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 

Luciana's

The space that was previously occupied by Taverna, an ill-fated restaurant near Boogie Burger on Broad Ripple Avenue (but nearer to Keystone) has turned into Luciana’s Mexican Cantina. I was intrigued. The place appeared busy from the parking lot. People were telling me it was good. A friend told me it was very comparable to La Hacienda. I was ready to check it out.

I met a group of friends there for a weeknight meal. The parking lot was nearly full and the restaurant was busy—not totally full, but doing a good business for just a few weeks open. I was looking through the menu thinking it does look similar to La Ha, but then I was thinking—don’t a lot of Mexican menus look very similar?

They brought out the usual chips and salsa. I would say this salsa had just a touch more heat than most standard salsas set on the table at Mexican restaurants and I liked it. It was maybe a little watery, but it tasted good. The chips were large and thin and just fine.

Anyhow, it was cold, and I was still trying to be remotely healthy, plus it’s one of my favorite things to get at La Ha, so I ordered the chicken soup ($7.25). Oh, and a Texas margarita (starting to sound more and more like La Ha huh?). The soup was very good, and very similar to what I get there. It’s a chicken broth base with a few tortilla chips in it, some rice, and hunks of chicken. It’s topped with some avocado, some pico de gallo and cheese. I really love this soup, especially when it starts getting cold. The broth is very rich and just a little spicy and I love the sort of creaminess you get a bit from the rice, and even more from the avocado and cheese. This is a comfort soup with a kick—a little heat from jalapeno and pico de gallo.

I had a little bite of a friend’s chicken fajitas and another friend’s “steak a la Mexicana.” Both were decent, even though they’re not typically the kinds of things I order. I feel like the meat tends to be a bit on the dry side with dishes like these. The steak was tasty—it had a real kick to it and I really enjoyed the sautéed onions. There were a fair amount of jalapenos in there too.

The margarita was very good—I love the Texas version here as well as at La Hacienda. It has triple sec added to it I think.  They are tasty. And large.

Our server was very nice and offered her suggestions. The food was good. Again, I don’t know that I have ever had spectacular Mexican food in Indy, but this place is really really solid. And since it’s about equidistant from our house as La Ha, we’ll probably be frequenting both. And so far, this place doesn’t have quite the wait that La Ha does. I know I don’t usually do such a comparison between two restaurants, but this place has so many similarities, it’s hard not to. I even saw some employees that I am pretty sure I’ve seen at La Ha, so I am thinking some people have left there to open Luciana’s.

So, if you like La Hacienda, you’re gonna like this place. Prices are comparable, it’s a little more spacious seating and currently, the crowds aren’t as bad. Who all has been there?

Luciana’s Mexican Cantina

1850 Broad Ripple Avenue

Indy 46220

317/820-5377

www.lucianasmexicanrestaurant.com