Latino Food in Southwest Florida
/So I haven't written about food in awhile and we all know how much I love FOOD! This post is dedicated to Latino food in Southwest Florida. Obviously, because Fer is addicted to tacos and anything Mexican or similar, and I get a hankering for a pastor taco here and there, we have been on the hunt for a great Mexican place here in Cape Coral. We've tried a couple places and here's what we think:
1. Iguana Mia
This is the first "Mexican" place we tried. My parents took us there on one of our first nights in Cape Coral. I put Mexican in quotes because it is your typical Mexican-American joint with fajitas and chimichangas. I had enchiladas and they were pretty good, Fer had carnitas and said they were satisfactory. The place was alright, but we were disappointed they didn't have real tacos, pastor, or mole. We kept searching.
2. Taco Pancho
After doing some google searches, Fer found Taco Pancho and the menu online said they had pastor so we immediately got excited. We visited on a Friday night and the atmosphere was welcoming and had more of a Mexican vibe. We tried the pastor tacos and Fer also had lengua. He wasn't too fond of the fact that the tacos came with cabbage. They were also a bit on the expensive side at $2.49 USD a pop (Dorothy, we aren't in Mexico anymore) haha. The pastor was pretty good and we were happy to find it, but it wouldn't give them a 10. At the time though without other options it was a good find.
3. El Taqueria Azteca
Now this was the place!! So good! A friend of mine recommended this place to us once he knew we were on the hunt for authentic Mexican. This restaurant is family owned and operated by a Mexican family from DF. When you walk in the place Mexican banda music fills your ears and you are instantly transported to Mexico. Fer and I literally felt like we were in Mexico, he was so happy! The atmosphere was inviting, homey, and the walls were filled with Mexican handicrafts, art, and sculptures. They have homemade salsas on every table, just like in Mexico. We even ordered in Spanish and Fer spoke with one of the owners about them both being Chilangos. I was psyched that they had enmoladas so of course I ordered those, while Fer ordered tacos and pozole to start. He said the pozole was almost as good as his own mother's! The enmoladas were to die for. FINALLY, we found an authentic, affordable, delicious Mexican place in Southwest Florida!
4. Aji Limon
Aji Limon is a Peruvian restaurant that I saw had high ratings on Trip Advisor and other sites online. We had it on our lists of places we wanted to try, but didn't get around to it until last weekend. A friend who I play soccer with, also highly recommended it. It was the first time Fer and I tried Peruvian food and we were blown away. It was DELICIOSO! I had something called a tacu tacu with fried fish. Fer had lomo saltado and Peruvian ceviche. The service was great and we ordered everything in Spanish. The chef came out at the end of our meal and asked us how we liked everything and was pleased to hear that we LOVED it. I can't wait to go back and try something else at Aji Limon.
lomo saltado
As far as food exploration goes, we're doing great here in Cape Coral. We can't wait to explore more and with both of us working now we are saving more money to do so. Life is good! :)