LINDO MICHOACAN
Lindo Michoacan is a great Mexican restaurant if you know what to order. Many of the standard dishes are remarkably pedestrian, so there’s no reason to go out of your way for a flauta, green chile burrito (done much better at El Sombrero), or one of its tostadas or tacos.
They have a good selection of tequilas, but it’s not great, and they use a mix for their margaritas. The beers are standard-issue Mexican.
But the tortillas are fresh, the hostesses mas diablo, and you’d be hard pressed to find a friendlier restaurant anywhere north of the border.
What we come here for is to be slipped the tongue. It really gets our goat. And we get theirs. And ELV always leaves happy.
That lengua comes five ways, and we’ve had two of them: a dark red mole and a complex green pipian (ground pumpkin seed) mole. Both were rich, deep, soulful and slippery — just the way ELV likes getting his tongue.
The birria de chiva (goat stew) is a dark, strongly-flavored delight. This concoction doesn’t kid around — its gamy essence of mature, mildly-hot meat comes in a bowl big enough to feed two hungry adults. So good is it, that we can forgive the tepid fideo, sorry sides, and the usual waste-of-time-fried beans. The egg-rich, silky flan, however, is stellar.
Dinner for two will run around $60 — more if you channel your inner Benicio Del Toro at the tequila bar. Lunch specials are much cheaper, but center on the much more generic Mexican offerings.
LINDO MICHOACAN
2655 East Desert Inn Road
Las Vegas, NV 89121
702.735.6828
Restaurant reviews, quips, picks and pans-with some seriously salivating history-from the man who eats his way through Sin City every day.
March 10th, 2009 at 10:25 am
I remember the mole being pretty good too, but my favorite dish, tacos al pastor (which aren’t really tacos al pastor because they don’t have the traditional trompo) have been better. While I am still a huge Lindo fan, I really think their food was better 14 years ago or so. As they grew, many of their dishes declined in quality. Agreed on El Sombrero — great place (albeit crowded and too small!)
March 10th, 2009 at 11:40 am
Camarones Sarandeado “Tia Esther” is a favorite of mine.
March 11th, 2009 at 6:46 pm
I have not found any consistency in the cooking the few times and locations I’ve visited over the years. The Henderson location was my final try. I’m going to revisit my Mexican choices from Coyotes to Diego’s. Not exactly the same price but the price/value ratio has to balance the overall experiience for me to justify a second or third visit.– SLM