Don Lucho Carnitas

It's Saturday and I'm thinking......Don Lucho!!!!!The team has been up since late night roasting and boiling and creating the most amazing carnitas you will find in Milwaukee. Get here early - parking sucks, and suburbanites will freak out at the hood, but no worries Jesus is right next door at St. Josaphats basilica and will watch over you. And don't forget to take a tour of one of this country's most beautiful cathedrals. Right there by Don Luchos. You can eat here. Lots of long communal tables so don't be shy. Prices aren't cheap but this is quality. I usually get a pound or so of carnitas. They measure it out, it's steaming, and ask if you want it chopped. I say yes. It's wrapped up tightly and it will feed you all weekend. This meat is freaking amazing!!!! I pray they haven't run out of homemade tortillas, but like I said, you gotta come EARLY. Sigh.There's about 6 different amazing salsas to try. Smoky, fresh, green, red, hot sweet - I get two for the weekend. I consider a quart of menudo. I think about. Lamb, goat, barbacoa, chorizo - but I have enough. Too hungry to wait to go home, I sit down to eat.Two tacos - huge! The best was the barbacoa - tasty little carmelized deeply flavored meat bits. Hey - don't go expecting American extras like sour cream or cheese. This is the real thing. Warming: one taco will do you. Got a side of rice and beans - yum. Don Lucho is a treasure. It is authentic, mom and pop, and these are the businesses I love to support. For an incredible adventure and source of authentic carnitas, git yourself down to da south side ya day hair and ENJOY!!!!!!

We picked up a few pounds of the Carnitas and the Barbacoa. While we waited, a mariachi singer entertained us. It was very cool. The carne from Don Lucho's was part of my recovery from surgery. Unfortunately, I can't stop comparing. On one of our trips to CDMX, we had terrific Carnitas at some market near the Zocolo. My taste buds hold onto that flavor, and Don Lucho's wasn't as good. However, I live in Milwaukee, not Mexico City, and Don Luchos was darn good. I enjoyed the meat immensely, and stuffing my face helped my convalescence.

The food was delicious. The steak is by far the best steak I've had in a very long time. Really great, grilled flavor. Reminds me of my local taco stand in Mexico. The carnitas were very juicy and tender. The green and red salsas were fresh, flavorful and just the right amount of spicy. Unfortunately we did not get to try anything else since they were out of everything else by 12pm. To be fair it was New Year's day and so I'm not surprised and just glad we were able to get their tacos. Will definitely goback and hopefully we can try the menudo this time. The service was pretty decent, wish we had a more knowledgeable waitress but overall she was friendly enough. The restaurant has a very family friendly ambiance.

If you are in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on a Friday, Saturday, or Sunday morning you need to stop in at Don Lucho's. They open at 5am and close when they run out. I've been here 3x now and after my third visit I had to write this review. The carne and carnitas are the best I've ever had. All on homemade tortillas. I was once told you should judge a Mexican restaurant based on their rice and beans. I would say that is an accurate statement because their rice and beans are a staple on that plate. We were told that their montalayo tacos is their most popular item on the menu. They didn't even have it this morning because it was already sold out.

I came here this past Saturday at around 11am. I tried to go here on another Saturday but they had run out of meats. I recommend coming in early and calling to see what's available before you make your trip. I believe the snowfall was an advantage as they run out of meats very quickly and are only open Friday-Sunday. When I walked in, I was greeted with a lively atmosphere of families eating together and sipping on soup on this cold winter day. It was a full restaurant by 11am.I came here for carry out and went directly to the back. The young gentleman behind the counter was extremely helpful. He gave us recommendations and provided very generous samples. We were sold after sampling the carnitas and barbacoa. Sold to the point that we got 2 pounds of 4 different meats. We got the lamb, chorizo, barbacoa, and carnitas, a dozen homemade tortillas, and salsa. You can sample any of the 6 salsas with their homemade fresh tortilla chips. I don't remember all of the prices as they are not listed $10.99/lb - Lamb, Sheep, Barbacoa $7.99/lb - Carnitas, Chorizo $4.75 - Dozen Homemade Flour Tortillas The barbacoa was my favorite. The meat was very tender and fell apart with your fork. It had just enough fat to balance out each bite. The lamb was my second favorite but it was a bit bony but I appreciate that I had the option of ordering this meat. The carnitas came in chunks but the gentlemen had offered to shred it for us but we declined. It was very tasty and the perfect taco stuffing. You can't go wrong with carnitas. I'll pass on the chorizo next time but that's a personal preference. I definitely want to come back to dine in and get the full restaurant experience but this is a great place to have authentic tacos at home.

