If you're a regular reader of Road Tips, you've seen me say a number of times that the Quad Cities of Iowa and Illinois are blessed with the number of very good - and authentic - Mexican restaurants we have in the area. 50, 60 and over 70 years ago, Mexican migrant workers came to the Mississippi River valley to work in the melon fields. Many stayed, raised families and became part of the community. There's a large Hispanic community in the Quad Cities and East Moline is one of those areas where there's a sizable Mexican population. My wife had heard about a place over there that supposedly had good Mexican food. It was a place that I was not familiar with, but had probably driven by a handful of times in the past - La Rosa de Michoacan.
Hugo and Rosa Hernandez had something in common before they were married 30 years ago in Mexico - they both could cook. After exchanging vows, the couple immigrated to the U.S. with the hopes of starting their own Mexican restaurant. They moved to the Quad Cities area and Hugo worked various jobs in and around the area until while Rosa stayed at home to raise her two children. Rosa made some side money of her own making tamales and selling them to locals. By 2006, they had saved up enough money to open their own little taqueria in East Moline. The menu was limited with just tacos at the beginning, but if someone came in and said, "Boy, a burrito would be great," Rosa would whip one up.
The couple soon found that more people were interested in their expertise of Michoacan-style foods - Michoacan is a Mexican state that hugs the Pacific Ocean, but also has a of streams and rivers that thread through hills and mountains further inland. Michoacan has possibly the most diverse cultures in Mexico, and because of that many different styles of food are found in the area. Michoacan cooking is seafood, chicken, pork and beef dishes, soups, tamales, and foods made with grains and foraged fruits. It's often referred to as the "soul-food" of Mexico.
We drove through Moline on 5th Ave./Illinois Highway 92 where it turns into 18th Ave. when you get into East Moline. My GPS took us right to the corner of 18th Ave. and 19th St., but we were having trouble finding La Rosa de Michoacan. Finally, my wife said, "Oh, there it is!" She pointed to the bright orange building just south of the intersection. (see map) Had it been a snake - as the old saying goes - it would have bit me. (My wife often says that I'm not very observant.)
We went inside La Rosa de Michoacan and immediately faced the open kitchen behind the front counter. The young lady behind the counter was doing something and she looked up and said with a smile on her face, "You guys can sit anywhere. We'll be out in a moment, OK?"
Walking into the dining room, we found a bright room with a number of tables, chairs and booths throughout. Some Mexican artwork hung on the faux stone walls that had been painted a subtle blue hue. A couple flat screen televisions were hung in the corners and tuned into a soccer match from Mexico.
We took a seat in a booth next to a window. She soon brought out a basket of chips with salsa and dropped off a couple menus. She took our drink orders - they had a handful of Mexican beers, but the two I asked for - Sol and Dos Equis Ambar - they didn't stock. They did have the Modelo Especial beer and I got one of those.
They had margaritas at La Rosa de Michoacan and that's what my wife ordered. (They also have soft drinks such as Mexican Coca-Cola and Jarritos available, as well.) However, my wife thought the margarita was too sweet and syrupy. "I'm sure they just use a commercial mix for their margaritas," said my wife who knows her margaritas and can be rather particular about them.
As I said, the menu expanded tremendously since the place opened over 13 years ago. Burritos, enchiladas, soups, salads and, of course, tacos were the main items on the menu. La Rosa de Michoacan opens at 8 a.m. Tuesday thru Saturday and they have a number of Mexican-style breakfast items as well.
One of the signature items is the La Rosa burrito. It comes in three sizes - small, large and extra-large. I got the large and it covered the whole plate. (I could only imagine how large the EXTRA-large burrito was!) It was filled with refried beans, rice, cilantro and onions. I had a choice of sauce that I could put on top of the burrito and I got pork salsa verde - large chunks of pork in a green sauce. Cheese was melted on top of the burrito which was covered with the sauce.
My wife wanted to try a little bit of everything. Her daughter is married to a Mexican native who knows his way around a kitchen very well. He has told us that you can tell how good any Mexican restaurant is just by having a couple of their tacos. My wife went with a carne asada taco, a Nopales (cactus) taco and a chile relleno. She got them Mexican-style on soft corn tortillas with chopped onions and cilantro. Our server also brought out a salsa verde sauce (without the pork) and a red salsa that was different from the one that she served us with our chips.
The pork salsa verde had a wonderful taste and it mixed well with the contents of the burrito. I found myself adding even more of the salsa verde she brought out with the meal, but the red sauce she brought out was ¡muy caliente! I had to get another beer to help take the sting off my tongue.
I thought my large burrito was delicious. It was way too much food - a small burrito with a taco on the side would have probably sufficed. But it was so good that I was having trouble stopping and I found myself staring at the last two bites and becoming immediately embarrassed that I nearly ate the whole thing. My wife said, "Well, you may as well finish it off. This will probably be your own meal of the day." So, I did...
My wife was very happy with her Nopales taco, but she thought the steak on the carne asada taco was a little overcooked and crispy. And she thought the chile relleno was good, but a little too spicy for her. But I think she was happy with her food, although I caught her eyeing my burrito from time to time.
You can tell when Mexican food is made from scratch with fresh ingredients, and that's exactly how the food at La Rosa de Michocan is. I thoroughly enjoyed - and overate - the La Rosa burrito with the pork salsa verde sauce slathered on top. My wife was happy enough with her two tacos (although she thought the steak was a bit overcooked) and her chile relleno (but she also thought it was a little too spicy for her). The service was prompt and friendly, the place was bright and clean, and it was a pleasant experience all the way around. We've been back since our initial visit and now, and we were more than happy with the food experience and the friendly atmosphere at La Rosa de Michoacan.
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