Mid-Michigan Dining

• 6527 S. Cedar Street
• Lansing, MI 48911
• (517) 272-4600
• No Known Website
• Menu

Aldaco's Authentic Mexican Restaurant on South Cedar Street in Lansing.

Last night, I was really craving tacos.  We were really close to making a Taco Bell run at midnight, but decided it was a bad idea.  The craving never really went away.  When J suggested going out for dinner, I suggested that Mexican place where Cedar meets Pennsylvania that has stared us in the face since we moved here almost a year ago.

Aldaco’s is right on the corner of Cedar Street where it intersect with Pennsylvania Avenue.  It sits between the White Castle the empty end of a strip mall that used to house a Hollywood Video.  The building is small, but the parking lot is always full.  There’s an entrance on both Pennsylvania and Cedar Street.  We were coming from the Pennsylvania side, so we used that entrance then drove around the front to the parking lot.  

Inside we were met by a hostess.  She grabbed a couple menus and asked if we were going to order the buffet or order from the menu.  J said menu and I just went along with it.  After passing the buffet, which is right near the entrance, I should have changed my mind but I didn’t.  The buffet was filled with taco shells, tortillas, and fillings as well as tacquitos, burritos, rice, beans and even some desserts. 

There are two dining rooms in Aldaco’s.  We were taken to the one on the right side of the space which is where most everyone else was.  We were shown to a booth along the inside wall near the bathrooms in the back.  We started looking over the menus.  It wasn’t long before we decided, but we still had not seen a waitress.  There was a man and a woman waitressing.  We think we were actually at the woman’s table, but after quite a while, the man finally came over and took our order.  When the woman came over a minute later, I told her our order had already taken the order.  I heard him say something to the woman about how long she let us sit there, so he took the table. 

I’ve always wondered if Mexican places put numbers next to all the dishes so those of us that failed or don’t remember high school Spanish don’t have to try to pronounce the names of the dishes.  I still had the taco craving, but I didn’t want to just order tacos.  Instead, I went with the Enchilada’s De Carne which comes with three enchilada’s topped with gravy and cheese.  I chose roast beef as my meat which was delicious.  The roast beef was still in pretty good size chunks and there was a lot in each tortilla.  The dinner also came with beans, rice, and chips.  I’m not a big fan of either of the sides.  I didn’t try the rice.  The beans were ok, but really only like beans when I can’t see them. 

The chips were brought out before the meal with both a mild and hot salsa.  I really liked the hot salsa while J preferred the mild.  Both the chips and the salsa were obviously home made.  There were some big chunks of onions and peppers left in both salsa bowls.  The chips were really good, but could have used a little more salt.  J thinks Los Tres Amigo’s had better salsa.  I liked Aldaco’s because there was an option for a salsa that was a little hotter.  I like hot salsa.

Aldaco's on Cedar Street where it meets Pennsylvania in Lansing.

J ordered the Tostadas De Frijoles.  She got three tostadas that were topped with beans, lettuce, tomato, and cheese.  She looked at the tostada and tried to figure out how to eat them.  She didn’t know if she should just pick it up and eat it like a taco which is what she ultimately decided.  She said the tostadas were delicious and something she would order again.  She also said the lettuce tasted really fresh like it was just shredded today.  Like me, she got beans, rice and chips with her meal.  She didn’t really touch the beans, but she tried the rice.  She said it had kind of a cinnamon taste to it, but she’s not a big fan of eating rice by itself either.

The waiter left the check on the table sometime during the meal.  I didn’t even see him set it down.  It may have been when he brought the food out.  You pay back at the hostess station where you came in.  On the way to pay, I noticed a huge tortilla press next to the buffet with little balls of dough waiting to be pressed and cooked on the flat top that was sitting there. 

Aldaco’s is another great Mexican place on the south side of Lansing.  There’s a lot of attention paid to ingredients and most, if not, all of the food is homemade and prepared fresh.  Our bill was right at $20 for the two meals and two drinks.  I never used to be a real big fan of Mexican food, but the more I eat, the more I want to try other things.  Aldaco’s satisfied my taco craving….for now….