Super Bowl Update

Finally I am getting around to reviewing La Hacienda which I have mentioned several times in other reviews. This is a place that is close to my house (although they have several locations around Indy) and when we first moved to Indy we used to take the kids there all the time because, well my son was really young, the service is remarkably fast, and they didn’t seem to mind that we made an enormous mess. And you gotta love a Mexican restaurant in an old Waffle House (they have recently done a more major facelift on the inside, but in the beginning, it looked a lot like a Waffle House inside (and still does on the outside). And I also love that the sign out front still says, “Now Open Special” even after 3 years. And hey, the margaritas are good and so is the food.

Anyway, I wanted to do a fresh visit and review since we haven’t been in awhile (we have ventured into other places now that my kids are a bit older). They instantly bring you the chips and salsa—I really like their salsa, not super spicy or anything, but still fresh and tasty. The chips aren’t bad either. The kids always want guacamole and sour cream to dip into as well, so we ordered that with the chips too. Ok, the guacamole is not the big chunky kind that is my preference; it is the sort of uniform smooth style you get in a lot of the more casual, cheap Mexican places. But the thing is, you can still tell that it is actually derived from avocadoes at some point. There are some little recognizable bits and the flavor is of avocadoes. I can’t say they make it in house, I have no idea and if I had to guess I would say they probably don’t, but for what it is, it still isn’t bad.

I did order something that I have had a few times before, the soft shrimp chimichangas. Soft, meaning they are not deep fried. Ok, they aren’t the most exciting thing in the world, flour tortillas with large grilled prawns and red sauce, lettuce and tomato on top, but their shrimp is some of the best shrimp in a Mexican place I have had (and in many restaurants around here for that matter). They don’t overcook it, it is a good size and has great grilled flavor. La Hacienda is one of those places where they have 4-5 basic meat ingredients that are used in about 150 different dishes, but if you find a meat you like (I also like the chicken used in many of the dishes), you can pretty much be guaranteed you will like your dish. The beans and rice are also very good here (this is the only Mexican place where I bother with any rice; usually I think Spanish rice is just a waste of calories).

Hubby had the pork carnitas—this is probably one of Hacienda’s best dishes. The pork is done very well—nice crispy edges but also good flavor and the pico di gallo is fresh and really tasty, as is the hotter salsa that comes alongside the pico di gallo. Hubby has decided now that we don’t come as often, this is probably the only thing he will order there from now on.

My favorite things here by far though are the Texas margaritas. Hubby and I usually split a small pitcher, and what always cracks me up is that they bring you the pitcher and the two glasses and the pitcher is always full and the 2 glasses are always half full. If you go with more people, no matter how many people share a pitcher (large or small), they always bring you the glasses already half full. Not sure how this happens every time, but I think you could order 15 glasses and one pitcher and they would probably always bring you 15 half full glasses as well as the full pitcher. Not that I’m complaining mind you, I just find it humorous.

Anyway, I could happily sit and just eat the chips and salsa and margaritas, but the rest of the food is pretty good too. And the service is so fast, you can hardly believe it, but at least when the place is on a wait to get a table, you know you won’t be waiting long!

La Hacienda (various locations)
6825 Graham Road
Indy 46220
317-577-2689