La Tienda - Traditional Mexican Food

La Tienda is a great option if you're looking for traditional homemade-style Mexican food. These aren't Moe's burritos, here. It looks like it's run by a family, and there is even a small Mexican grocery in the back where you can buy items and ingredients only found in Latin-American markets. La Tienda is located on 13th street, just south of the junction with SW 16th Avenue (south of Arby's).

Atmosphere:

The inside of La Tienda is much like a small cafeteria. The room is white with several tables, a counter where you order, and a few decorations to try to make it look festive (some Corona banners and pinatas). It doesn't look great inside, but you can show up and watch Argentinian soccer almost any time of day. They do have seating outside, which is probably beautiful once the weather cools down.

Service:

Great! We've never had a problem waiting for our food. You walk straight up to the counter, order, then sit. Someone will bring you the food in about 5 minutes, and you just pay after you've eaten. They speak both English and Spanish. You grab your own sodas (they have authentic Mexican Coca-Cola that uses real cane sugar) and let them know what you drank later. They certainly believe in the honor system here. Try the tamarind flavored Jarritos soda. It's my favorite.Your food is made fresh and brought to you by a server along with salsa and guacamole. Warning- their guacamole is HOT. My friends say I burned my taste buds off long ago, but I won't even use more than a few drops.

Menu:

La Tienda has a clean, simple menu. You can choose from several entrees they have available, but I always go with a burrito or taco. You choose whatever meat you like, be it chicken, steak, chorizo, beef tongue (yup), and a few other options served on freshly made tortillas. Yes, they make their tortillas from scratch in-house!

Food:

Don't expect to get a typical hard shell taco with rice, cheese, tomato, lettuce, and meat. They don't do that here. Go to Taco Bell if that's what you want. La Tienda serves their tacos in deliciously soft tortillas. If they piled a hundred of these up, I could probably use them as a pillow. On top of that fluffy tortilla, you will find the meat you ordered, some onion, and cilantro. Period. It is so simple and so good. My favorite is the Campechano, a mix of chicken and chorizo, which is a popular spicy sausage used in Latin-American cuisine.

Their burritos are built more the way you would expect, including rice. Alex loves them. If you have a larger appetite, I would go with one of these. Don't be afraid to try a meat you aren't familiar with. Alex tried the beef tongue and loved it! He described it as tender and flavorful. They also have a vegetarian menu that includes a chile relleno (stuffed pepper) and some dishes including cactus.

Honestly, my favorite thing to get at La Tienda is their chicken soup. It is the perfect cure for anything (hangover, cold, bad day) and makes you feel at home, assuming your mom used to make you chicken soup. They give you limes to squeeze into the soup, along with cilantro, onion, and jalapeno on the side so you can turn the soup into whatever makes you happy. And this soup does make me happy.

Price:

One of the more affordable places in Gainesville. You can get 3 tacos or a burrito for $4.99.

Overall:

This is one of our go-to places for a quick bite. I usually call ahead and pick up the food. It works since we live nearby. I really can't find much wrong with this place. I think I would give them a 9/10, if only they would work on their atmosphere a bit.