If you are a true food adventurer, then you know that sometimes a little hole in the wall can be a find. Today we went to a little place in Santa Ana called Lindo Michoacan. Today I am joined my by co-workers from Ignite: Hop, Arshy, Tara, Karen, Dmitri and Less. My boss has been telling me about this place since he started at Ignite over a year ago.

It literally is a hole in the wall but has authentic Mexican food, all made by hand. Nothing frozen then deep fried, we’re talking handmade rolls into flautas, buritos filled by hand using crema and cotija cheese. The beans probably had been cooking for several hours, most likely made with lard.

There wasn’t anything special about this place. Had it not been for my boss’ recommendation, I might have just driven right past it. They have seating for about 20 people inside and there is a large board with photos, descriptions and a number. While they had burritos, enchiladas and molé, tacos weren’t on the menus. I ordered the chicken flautas which came with rice and beans. My compadres ordered enchiladas and bistek con chile also served with rice and beans. 

While we waited for our food, we ordered drinks. Note: the staff doesn’t speak much english, so alot of finger pointing will be required to point to what you want to order. They also only take cash. Oh back to the drinks, Hop ordered an Horchata which is a kind of milky drink made with rice, sometimes ground almonds or barley. The rest of us had Coca Colas. But not just your regular Coca Cola, this was Coca Cola bottled in Mexico. Why does that matter? The cola formula in Mexico doesn’t have high fructose corn syrup. They use real sugar. To me it tastes just a tad bit sweeter, but with a more earthy flavor. I like it.

Once our food arrived, we all cleaned up our plates pretty quickly. My flautas were pan fried and not deep fried. The beans were nice and creamy, but the rice was a bit gummy. 

When we finished our meals, we went next door to the La Ranchita Tortilleria and bought some corn and flour tortillas. Such a deal! $1.50 for 36 corn tortillas, just made! So tonite I think I am making tacos! :)

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Lindo Michoacan
4412 W 5th Street
Santa Ana 92703-3224 
714-265-1343