January 30th, 2010
El Original
1313 E. Erwin Tyler TX
(903) 526-2999
On the Square
113 E Erwin Tyler TX
(903) 526-0702
One of my favorite restaurants to go to almost every week in Tyler is Don Juan’s. What you get at Don Juan’s that keeps me coming back is consistency and decent service.

Don Jaun's
The food is always of high quality and I usually get a pretty good waiter or waitress attentive to my food needs. They will almost always bring out some godo quality crunchy chips to your table. These chips aren’t the thin greasy chips you get at most places that people seem to like a lot. Don Juan’s chips are small triangular crunchy goodness. Combined with Don Juan’s extra spicy green and red hot sauce and you get a nice little appetizer prior to your taco’s or quesadilla arriving.

Don Juan's
My favorite item right now at Don Juan’s taqueria are their chicken taco’s on corn tortilla’s. I will usually ask that they include cilantro, lettuce, tomato, cheese, and avacodo. I will usually get the taco’s without avacodo and I will sometimes ask for the waiter to go back and bring me some avacodo but usually I will just eat it however it comes out. Isn’t that what you do at McDonald’s? My order is never right there but I just eat however it comes out because why waist time complaining every visit?
My favorite drink at Don Juan’s is their Cantoulope juice. I would have never thought this flavor of juice would be good but in my mind it doesn’t taste exactly like cantaloupe but more like a refreshing fruit drink without distinct melon flavor. If you doubt my recommendation go ahead and order this drink and see what I mean. This drink is some good stuff! I have recommended the drink to a few of my friends and my wife. All of these people were reluctant at first but went ahead and ordered it. Now all of those friends order nothing else but yes you guessed it, Cantaloupe juice. You can beat this stuff. It is better than Tropicana pure premium orange juice no pulp and for me that is saying a lot.
When at Don Juan’s don’t spend too much time loitering at the entrance. You seat yourself people! See the sign that says “seat yourself”? Ok you have seen it so go ahead and find a table and wait for your server. This is how the machine works at Don Juan’s and we in Tyler like it like this. Why wait for a meaningless hostess to help you find a table when anyone with a brain can locate a clean empty table on their own? We can only hope that other Tyler restaurants learn from this ingenious idea.
Don Juan’s is located at the downtown square on Erwin and they have another location further down on West Erwin in the Mexican area of town near the brookshires dairy processing plant.

Brookshires Dairy Processing
There are some obscure Mexican retail shops nearby with manicans wearing skimpy outfits and a house operating as a second hand used junk store. There is also Sam Hill Ace Hardware and lumber close by the West Erwin Don Juan’s location.
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January 8th, 2010
With around 1000 Mexican eateries in and around Tyler Texas ranging from the big chains to your little ‘hole in the walls’, Taqueria El Lugar is a Tyler staple. With its five locations Lugar offers everything from beef tacos to chicken burritos. And if you think a quesadilla is a thin tortilla shaped like a triangle you haven’t met Lugar’s #7. The #7 is a super quesadilla stuffed to the gills with your choice of beef, ham or chicken with cilantro, cheese and sliced avocado! Oh!-you’ll need both hands! The Super Quesadilla cost around $3.80 each
A Great Place to Bring “Out of Towners”
You have friends from out of town? You want to show them something a little less tex-mex?
Taqueria El Lugar is more authentic and will not disappoint non Tylerites. Try its newest location in the shopping center just south of The Diner in Tyler. If you hit ‘Academy Sports’ you’ve gone way too far!
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Tags: Taqueria El Lugar, Tyler Texas Mexican Food, Tyler TX Taquerias
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January 8th, 2010
Mexican restaurants in Tyler are a lot like Churches in Tyler. Some prefer the mega churches, just like some choose the impersonal larger favs like Mercados or Jalapeño Tree. Well I no more prefer being one of a billion served than a billion saved. When it comes to Mexican or “Tex-Mex” food, why trust to a corporation what has been done better by grandmothers for centuries. Ok so that’s a bit nostalgic I admit, but Texas is blessed with some of the best cultural foods of any place in the world. This is why I visit restaurants like Don Juan’s. When I eat Mexican food in Tyler I want it taste like authentic Mexican / Texan food.
Don Juan’s is a local Tyler business with two locations; that serves the authentic food I expect to have in Texas. Their quesadillas and enchiladas are absolutely out of his world and their Chimichanga has to be the best in town. But everyone has their favorite menu item. And with an atmosphere as authentic as the food, it’s a great place to take out of town guests for a bit of local color.

Great cantaloupe juice!
So next time you’re tempted to follow the crowd to one of the mega Tex-Mex establishments, try something a bit more personal. Try Don Juan’s located at 1313 E. Erwin, or on the Square at 113 E Erwin, in Tyler.You’ll be glad you did.For a menu see their website at www.donjuantyler.com.
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Tags: Don Juan's Mexican Food Tyler, Don Juan's Tyler Texas, Tyler Texas Mexican Food, Tyler Texas Taquerias
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September 2nd, 2009
I have lived in Tyler off and on for a lot of years. I’ve been eating at Taqueria El Lugar for much of that time. The original Gentry location was the only store when I first tasted the super quesadillas but they taste the same today as they did back then. I have always been amazed at the incredibly diverse group of people I find there. Tylerites of absolutely all strips can be found in this local landmark which goes to prove the point that quality knows no favoritism.
El Lugar is a classic
East Texas success story. All the locations are family owned and operated. After spending years in the same location the business has exploded into five, (yes count ‘em five), different stores around the Tyler area. And their fame has spread far beyond even our great State. I know, because on numerous occasions I have taken out of state guests for an authentic Mexican food experience. I recall once while living in St Paul Minnesota, I returned home for a teacher’s conference. While in Tyler I introduced my administrator to the favorite restaurant of my youth. We returned to El Lugar the following day, even going so far as to postpone our return trip to the mid west in order to have one last number seven.
Since I’ve moved home the restaurant has expanded again and again. The prices are slightly higher than they were when I moved away, but at three eighty nine a piece, the quesadillas are still so worth it! While the atmosphere is admittedly nothing to write home about, the quality of the food more than makes up for it. There is also the take out option, however if you exercise it I suggest calling ahead. So even though I realize I give the following advice a lot, I’ll say it again. The next time you have guests don’t take them to the local chain. Let them experience genuine East Texas food at its best. Neither you nor your guests will regret it. Try any of the five El Lugar locations in Tyler.
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Tags: El Lugar, El Lugar Tyler TX, Tyler Texas Taqueria
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