friend who goes to Mi Pueblito just for the Fajita Quesadilla.

The other Mexican restaurant we love is La Mexicana on Rt 51 N in Bloomington.
I have not been to Mexico, but I imagine this is pretty authentic food. B and I are usually the only English speaking customers when we are there. The music is loud, the seating is sparse, but the food is great! I get an avocado burrito which is SO much better than La Bamba's avocado burrito. The restaurant is attached to a grocery store so don't be surprised if you walk in the wrong door and find a grocery.

2 comments:

Amy said...

There are so many Mexican places in this region! I love it.

But it does make me curious - is it because of a large migrant-worker population?

The rural agricultural area I used to cover when I was a reporter in NY had a large migrant population, and I wonder if it is similar dynamic.

Interesting ...

And too bad my husband/child don't like Mexican. :(

Henny Penny said...

I'm not sure why we get the wealth of Mexican restaurants here. I wonder if it has to do with the location on and near I-55 going up to Chicago and work at meat packing plants in Central Illinois. I had a hard time just writing about two restaurants because there are so many good ones. I'll do another post for Springfield and Champaign Mexican restaurants.