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Carnitas Michoacan

306 W. Edmond Rd.
Edmond, OK
(405) 341-0356

Carnitas Michoacan in Edmond

Carnitas Michoacan has just about everything I could hope for in a Mexican restaurant: it is authentic, it has very good food, and it does not overcharge customers because of serving queso before the meal and sopapillas for dessert (as seems to be the custom at most north side Mexican restaurants). Several types of salsa were served, and they all seemed to be Mexican style (but not particularly spicy by the standards to which I am accustomed). Chips were not served separately, but quite a few came with my order of ceviche.

In fact, probably the only thing preventing me from making frequent trips to Carnitas Michoacan is the fact that it is located next door to Thai Palace, which is not only one of my most highly rated but probably my favorite restaurant in the OKC metro. I can wait until I go back to El Paso or visit other places in the Southwest for Mexican food of the same quality as Carnitas Michoacan, but I have found very little Thai food in the U.S. that matches the food served at Thai Palace. Whether you choose Thai Palace or Carnitas Michoacan, though, I think it is hard to go wrong at either place.

The sign on the front says "Mexican fast food," and this might normally make me think of something like Taco Bell. What they really mean, though, is that food is served from a counter. Many items are served a la carte, and I ended up constructing my own dinner. At many conventional Tex-Mex restaurants you could go broke ordering a bunch of a la carte items, but here the prices are reasonable enough so that you can just order the items you want and the price comes out to the same or less than you would normally expect to pay.

Tilapia ceviche
Tilapia ceviche

I am not accustomed to ordering Ceviche as an appetizer, but I am glad I did so here. Carnitas Michoacan is inexpensive, and I want to save my money like the next person, so I was at first reluctant to order something that would bump the meal up to the "moderate" cost category. It turned out, though, that the ceviche made with tilapia was not only quite good, but was one of the best I have tried either in OKC or elsewhere. In fact, even though I have listed several things as the "best items," the ceviche was really the most memorable dish I had at this restaurant.

Three kinds of tacos
Chicken tacos, fish tacos, and tacos al pastor

Mexican style tacos, that I thought would be the highlight of my meal, turned out to be a mixed bag. These were tacos served on soft tortillas so that the tortillas could either be doubled up for a thick taco, or the ingredients could be spread out to make twice as may tacos (I usually do this so I can make the most of the salsa). I was very pleased with the way the tacos were served and with the salsa served on the side, with the best part of the salsa being that several varieties were served.

The Chicken Tacos turned out to be my favorites, with a tender meat and flavorful seasoning that I thought was worthy of being called "authentic." Although they came with yellow cheese (probably not the way most people would do it in Mexico), there is usually allowance for variety when it comes to Mexican food, and I certainly did not mind the way these were prepared.

Tacos al Pastor, made of slow roasted pork, were also very flavorful, and I would have been very excited about them except that I found some in OKC that were better (at Abel's on N. W. 50th at MacArthur). There is certainly nothing wrong with the ones here, but they just struck me as not being as flavorful as the chicken tacos (but probably as good overall).

The Fish Tacos were also very good, but I suppose I was disappointed in the way they were prepared after the excellent ceviche I had already tried. I am used to both grilled and fried fish tacos in El Paso, and although I like the grilled ones better, fried ones can be good as well. The ones here, though, were about average compared to the others I have tried within the past couple of years.

The Shredded Beef Tacos I tried on a later trip were somewhat lacking in flavor, and in fact several of the tacos were not as good as on my initial visit. Even so, they were still better than can usually be found in OKC Mexican restaurants.

One good part of the tacos was that you could mix and match different ones on the same plate, and they were inexpensive enough to order several. There is a great variety available, and there are still some I have not tried.

Chicken quesadilla
Chicken quesadilla with shredded beef taco, taco al pastor, and chicken taco

One of the best items was one I did not expect, the Chicken Quesadilla. I guess I did not think this was an authentic Mexican dish (although it may be served in Michoacan where the food in this restaurant originates). In any case, it had good quality chicken meat and white cheese with a crispy crust to make a delicious dish.

Carnitas Michoacan served Mexican style fruit drinks, and the Piña drink I ordered was good (but in a plastic cup so that it was difficult to photograph). The Horchata was even better, and both were good examples of authentic aguas frescas.

I was very satisfied with my meals, even though they did not come with rice or beans, and the restaurant did not serve the customary Tex-Mex appetizers and dessert (queso, extra tortillas, and sopapilla). The fact that this restaurant is not Tex-Mex, but serves "real" Mexican food, was not only refreshing, but rather surprising that I would find such a place on the north side of the city. I have to say, though, that I have seen a lot more authentic Mexican food in OKC in recent years than in the past. It is just that not all of them are as good as Carnitas Michoacan (or as inexpensive).

RESTAURANT DETAILS

RATING: 22

Cuisine: Mexican Michoacan
Cost: $
Accessible: Yes
Smoking: No Smoking

Chile Index:

Most Recent Visit
Sep. 17, 2010

Number of Visits: 2

Best Items
Ceviche, Chicken Tacos, Tacos al Pastor, Quesadilla, Horchata

Special Ratings
Tacos al Pastor:
Chicken Tacos:
Shredded Beef Tacos:
Fish Tacos:
Ceviche:
Chicken Quesadilla:
Salsa:
Pico de Gallo:
Chips:
Piña:
Horchata:



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