La Cina is one of my favorite restaurants that no one knows about. It is a tiny Mexican restaurant technically in Detroit on Mack Ave, but it is on the border of Grosse Pointe. There is no alcohol served here which is why I believe they do more carry out compared to dine in, but I prefer to sit down. For one you get all the warm tortilla chips and salsa you can eat and they don’t skimp on these. The salsa that comes with the chips has just enough spice and makes dining in completely worth it. The Prices are reasonable, and you can always find coupons for a few bucks off. For this trip to La Cina I tried something new and an all-time favorite.
First for an appetizer we tried the Spicy Cheese Dip. This comes with more chips, as if the two baskets we ate with the salsa wasn’t enough. The Dip had a strange consistency but was oddly good. The consistency remind me of the classic nacho cheese sauce you would get at a ball game, but with real cheese added in to make it stringy. The cheese sauce also had fresh jalapeno peppers in and on top of it. Also, a few chopped onions for presentation topped the dipped. Getting past the odd texture, this dip tasted great. Obviously, very cheesy with just enough spice to taste the heat, but it was not over powering. I would definitely order this again. Of course by now I was already full but my favorite was still to come, the Chicken Chipotle Tacos.
These Tacos are what started my love for Chipotle flavor. The tacos are served with refried beans and Mexican rice. These are both good, but are nothing special. The tacos on the other hand are worth the trip. They are served in a soft flour tortilla that is slightly grilled to give it just enough crunch and slightly melt the cheese in the inside. The chicken is cut up in good size chunks and cooked in a chipotle sauce. This is what makes it. The chicken is still juicy and the chipotle flavoring is amazing. It has a little heat, not a lot, and a great Smokey flavor. The smokiness of the chipotle and juicy chicken combine and almost give the whole taco a bacon flavor. On top of the chicken there is some Mexican cheese which gets slightly melted from the tortilla and the warm chicken. On top of that is a little fresh lettuce and tomato, which gives a fresh crisp crunch to round everything out. Everything blends together great with these tacos, but the chipotle makes them special.
I love going to La Cina, but have a hard time ordering anything different, because the Chicken Chipotle Tacos are so good. I will say if you have room for dessert you must try their version of fried Ice cream. We didn’t have room on this occasion but it is delicious. The ice cream is coated in cinnamon toast crunch and then drizzled with warm caramel. Sorry I don’t have a picture of this, but believe me it is so good. Overall, great food, small building and you’ll get great service because few people eat in.
Thanks for reading!
I love going to La Cina, but have a hard time ordering anything different, because the Chicken Chipotle Tacos are so good. I will say if you have room for dessert you must try their version of fried Ice cream. We didn’t have room on this occasion but it is delicious. The ice cream is coated in cinnamon toast crunch and then drizzled with warm caramel. Sorry I don’t have a picture of this, but believe me it is so good. Overall, great food, small building and you’ll get great service because few people eat in.
Thanks for reading!