I've spent over a month in Gainesville, always on the lookout for delicious Mexican restaurants. Today, I am recommending a highly-rated place on Google with a 4.5🌟 rating. I've ordered their takeout two days in a row, and I absolutely loved their authentic taste. I want to share this with everyone.
The restaurant is called LaTienda, which means "store" in Spanish. As the name implies, it really feels like a small convenience store, as you can find a small window selling household items, and even shampoo - quite unique.
It's not a very big restaurant, with simple decor and a warm color scheme. There's a row of refrigerators near the entrance selling drinks and house-made desserts.
The order process is a bit like fast-food, as once you know what you want, you can line up at the window to order and pay. For dine-in, an attendant will serve the food when it's ready.
We went there for their menudo, a traditional Mexican dish that's only available on weekends. Menudo is a Mexican-style "tripe soup" made from beef tripe, stomach, onions, chili powder, Mexican pepper, and chicken broth. Their menudo is amazing, costing under $15, and is a hefty serving that comes with two tortillas. There's almost no detectable unpleasant offal taste; it's sour, mildly spicy, and heavily spiced.
Their soup also contains tripe and beef feet, which I tried for the first time. It's tender and full of collagen, really enjoyable. But please note that the seasoning is traditional Mexican style, so don't expect a Chinese-style "tripe soup" taste.
We also tried their tacos. Apart from seafood fillings, other meat fillings are 3 for $10, which is a great deal. They have a variety of fillings, such as chicken, pork, beef, beef tongue, Mexican sausage, tripe, beef cheek, and shredded goat meat, which are hard to find in typical American Mexican restaurants. I ordered sausage, tripe, and beef tongue - all delicious without any disappointment.
In summary, this place deserves the 4.5🌟 recommendation! Though I haven't tried many dishes from this restaurant, the ones I have tried are excellent. They offer high-quality, authentic, and affordable Mexican food. In addition to the dishes I mentioned, they also have Quesadillas Fajitas, Burritos, Tortas, and so on. Their homemade horchata is also good!
📍Address: 2204 SW13th St Gainesville FL 32608
There's free parking, and you can order online or by phone for pickup.