This is one of my long time bookmarks that I have not been to because for the longest time they had very little pictures but that has changed now and the food looked good so I stopped by. At 1 pm the place was packed and I was informed of all the things that they were out of ???, this place is like Bbq places where they have a certain amount of food and when it's gone it's gone. I say but it's only 1 pm and I was told that they are very popular and open at 4am so I have to get there early before food starts running out, dam how many places are so popular that they open at 4 am.I wanted a taco dinner with beans and rice to go because the place was packed so I was sent to the back to place my order where I was told again the the rice, beans, house tortillas and some meats were already gone so I said do you have Carnitas and steak and yes I was told but on commercial corn tortillas. As I waited containers of meat were getting chopped up and going out by the pound/pounds with take out and eat in.The packag was hefty I thought for two tacos as I walked up front to pay so I hand a $10 over and I got $5 plus change back, what a deal and I ask for some sauces for the tacos.The tacos looked great and were over filled with Carnitas and steak which were more like tostada sizes. I sampled the Carnitas and steak before I sauced the tacos to taste the meat first and the steak was tasty but the Carnitas were my favorite. The Carnita taco was first which had moist meat and very good. The steak taco had noticeably juicer/moist meat and very good also but the Carnitas was the winner. Two meaty tacos filled me up and I'm glad now that I didn't get the rice and beans.Now for the red and green sauces which deserve some props because they were very good also. I liked them both because they were chunky like a salsa with onions and cilantro that I could see right away.These are hands down some of the best tacos in town when you factor in quality vs size vs price vs taste along with the great sauces. I can see why they are packed and the food gets sold out now. This is a must go place for anyone who likes great tacos but Phone first because they say they open at 4 am a few days a week and the web is all over with the hours and days of operation.

This is another business where I wish we could add a 1/2 star, and I'd give 4 1/2. I struggled between 4 and 5 stars because. If the tacos are consistently good, I feel I'm getting a good value, and they make their own tortillas that are also good, I usually give 5 stars automatically.In this case, the tacos weren't consistently good.To be fair, they are known for their carnitas, and the carnitas are delicious, although some of the meat can get dry. I ordered carnitas tacos with and without cuero (skin). The meat was mostly tender and delicious, and I found that the carnitas with cuero provided the best flavor! I ate them with rice and beans, which are also both good, but note the pinto beans are not refried beans. Also, the tortillas are bigger than usual, so what I ordered on my first visit was easily enough for two people.On my second visit, I opted to be smarter and skip the sides, while sticking with just the tacos. I ordered 4 tacos, so I could try the steak, house-made chorizo, braised lamb, and chicharron (essentially a combo of pork belly and pork skin). The server pointed out that the house-made white corn tortillas are big. I ignored her warning, and that was a mistake. I didn't remember how big they were, so again, this was too much food, even for me. They are the biggest tacos I've had at a taqueria, and they were around $2.75 each, so a great value!At any rate, the lamb had a decent flavor, but was mostly dry. The green salsa that the serve with the chips helped a great deal. Half of the chicharron was dry and needed salsa to eat and swallow, but the skin pieces were a delight. The steak had a good marinade and char flavor from the flat top, but wasn't among the best I've had in town. Finally, the house-made chorizo was the star. OMG, just amazing flavor and texture! I would like to go back to buy the chorizo next time I make paella.The menu is small and the hours are limited, essentially breakfast and lunch Friday through Sunday. Meats can be purchased by the pound for carryout. Table service is ok, but not amazing. You probably won't get your bill, so just walk up to the counter/register at the restaurant entrance, and they have your bill ready. Absolutely worth a visit for the carnitas and chorizo and excellent value!

Hands down the best menudo I had in town. The carnitas were good too. I will definitely will be going back to this place again. I can't believe I'm just now discovering this place.

If you want to eat there, sit down. A lot of people get it to go. We stood in the to go line for awhile before I saw someone sit down and then I asked. There seems to be different prices if you order online vs order in person, but being able to get half pounds in person made it worth it for us. Got half pound carnitas and half pound lamb barbacoa, came with tortillas, cilantro and onions with limes. I also ordered a consommé without meat. The soup was yummy, but the star... was the carnitas!

Get here early: not only can parking be a challenge but as other reviewers have mentioned- they do run out of food. We arrived around 10am and they were already out of guacamole. This place is a machine. With limited hours, it's always packed. It's a small dining space with larger tables and can be a tight squeeze. If you are dining in- sit down, a waitress will find their way to you. If you are ordering to go- you can go straight to the back counter. Whether you eat in or take it to go you will pay at the front.Stand outs for us are always the Asada and Chorizo. Both are flavorful and on point. They do not offer cheese, lettuce, tomato, etc. so don't ask. It's cilantro & onion or nothing. The Carnitas are good but today had a very mild taste. I needed to add a little of the salsa for a better bite. The tortillas are amazing. Homemade and warm. We didn't order any but I did notice that more than half the people seated had a bowl of the Menudo and it looked delicious. I also understand the Lamb is amazing and fan favorite. Lamb just doesn't happen to be one of my favs so I tend not to go there.They do sell takeout and encourage it. The meat (for us it's the Asada & Chorizo w/the Carnitas in a close 3rd) and tortillas are the way to go. Go down and grab it, bring it home and doctor it up the way you want.