Sopes

This is the latest post in our Latin Tongue series, which explores Latin eateries in the Twin Cities area. Check out the first article for the ground rules and a running list of restaurants we've covered.

What would you do if you heard about a place called Nacho's in the suburbs? Not a chance right? Sounds like someone's excuse to serve monstrous plates of high calorie, cheese smothered food. Now, what if all you did was add the word Supermercado. Nacho's Supermercado. Ok, I suppose it sounds a bit like a joke, but it is real and it is in downtown Hopkins. We simply could not resist checking it out because nothing about the name and location made sense. I was careful not to research it so that our surprise would be complete. What we found, was definitely a surprise, in more ways than one. 

Were there nachos? Nope. Was it a supermercado? Not really. Did they have a tortilla press, excellent barbacoa and three types of tamales? Well, of course. Lucky us…again.

We started this Latin eating series for many reasons, but one of them was the idea that we would solve the many mysteries that lie within those places you so often drive by but never stop to investigate. For me, I've always wondered about the large building on the corner of Nicollet and 28th that has so many interesting sign, names and dimensions. Most folks might notice the Marissa's Panaderia sign on 28th. Some might notice the names El Mariachi or El Nuevo Mariachi. Whatever is going on there, I surely had no clue and as often as I am in the neighborhood, be it by bike, bus or auto, it is high time to settle it.

Well, we're back after a brief hiatus. We heard from a number of folks after our 4 month review saying that they would love us to continue checking out local Mexican restaurants. We were easy to convince and so we pulled out our trusty list and then threw it out as the place we wanted to go didn't seem to have a name. At least not one that we knew.

Special late night edition you ask? I suppose it was bound to happen. Almost every week I hop on my bicycle and tour around Minneapolis with a few friends, sharing stories from the weeks events, having a few drinks and eating late night fare. All too often when searching for late night eats, you are left feeling stuck with few options. Usually, it is pizza or bar food. Then we discovered the habit of the Mexican restauranteur to keep their doors open until the odd hours of the night. And what a discovery it was.

Instead of consuming questionable greasy burgers and pizza as a night comes to a close, my friends and I now have much more to consider. Tacos, sopes, burritos, quesadillas and the hangover killing bowl of menudo have broadened our horizons. One of these gifts to the late night gut is Taco Taxi on Lake street.

This is a part of an ongoing adventure in Latin food eateries. Read our intro article to find out why.

I drive down 38th St. quite often and have constantly wondered about the establishment called Mi Sinaloa. It sounded exotic. As a matter of fact, I spent a good deal of time wondering what in the world this place was. It sounds tropical, but I failed to even guess at the hemisphere, not to mention the correct country. Then I figured it out. Sinaloa is a state in Mexico on the Pacific coast of the country.