La Que Buena

1611 E Lake St
Minneapolis, MN 55407
specialty: Michelad
price: $8-20

MICHELAD! Is the secret word of the day. When anyone hears that word -scream real loud! The best Michelad I have tasted so far is found at La Que Buena. It is the magical combination of beer and peppery hot tomato juice. It is enough to sweep anyone out of those winter blues! I visited La Que Buena twice. Once with a small group and once with a birthday party. Both times there was Michelad and tequila were involved.

La Que Buena is situated right next to La Poblania, which you think would be bad for business, but that didn't seem to be the case either times I visited. Entering the restaurant, one might wonder if it is closing soon because of the half-lit room. There is a definite difference in lighting from the front of the room to the back -where the locals drink their Michelad.

The first time I was there we were seated under a mounted elk with Mexican memorabilia hanging from the antler. A young woman greeted us with chips, that were double fried and dripping with grease. We dove right in. Greasy goodness is what was discovered.

Mariscos (seafood) takes up the largest portion of the La Que Buena menu. Langostinos Gigantes or Cola de Langosta were a few of the choices on the menu featuring a rather busty young woman holding a Mexican platter -ogled by my husband. I opted for the Camerones Rancahros which were shrimp in a spicy rancharos sauce.

The shrimp was very good but nothing really notable. I could achieve the same results adding my favorite chili powder to a marinara sauce and pouring it over shrimp. It left me wanting beans, which I didn't have on my plate. My side dish: rice with vegetables. I ordered a side of beans, which pushed my bill over $13 for one plate of food (not including the two Michelads and shot of tequila). The price was a bit steep for what I have experienced on Lake Street so far.

The second time I visited I had chicken mole. The mole sauce was really tasty -as is the enchilada sauce that is served with the chili rellenos and enchiladas eaten by my friends. They actually grind their own chilies (according to a chef that we met off duty drinking Michelads). I was impressed overall by their sauces at La Que Buena, but I was not impressed by the quality of the chicken in my mole. It tasted like it had been frozen and thawed and frozen and thawed.

chips and salsa: 3.4
beverage selection/quality: 5
overall rating: 3