Around the Fort: Michoacanas

I love new things. New places. New experiences. I'm the ultimate experimenter. The one who grabs at each new Pringles flavor as soon as it hits the shelf. The type who never buys the same shampoo twice. Or toothpaste. Or hair spray. The sort who, when coming across a crowd-pleasing recipe, will toss it out in place of something else. Something different. Untried.

So how do I explain that I've been in Fort Wayne for 7.5 years, but have yet to experience all those nooks and crannies I've been eyeballing from the comfort of my car?

I don't. I simply make way for reformation. (

My friend Cassie and I have constructed a running list of all the places and things we want to do, see, experience and taste before the end of the summer. And while it's growing larger by the day, I cannot tell you how liberating and exciting it is to actually begin to EXPERIENCE the things I've always thought I'd one day get around to doing. But knew I wouldn't.

And yet, here we are.

I present my first review:

Michoacanas (I think)

Off of Wells Street, across from the very popular Hyde Bros. Bookstore, is a new-ish Mexican establishment called Michoacanas. I think. (This place is so authentically Mexican, in its decor, atmosphere, food, advertisements, that we honestly couldn't pinpoint its exact name. But still, I'm confident in saying it's Michoacanas. I think.)


Upon entering, we were met with a number of handmade ice cream choices. From their window advertisements, I gathered this was their specialty. But still, Cassie and I were there for more than a bit of sugar. We were there for food! There's just something about un-Americanized foreign food that gets me singing. Maybe it's the experience. Or the surprise. Or the taste. Maybe it's just the fact that is food. But I was really excited about this one.

And nervous. The menu on the wall to the left of the ice cream stand was entirely in Spanish. So, we stood there for a few seconds, making out the few words that we knew, like "pollo" and "taco" and "queso", but, we were soon saved. The girl behind the counter whipped out menus (with English translation). (She was just a teen, too, so there wasn't any problem with translation stuff).

We both ordered chicken burritos and milkshakes. Large milkshakes, mind you. Because we're Americans. And because they didn't accept plastic for orders less than $10.

And then the girl asked us if we wanted cinnamon on our milkshakes. And like true sports, we said yes. In both my vanilla and Cassie's strawberry shakes. Cinnamon.


The food was quite good. Even the cinnamon vanilla milkshake (although it kind of tasted like rice pudding). The burrito was far less greasy than the Chipotle/Qdoba burritos I'm used to. And they didn't seem to skimp on ingredients. I detected fresh avocado. Real chicken. And homemade tortillas. So that was a huge win.

Then, when we were halfway done, an employee from Cebolla's (another Mexican place) came in. And before we knew it, it was bustling with activity. And we were the only whities.

And that's when we knew we'd hit the jackpot for authenticity. It was beautiful.

Before we left, an older lady who had been working in the kitchen made us sample some of the ice cream, and let me tell you ... I could definitely go for some of that when summer hits!

Michoacanas
Mmm Factor: MMMM (4 of 5 Mmms)
Atmosphere: 4.5 of 5 (for make me feel we were truly in Mexico, sans the heat)
Authenticity: 5 of 5 (for cultural-ness)
Overall Experience: 4 of 5