Los Amigos Restaurant (Portage North)
5036 S. Westnedge AvenueI just wanted tacos.
Co-worker and I were in Bronson last week for an assignment. I know there’s a great pizza place in Bronson but I was in the mood for tacos. When I was looking around to see what was in the small village, I saw a Mexican place….and they had online ordering!
I put the order in, paid for it, then went to pick it up….and it was closed. Not a big deal. I got my money back…but I still wanted tacos.
Co-worker and I needed to go to Coldwater before heading back to Kalamazoo. I passed a taco truck but I was getting worried about time. We had to get back.
I finished my shift then had to go to Wings West. B had Learn to Skate and I wanted to get there to watch him.
I still wanted tacos though.
I knew I was going to pass a Los Amigos….and they have online ordering…so I thought there was a way.
Los Amigos has four restaurants in the Kalamazoo area including two in Portage. I was heading to I-94 so I picked the northernmost one on Westnedge close to Kilgore Road. The restaurant used to be Riviera Maya. J and I ate there way back in 2013. That restaurant closed a while ago and Los Amigos moved in.
I put my order in online so when I got to the restaurant, I just went to the host stand near the front door. The guy standing there asked if I had a carry-out. I said yes and he handed me a bag…but it wasn’t my order. I told him that wasn’t it and I was a few minutes early. He couldn’t find the order at all. He kept asking if it was Door Dash and I said no. I ordered off their website. Turns out, their website is “powered by Door Dash” so the answer should have been yes.
While he went to check the Door Dash tablet, I took a seat in the nearby dining room. I don’t remember what this place looked like as Riviera Maya but I do know it now looks like all the other Los Amigos locations. There are lots of oranges and reds on the walls and furniture. That furniture is also pretty solid wood that has paintings on the seat backs.
The host finally figured out the order and came out with my bag. I was in kind of a hurry so I just said “thank you” and grabbed it. I then headed over to Wings West where I was planning on eating.
I opened up the bag in the parking lot to find a bag of chips and a big cup of salsa. I could eat that while driving, right? The chips from Los Amigos are always delicious and the salsa always has that hint of freshness. It was going great until I dropped the cup of salsa on my pants and all over the shifter in the car. I was really bummed because I really like the salsa and wasn’t expecting to get it along with the bag of chips in a to-go order.
I stopped at the gas station to clean up the car and get as much salsa off my pants as I could. The good news is that there are worse things to smell like than salsa.
When I got to Wings West, I took a look at the tacos. My order was for five steak tacos. I got five steak tacos…but not quite what I ordered.
I went back and double checked…five steak tacos…and the description on the website said corn tortillas with cilantro and onion. That’s exactly what I wanted.
What I got was five steak tacos on flour tortillas with lettuce and cheese.
I was bummed because I had really been wanting the corn tortillas, cilantro, and onion. It was fine though, I still like these tacos and I was hungry.
The flour tortillas are much bigger than the corn tortillas so there’s a lot more food than I expected. The flour tortillas are soft and pillowy. I know most people prefer flour but I’m a big fan of corn. The tortillas were filled with tender grilled steak, fresh, crispy lettuce, and a real melty cheese. The tacos were delicious and I ate them all….eventually. I ate three sitting in the parking lot and two more later that night.
The bill for the tacos was a little under $15.
This was a super interesting trip to Los Amigos. Almost everything went wrong for me but I still got a great meal. I’m not mad about getting the flour tacos..just a little bummed. I’ve professed my love for street tacos so many times on this blog and I’ve attempted many times to recreate the magic in my own kitchen. Los Amigos always seems like a much more commercialized Mexican restaurant than the little taquerias I love so much. They’re really good at what they do and they have the awards to back it up. I don’t like all the extras. Just give me tacos and I’ll be happy.
SW Michigan Dining 