Foothill Flavors

Que Carumba! Mi Tierra es Muy Bueno

By Antoinette May Herndon

I’m not very good at keeping secrets. Are you? Of course, I really should save this column for Cinco de Mayo day, but Mi Tierra is just too great a find not to share with you right away.

The charming cantina tucked into the Vista del Lago Shopping Center in Valley Springs had scarcely opened when the Grand Dame of Culinary Arts discovered it. (That’s Noreen Huberty of Mokelumne Hill, in case you haven’t already guessed.)

Noreen was adamant: we just had to go to Mi Tierra and go there soon. Noreen was equally insistent that we go early. I couldn’t believe it when her car drove up at 11 a.m. 11 a.m.! Ordinarily, that’s about when I finish breakfast, but Ginger Griffin and Robin Aldrich were already in the car all dressed up and raring to go.

It was a good thing that day I’d decided to skip breakfast. The four-page tightly spaced menu waiting for us at Mi Tierra was simply unbelievable. Talk about variety! And every item looked so inviting. I wanted everything. How to choose?

It wasn’t easy, but then one doesn’t often find mole on a north of the border menu. My selection that morning was Enchilada de Mole which consisted of two chicken enchiladas on a corn tortilla, topped with dark red sauce and spiced with herbs and that marvelous hard to find chocolate base. The price of $8.75 included corn tortillas, rice, beans and a small

salad.

The chicken was moist and tender and the mole sauce downright sinful. If you’re going to fall off the diet wagon, this is surely the way to go.

Noreen loves tostadas and was delighted by Mi Tierra’s rendition. It consisted of a crispy corn tortilla topped with beef, lettuce, sour cream, guacamole, cheese and a dash of oregano sauce. The price was only $3.99.

Robin was equally pleased by Tacos Alambre which was made with beef, bacon, onions, and pasilla chile. The price was $9.50.

Everyone oohed and ahed over Ginger’s selection: Chicken Fajita. Imagine, if you will, sizzling strips of chicken mixed with bell peppers, onions, and tomato served corn tortillas rice beans, lettuce tomato, sour cream and guacamole. ($11.75) Do I need to tell you that she ate every bite?

Some readers have suggested that I’m a tad too enthusiastic in my columns. What can I say? I’ve always enjoyed eating and consider cooking an art form. These past four years of writing for the Lodestar have morphed me into a critic.

If I think a restaurant could try harder, I say so. If the food is really bad, I don’t write about it at all. Though not a food Nazi, I’m not a sorority girl either. I call it the way I see it. Though I want restaurants to stay in business, my real responsibility is to you, the reader, who ends up paying the bill.

Mi Tierra is a wonderful addition to the area. Noreen was wise to insist we go there early.

By the time we finished eating at noon, the restaurant was full and people were waiting. Only two weeks old at that point and Mi Tierra was already a winner.

Owner Karina Lopez is an adept chef and server. She’s made a success of her “mother restaurant,” Mi Tierra in Escalon, and luckily for us decided to expand into the foothills

Karina’s menu is packed with old favorites like the Super Quezadilla Suiza (flour tortilla filled with melted cheese with a choice of beef, chicken or pork and chopped salsa with sour cream and guacamole) at $6.25.

You’ll also find the Wet Burrito, a large burrito stuffed with a choice of meat, rice and beans topped with green or red sauce, cheese sour cream and guacamole, for $7.

I even discovered my old almost impossible to find favorite on the menu, Pozole. This delicacy, a kind of Mexican stew, is priced at $8.50.

You better believe I’ll be back to Mi Tierra soon. Hopefully, I’ll meet you there. Let’s plan on hoisting a Negra Modelo together.

VITALS: Mi Tierra Restaurant, 1906 Vista Del Lago, Unit N, Valley Springs. Phone: 772-2730. Open daily from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Beer and wine served. Credit cards accepted.

Pictures:

Pretty Karina Lopez has a winner on her hands with Mi Tierra in Valley Springs.

Mi Tierra, Valley Springs’ newest dining attraction, is located in the Vista del Lago Shopping Center.

Diners enjoy a touch of Old Mexico at Mi Tierra in Valley Springs.