Luciana's- Revisit

For years my family has gone to La Hacienda—since my kids were in  high chairs and threw half their food on the floor (we are very good tippers). It was fast, cheap and has great margaritas. It is always busy though, so we were excited when a second Luciana’s opened on 82^nd Street near our house---it’s really big and much faster to get into during prime dinner hours. I believe it’s owned by someone who used to work at La Ha, and the menu is very similar, as are the ingredients.

So, like I said, they are very similar, but there are certain things that are better at each place. After going several times, I have decided I like the Texas margaritas at La Hacienda better, but Luciana’s version is pretty good. The guacamole is far superior at Luciana’s to the green puree they have at La Ha. The chips are also slightly better at La Ha. Otherwise, food-wise, they are similar though. I have had the chicken soup ($7.99 full, $5.25 for small) both places and they are pretty similar—and one of my favorite items. It is a very homey mix with rice, shredded chicken, tortilla chips, avocado and pico di gallo. I do like that Luciana’s serves a small order because I never eat it all. We always get a side of queso dip and they are pretty similar to each other. Your standard white melted processed cheese.

My son likes the quesadillas—on one visit he had a chicken version, which came covered in queso ($8.25) and rice and beans.  Hubby tried the chicken chimichangas on one visit and wasn’t a huge fan, but liked the carne asada tacos on another visit a lot. These were part of a taco sampler ($10.25) that included the carne asada, chorizo and pork. The chorizo was actually really bland and the pork he thought was fine but nothing special. 

Basically, Luciana’s is a good option for this kind of Mexican food if you want to be pretty sure you don’t have to wait for a table. It is fairly equivalent to La Ha, with some things better at each place. For me though, the biggest draw is probably the margaritas, so I would probably lean toward La Ha. If guacamole was your main draw, try Luciana’s.

Anyhow, it’s an easy, fast place to grab a fast and family friendly dinner and it’s nice to see an additional locally owned place in the area.

Luciana’s

3716 E. 82^nd Street (there's one in Broad Ripple too)

Indy  46240

317/288-8864

www.lucianasmexicanrestaurant.com