Mexican Food in Kansas City

Southwest Boulevard in Kansas City Kansas provides a long strip of Mexican restaurants. The liveliest time is Cinco de Mayo (May 5th) when all restaurants are at their finest and their fullest. Another large pocket of locally owned and operated restaurants is in another section of Kansas City Kansas. This group of restaurants are smaller and not as ornate, but the food is still fabulous. A third section of local restaurants are opening in Olathe, further south in Johnson County.

Quick Tips:

Kansas City fully experiences all four seasons. We have the heat and humidity of summer, the coolness of fall, the bitter cold of winter and the warmth of spring. However, when the hot air and the cold air hit, we also have tornados. On the first Wednesday of the month, the tornado sirens are tested around 11am. They run for 2-3 minutes unless the weather indicates a possible tornado. Once my wife was in a training class on the first Tuesday of the month where the instructor was from out of town. Even though there was not a cloud in the sky, the instructor freaked out when the sirens went off. He wanted to stop class and head for the tornado shelters. My wife and other students had to calm him down before he could continue with class!

If there is a tornado watch (notification of likely conditions for a tornado) then look for the spotters. They are vehicles parked on hilltops and high areas, watching for that funnel cloud! Always be careful.

Best Way To Get Around:

Kansas City does not have the best public transportation and taxis are expensive. Although the bus system is improving, still plan on driving. Once down on Southwest Blvd., you can park the car (good luck finding any close parking on May 5th!) and walk to numerous restaurants. Parking is readily available in Kansas City KS and in Johnson County. Most restaurants in Olathe have ample and free parking.

Don Chilitos Mexican Restaurant has been around since my high school years and continues to be a popular place for lunch. The restaurant owners strive to provide good food, to serve it quickly and to keep the costs reasonable.

The restaurant has a self-serve chips and salsa bar so customers can get chips as needed. They also have a self-serve sopaipillas bar so you can get as many of these desserts as you want.

Don Chilitos is known for their burriotos. There are two different sizes: Texas or Regular. Just like "super size" option of some fast food, Don Chilitos has a "big top" option. This doubles the portions of sauces, cheese and topping, and adds sliced tomatoes to either the Texas size or Regular size.

The choices for the burrito are very simple. All meat, all beans, or both meat and beans. The filling is mixed with lettuce and rolled in a flour tortilla and covered with one of four Don Chilitos special sauces. The sauces are

• Red Sauce which is tomato type sauce with cheese
• Chile Con Queso sauce of spicy cheese
• Chili Con Carne sauce of meat, beans and cheese
• Chilito Sauce sauce of tomato, sour cream, cheese and olives

There are combination dinners on the menu and even a couple options for a hamburger or chicken fingers (why anyone would get chicken fingers at a Mexican restaurant I do not know!) We have pretty much kept to the burrito.

Try to avoid the super busy lunch hour. This restaurant is in a great location for business lunches so it's overcrowded from 11:30ish to just after 1pm.

La Cocina del Puerco is a small restaurant tucked behind a Chili's restaurant. It's difficult to see from the street, but certainly worth the time to find.

This restaurant serves authentic Mexican food. No lard, no sour cream, no cheese. The menu is posted on a board showing about 16 different options. Customers are asked to order by number, making it easier for the cooks.

Grab a drink from the ice chest and get in line to place your order. The food is prepared just as you order, right in front of you. The large plates are filled with your selection, along with great big servings of rice and beans. The large plates take up almost all the room on the black plastic tray and you have little to no room for your drink or silverware. Slide your tray down to the cashier and pay the cashier. Chips are extra so grab a basketfull if you think you'll have room with all that food. Glasses are close to the cashier for water, tea and soda. Around the corner are bowls of fresh, homemade salsas to use as extra toppings for your meal.

We have tried most of the different dinner selections and have liked everything. They offer tamales, tostadas, carnitas, enchalidas and fajitas. Portion sizes are huge. The rice is a bit on the dry side, but is more authentic than most places. It includes sizeable pieces of vegetables. Even though my wife picks the vegetables out (especially the peas), I enjoy the additional favor. The beans are whole beans and perfectly cooked.

There is a decorated eating room inside. One wall is covered with pictures of customers while they were in Mexico. Send in a picture and they'll add it to the collection. Outside dining is available. The outside tables are metal folding tables with medal folding chairs. Not the best in comfort, but okay for the outside atmosphere.

This restaurant was named one of the "best kept secrets" by a Kansas City Business magazine. I agree.

Ninfa's is a small restaurant with only 15 or 16 tables. One of the tables is round, allowing for seating up to 6, but all the other tables are small square tables for four. Parking is available in the street out front and I've never experienced any problems finding a spot around lunch time.

Ninfa's is known for the tortillas. These are light and airy tortillas - no preservatives. As you walk in the restaurant, you can see directly into the kitchen and you'll notice the trays and trays of round, baseball size piles of dough. There is a window for restaurant patrons to watch as a person stands almost continuously grabbing the balls of dough, running them through a machine to flatten and then quickly cooking the flatten dough on a griddle. Another person manages the piles of freshly cooked tortillas and packages them by the dozen into bags.

Each time I've eaten here, more people come into the restaurant to purchase bags of tortillas - usually 2-3 dozen at a time - than there are people eating at the restaurant.

Back to the food...no typical chips and salsa at this restaurant. After getting the drink order, the server brings out a container full of tortillas. There is a container with melted butter and another squeeze container on the table full of salsa. Paper napkins are also on the table, so grab a napkin, a tortilla and fill it with either butter or salsa. Roll up and eat!

Lunch is served quickly. I always order just one chicken or beef buritto off the "a la carte". The buritto is made from one of their fresh tortillas, wrapped in foil and heated and is full of meat, whole beans and tons of melted cheese. No lettuce, tomatoes or other vegetables. The buritto is served on a styrofoam plate with a plastic fork. The chunks of meat are bitesize, so there is not the need for an accompanying plastic knife!

Ninfa's does have full dinners that come with rice and beans, but that is way too much food, especially for lunch.

In addition to loving the tortillas here, I am impressed with the spices. They have mastered the mixture of the correct amount of spices in their salsa and meat to give an excellent Mexican taste and enjoyment. It's not overly hot and overbearing but just the right amount.