604 Broadway StreetTuesday’s are one of my solo days.
When my new colleague started, changes were made to our schedules. We used to both work Monday through Friday but a decision was made to have the new guy work Thursday through Monday.
That leaves me two days a week on my own.
Last Tuesday’s assignment had me going to South Haven. It was an afternoon engagement so I had most of the morning to do things around the office before taking my time to get to the lakeshore.
I intentionally left earlier than I needed to so I could grab lunch. I had a couple of ideas for tacos.
My first choice was a grocery store in Covert but they aren’t open on Tuesday. Theirs were the cheapest so that was why I had initially picked them.
There are two other options in South Haven that I haven’t tried yet and sticking to the “cheapest” theme, I chose El Paraiso Taqueria.
El Paraiso Taqueria is on Broadway Street right where it split off with Phillips Street. The small building is a little weird to get to even though you can see it from the main road. The spot used to be a Chicken Coop then a cell phone repair store before becoming a couple of different Mexican restaurants. El Paraiso Taqueria moved in in April of 2021.
I never know, with Mexican restaurants, what to expect. Is it a full service type place or do you order at the counter? I love it when that questions is answered for me when I find online ordering.
I pulled off M-43 in Bangor to put in an order for four steak tacos and fries. The cost was right around $18 and it would be ready by the time I made the short drive to South Haven.
Turns out, El Paraiso is an order at the counter type of place. Even if you’re eating in, everything is ordered at a small order counter on the far end of the building from the parking lot entrance. There were a couple of people in front of me putting in an order so I waited a few minutes while the cashier took care of them before grabbing my Door Dash order from the kitchen.
There is a small dining room that takes up the rest of the building. The layout is kind of weird as it’s more of a long hallway that feels kind of squeezed in by the kitchen. There are tables on either side and some picnic tables outside as well for those nice summer days by the lake.
I’ve gotten in the habit of ordering fries from Mexican restaurants when I see them on the menu. I’m usually underwhelmed. I was not underwhelmed by El Paraiso fry choice. I’ve never seen this type of fry before so I’m not sure if it’s something they make or if there’s a new brand out there in the restaurant supply world. The has a really crispy but flaky outside with a ton of seasoning. The inside nice and soft. It’s almost like the potatoes are boiled before being fried. It’s got that kind of texture.
I couldn’t wait to get to the tacos. There were four of them in the box loaded with steak, cilantro, and onion. There were a couple of small cups of hot sauce. I went for the red, like I usually do, and used al of it.
These tacos were delicious. The meat was tender and moist but really, it was the tortilla that stood out to me. The double layer of corn tortillas were really soft and tender which isn’t really a surprise but these had some flavoring on them. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it but the tortillas had a little extra. Maybe it was just grease from the meat but whatever it was, it kicked the tacos up a bit and made these really simple Mexican style tacos really stand out.
I love tacos. I don’t think that is a surprise to anyone. El Paraiso Taqueria is a good taco joint. I’ve driven by it many times but it can be hard to really notice it with the way it sits off the main road. I spend quite a bit of time in South Haven in the summer and it’s nice to have a lot of options that won’t break the bank.