I’ve never been to Mexico, but if there’s such a thing as authentic Mexican cuisine here in Birmingham, I think I found it. San Miguel’s is located on Green Springs Highway in Homewood near the Publix shopping center. We had almost as much fun searching for the restaurant as we did eating there.
Four friends piled into my car for a road trip. But this one was different. We weren’t driving cross-country, or even planning to travel far at all. We were searching for a great Mexican restaurant. Now if you’ve ever been out for Mexican food in Birmingham before, you know many restaurants in that genre are fairly similar. Often times you’ll find the same tacos, enchiladas and mild salsa; all good, cheap food, but not great.
So we set out on a mission: find authentic (as authentic as possible) Mexican food in Birmingham. We started on Valley Avenue and headed west. Surely, we would find some really good food in this direction. Something—maybe it was the smell of chorizo—made me turn the car left onto Green Springs Highway. And suddenly, there it was. The big sombrero sign loomed tall in the night sky, calling us to spicy salsa, strong margaritas and tacos filled with unusual offerings.
One step inside San Miguel’s and you know it’s as authentic as you’ll find this side of the Rio Grande (or at least this side of the Mississippi). You know it’s going to be good because of the massive plasma screen television, blaring a controversial telenovela. The moment we sat down, two types of salsa were set on the table: one spicy, one not-so-spicy—both were delicious.
For dinner, we discovered a list of interesting tacos. The usual suspects of beef, pork and chicken were listed first. Then we noticed charizo and asada tacos—yum! But upon further investigation of the menu we found tripe, brains and the infamous “lingua” taco. Yes, that’s cow tongue. Generally I like to taste my food before it tastes me, but it was absolutely delicious: think pulled pork, but spicy with chilies. Fresh cilantro was everywhere. It was in the salsa and in the double tortilla wrapped tacos.
We recommend ordering your margarita on the rocks rather than frozen. It was strong and full of bright lime flavor. When the checks came, we were all pleasantly surprised. We all got out of there for less than $15 each!
So don your sombrero, and bring an empty stomach and a fairly empty wallet to San Miguel’s. You’ll leave feeling full, satisfied and wondering why the couple in the telenovela seemed so discontented. Maybe they should have eaten at San Miguel’s.
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