Nestled in Southwest Detroit, Mexicantown is heaving with authentic restaurants, shops, and tortilla factories. The neighborhood is vibrant and colorful. Wanting to get a jump on the Cinco de Mayo festivities, we headed out there for a lovely lunch this past Saturday.
It should be noted that Cinco de Mayo is NOT Mexico’s Independence Day, which is actually September 16th. Cinco de Mayo, or The 5th of May, commemorates the Mexican army’s victory over the French in The Battle of Puebla. The holiday is mostly celebrated in Puebla and in parts of the U.S.
Do you need a reason to imbibe a cerveza or a margarita and eat yummy traditional Mexican food? I didn't think so!
We only explored a small portion of Mexicantown as the weather looked like it was going to take a turn at any moment and ruin our casual walk with pouring rain.
Patio at Los GalanesOur original plan was to hit up Taqueria Lupita’s but we changed our mind and decided on the colorful Los Galanes. I’ve heard great things about both of these places and we were happy that we changed our plans.
Los Galanes is the perfect place to sit on the patio on a warm summer day. Munching on warm tortilla chips, sipping on an adult beverage, and people watching doesn't get any better than this!
Xochi’s Mexican Imports is bursting with traditional clothes, trinkets, piñatas, religious symbols, and more. We spent a good chunk of time exploring every nook and cranny of this tiny shop.
St. Anne de Detroit, one of Detroit's historic Catholic churches, was founded just 2 days after Cadillac arrived in Detroit. The present Gothic Revival church was built in 1886 and is a fixture of Mexicantown; masses are performed in both English and Spanish.
Last summer I heard so much talk about the awesome taco trucks in Mexicantown from the Yelp community and I’ve been dying to check them out. We didn’t have time to hunt them down on this excursion but I have a feeling we’ll be spending a lot of time in this area during the summer.
The Mexicantown Bagley Avenue Pedestrian Bridge & Plaza makes the area more pedestrian and biker friendly, bridging the gap to the other side of I-75.
What’s your favorite spot in Mexicantown?