La Favorita

This is a fantastic spot for a quick, no frills lunch. It just looks like a small Mexican market from the front, but there is seating and a counter to order in the back. You order at the back counter and they will give you a receipt to take to the front register - pretty handy so I can pick up baked goodies or groceries in the same transaction. I LOVE the selection here. They offer cuts of meat that you might not find at many taco place around here, such as tripe, lengua (tongue) and even cabeza (head). The first time I went, some regulars urged me to come back again to try the shrimp quesadilla and I'm so glad I did. They have a good dink selection, including jarritos and horchata.The breads are a little dry for my preference but incredibly fluffy. They make chicharrones on the weekends and they use a meatier cut than I typically find. It's so crispy the meaty parts remind me of freeze dried ice cream!Just a warning that this is a hole in the wall kind of place. You seat yourself and you clean up after yourself.

La Favorita is a hole-in-the wall taqueria located in the back of a grocery store - head through the door on the right and then go straight back. You order at the taqueria and then they give you a receipt to pay at the front counter of the market. I went in for takeout during a weekday lunch and saw a steady line of people coming in while I was waiting for my food. I ordered: Asada Fries, Small ($8.99) - Fries are a nice base, can't judge them too much since they were steaming in the container for a bit before I ate them. There was a good amount of melted cheese throughout the fries, then they were topped with tomato, cilantro, onion, carne asada, avocado, and sour cream. The asada is quite a bit fattier than other places and is chopped pretty finely. All the ingredients came together well into a good dish. I just wish the meat quality was a bit higher.Al Pastor Burrito ($9.99) - This burrito was filled with fluffy Mexican rice, a small amount of lettuce and tomato, some sour cream, cheese, and corn. I wanted carnitas (as I always get for a first burrito), but they said they only had it on weekends. Instead, I went with al pastor, which was well cooked on the flat top, with a smoky, perfect char and a savory and slight fruity taste from the marinade. They put a decent amount of meat in the burrito; it weighed around 21oz in total. It was a good burrito that was well constructed and could be eaten in hand without falling apart. Not an outstanding burrito, but one that I wouldn't mind eating again.La Favorita also gives a free bag of chips for takeout and 3 types of salsa: red (hottest), tomatillo, and avocado based (mildest). One nitpick: neither the menu hanging on the wall nor the menu pamphlet have accurate pricing. Seems like they never bothered to update anything after they raised the prices.

A hole in the wall, but a city favorite. Seriously, for some reason, I never went in til someone told me about it a month ago, but there were so many people in and out of this place at least on Taco Tuesday. By the way, you have to walk to the back to get to the restaurant part. I'm not an expert on authentic Mexican food, but I'm pretty sure this place has it. The tacos on Tuesday are only $1 (usually $1.50). The tacos by default come with uncooked onion and cilantro. Cheese and sour cream are an extra charge (yes I know this is probably not authentic but it tastes good :p). If you eat inside, they have big communal containers of grilled onions and jalapeños, pickled vegetables, and fresh salsas. The grilled onions are amazing! If you get carry out, they'll give you a couple of the salsas. The rice is okay but a little greasy and the refried beans are a little salty and mushy like mashed potatoes, but still good. They also sell desserts in the front of the store and sell fresh groceries and speciality Mexican groceries too. I've always wanted to try a chocolate frozen banana for $1 but they're always out of them by evening time. I also tried their horchata which was too sweet for me. They also have a small selection of baked goods from a bakery.

This place checks off every box on the list: hole in the wall, unpaved parking lot, in the back of a grocery store, very little and simple seating, open air kitchen so you can watch them make oh so good food for you, and so on and so forth. When it comes to good, street style Mexican food, these are the signs you need to see in order for you to know what you're getting is legit. I may even go so far to say that the environment of this place reminds me a little bit of this other hole in the wall back in San Diego called Las Cuatro Milpas (you guys should check it out if you're ever in San Diego).When the tacos are a dollar each on Taco Tuesday, you have to go for the tacos. My favorite meats here are Carne Asada and Birria (stewed beef), though their Carnitas and Al Pastor are really good as well. These are street tacos, so they're a bit on the smaller side, so about 4-6 can fill up the average person. The tacos are topped with cilantro, chopped onions, and limes, and you can add on grilled onions, cheese, and sour cream on request (and if available). The seasoning of the meat is extremely good, but the tacos are a tad on the dry side for me, so I recommend adding a little extra juice and flavor by adding on house made salsas (in the squeeze bottles) and bottled hot sauces.Overall, La Favorita is easily one of the better and cheapest Mexican places in town. However, I'm a fan of having juicier meats (hence Birria is really good to quench that thirst), so I can't label this place as some of the best tacos I've ever had. My friends who recommended this place and came here with me would kill me for giving this place only 4 stars, so I may be the odd one out. But for a good cheap meal on Taco Tuesday (and 20 for $20 Friday), this place can't be beat.

Grocery / hot food counter style place. Family vibes, very friendly. Support local. 10 dollars and 5 minutes later I have 4 tacos w/ rice and beans. Of course it tastes good.. will be back

My colleague suggested this little hole in the wall taco joint. It's in the back of a market. It was rather dumpy and sketchy looking. The menus were covered in crusty food when I picked up a couple.I had the bean tostada and a botana, but I couldn't eat the botana, had ordered way too much food and no one stopped me. The tostadas were just okay. I did enjoy their fresh salsa the best. It wasn't good for me to watch the two young cooks making and prepping the food. They melted the cheese on my botana in the microwave, so not cool by me. The corn chips were from a bulk bag and the corn for the tostadas were from a bag in the market. It's cheap tacos and you get what you pay for. The staff are super nice and quick to get orders in and food out. Good for some cheap tacos. My 2 tostadas and botana and a mineral water was $13.11, very inexpensive.

Best Tacos I have ever had in Michigan. This is the real Mexican experience. The staff is friendly and will make sure you enjoy your food. They have a mini grocery store as well with a meat market.

Decent Mexican food in Detroit, it's not Texas though! I understand the farther north we go, the less authentic the Mexican food gets.

I've lived in Melvindale for 17+ years and only been in this store probably 2-3 times has a veggie burrito like yearsss ago but as my kids got older they ask me if we can go get a snack I've let them and just recently they went for lunch and I tried the veggie burrito again it was AMAZING ! so today we tried it and added shrimp and I grabbed a few other things like tres leches cake OMGGGG !!! They also have fresh breads , cookies ! This place is a hidden gem ! Must try ! Very nice owners very clean and very fast service !

Came for a Sunday lunch while in town for Metallica. Food was fabulous!! The crispy corn tortillas were everything I ever needed