El Paraiso

After the closing of La Nortena I felt a little lost, looking for my taco fix in South Bend.

I will say the Chips and Salsa are far from the best I've had, but they were okay.
However the homemade red and green salsa for the tacos were excellent.

I had a full range of tacos ( Mexican style) Tongue, Cheek, Pork, Lamb and Tripe.
All were good, I've never had Tripe before, all I have to say is its an acquired taste.

However I feel the DO NOT MISS is by far the Lamb. Very few "real" taco places offer it and I found it to be phenomenal. I'd prob give the place 3.5 stars but the lamb was that good its worth the 4th just to go for it.

Also the Mexican milk/rice drink very flavorful and a good way to wash down a spicy meal.

Wet Burrito Dinner, Coke: $ 10.05-

I LOVE finding new reataurants with really GOOD food! - unfortunately, today that did not happen.

I've driven past this place hundreds of times because I'm a little hinkey about eating in independent Mexican restaurants in the neighborhoods. I used to know some Mexicans and their food safety standards just aren't the same as we expect here in America.

But, I saw an advertisment on local T.V. for this place and it LOOKED nice, so I thought I would give it a try.
Nothing ruins my day more than a bad meal.

The restaurant appears to be co-operated with the Mexican grocery store housed in the same building.
The decor is nice, they have beautiful, carved wood chairs and booths with gorgeous colors.
Right away my "Spidey Sence" kicked-in, and it was not good.
The waitress had a difficult time taking my order, and in fact got it wrong.
When I reminded her that I wanted the "Burrito Dinner" and I supposed to get rice and beans she very politely walked over to the counter where the cook was working and within less than 60 seconds she brought back rice and refried beans on a seperate plate. The rice was dryed-out and the re-fried beans were at room temperature- which means they were being "held" on the "line" at room temperature WHICH IS VERY UNSAFE!!!
The cook only had enough time to have just scooped rice and beans out of some holding container and didn't have the time to have warmed them up.

The beef burrito had a huge tortilla that was triple folded on the back side creating a half beef-half tortilla burrito. Half of the burrito was just doughy tortilla!
The "sauce" tasted like Campbell's tomato soup and the whole thing was just barely warm.

The salsa was good, but the chips were served cold and they were very hard.

After she left my food I never saw the waitress again until I walked up to the register to pay.

About halfway through the meal someone in the kitchen turned on some Mexican music way too loud!

The best part of this visit was the beautifully carved chairs and booths- but they don't make up for bad food, service and quality concerns.

Pros:
+ $1 tacos Sundays and Wednesdays
+ You can have your choice of meats on $1 taco days and which style you prefer (American, Mexican, etc.)
+ Free chips and salsa for sitting in although the salsa is sub par
+ Mexican grocery store attached
+ Drink/water comes in to go styrofoam cup
+ Colorful dining area

Cons:
- Have ordered the carne asada and barbacoa tacos and found them to be dry
- Chorizo is too greasy
- Service can be slow if they are busy on dollar taco days
- Sometimes they can mix up your order