This Mexican restaurant is the only place in Kansas City that rivals my mom’s cooking
I have been asked by many of my non-Latino friends which Mexican restaurant is my favorite. I often tell them that is a hard question to answer, because I love home-cooked Mexican food, an art my mom passed onto me. So I can make most Mexican food, and pretty well, too (and I do believe my friends and co-workers would agree).
But the restaurant that gets the closest to my mom’s cooking is La Fonda El Taquito, a 40-year-old Kansas City restaurant run by the Medina family.
Especially when I eat their carnitas, I’m transported back to my childhood: cleaning the pinto beans so my mom could cook them, the smell of pork cooking on the stove. I would walk in and tell my mom, “It smells like a Mexican house.” Only those of us who grew up in a Latino household can understand.
Perhaps another reason I love La Fonda so much is regional familiarity. In Mexico, the food is prepared differently depending on where you are from. For example, if you go to Veracruz you will most likely eat black beans, white rice and seafood. My grandparents were from Guadalajara. Some of the Medina family is from the same region.
But the other great thing about La Fonda’s carnitas ($8.99) is that they are never dry. I’ve tried carnitas at other restaurants, and they are not the same. La Fonda’s pork is flavorful and juicy, because Sandy Medina and Martha Mendez marinate the meat, then cook it for four hours. The final result is almost falling to pieces and running with juice.
You can’t eat carnitas without beans. And they have some of the best refried beans in Kansas City ($1.99). Another go-to I love at La Fonda is their chicken soup ($5.49), filled with avocado, cilantro and much more. It’s much easier to buy thank make it at home, and it’s the best cure for a cold.
La Fonda El Taquito, 800 Southwest Blvd., has a long history. It all started when Agustin “Chino” Medina moved his family from Kansas City to California to learn about making tortillas from his cousin and came back with his own new recipe for corn tortillas. Initially, Agustin opened a small neighborhood grocery store, where his wife Teresa made tacos and burritos while he made corn tortillas in the back of the store.
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