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Pretty darn good! I have never been to a Carnitas specialty restaurant or heard of anything like this before. By the looks of the patrons coming in and out of the to-go area, I knew I was in for a hog-a-licious treat. I rarely eat pork so when I get the craving, I'm in it to win it!
2 people shared an order of carnitas with fresh tortillas, salsas, rice and beans. Everything was fresh and authentic. I put away about 5 tacos!
I must admit service was very slow. Next time, I'll get take out and make tacos at home. If you don't live in the area, I would recommend eating in.
PROS: Homemade tortillas, corn and flour
Decent, though unremarkable carnitas
CONS: Rotten service, as if you should not expect good service in a Mexican restaurant. This is perhaps too much of an expectation. This place has poor lighting. The atmosphere is a little cavernous and the lighting makes you feel a little cloistered. The menus really need a revamp, since they look very old-school with the Clip Art graphics. That said, I can't imagine why a place like this would treat its customers so informally. Not even my Spanish helped; in fact, I think it made it worse and made Roberto or Ruben forget to bring me a fork and some lemon for five minutes. I had to get up and ask that it be brought myself, but it wasn't him who brought it to me. A fork!
The carnitas plate ($9.50, steep for Gilroy) was fair: heaping pile of leaner slices of roasted pork loin, served with rice, beans and salad on the plate. I liked that I was asked whether I wanted "carne" (meat) or "surtido" (mix of meat and "cueritos"). The restaurant operates quite a to-go service in the back. You walk in and order your carnitas or chicharrones ($5.95/lb), with tortillas or salsa.
Can't imagine why you'd order anything besides the carnitas, but they weren't the best I had. They weren't warm either, with little crisp to the edges. Plus they seemed underseasoned to me, which only made me use more of the extremely salty green chile sauce on the table. That, in fact, is the very worst thing about this place. There is a dearth of salsa here. I was able to see another red salsa that the to-go customers can get, but we got this goopy salsa verde that was flat, limpy and had like a cup of salt dumped in. Insist on getting another salsa, since that is such an important part of making your carnitas taco at the table.
Coming to the Bay Area all the way from NY, I've been using Yelp a lot to get a feel for what's good in town. This place had awesome reviews for the most part, and I decided to try it. Definitely glad that I did.
I got the "Orden de Carnitas" to go. Plenty of food: 1 lb. of carnitas, 12 tortillas (corn or flour), red or green sauce, jalepenos, and other garnishes. I picked the flour tortillas and red sauce to go with my meal. Seriously, this meal was like a taste-explosion in my mouth. The flour tortillas were my favorite--unbelievable! And the red sauce accented the carnitas perfectly. It was hella good.
The place looks tiny as others have mentioned, but it's pretty spacious inside. And it seems like a nice atmosphere although there weren't many people there when I went. Prices are more than reasonable for the amount of food that you get. And the staff was super friendly! Definitely check this place out if you're in the area. =]
Friendly place, decent food. I think we had like two people wait on us so they're very attentive. Heard they're known for their Carnitas so gave that a try, very tender and flavorful meat. They had a good menu of choices as well. I had the Carnitas taco which I really liked and the barbecued beef which I didn't care too much for, it was a bit bland. Portions are big, good prices, and free chips and salsa!
So I'm in town for the weekend and needed a place to eat.
I will say I was a little disappointed. We have a Carnitas Michocan in my hood and they're a pretty typical taqueria kinda dingy and you know they probably bought that A hanging in the window. The Gilroy location is almost a 5* restaurant by comparison. Tons of tables and the place is kept very clean, a little TOO clean, the cleanser smell was a little strong for me. I ordered the Carnitas plate since that seems to be the way to go and was very impressed. Not the best I've had but still very tasty. The corn torillas were GREAT and the rice and beans went very well. Price was WAY to high for my liking. Dinner just for me was almost $14, but I was in and out pretty quick, with reasonable service.
This would be a good backup plan if it were local but probably not a regular haunt, that's why they only get 3*s from me.
My friend and I stopped here on a Sunday night on our way back from a roadtrip to LA -- we hadn't stopped for even as much as a pee break or food, so when we got to Gilroy we were hungry and doing the PP dance.
We stopped at Carnitas Michoacan based on other Yelp reviews. I don't know if we got special treatment because it was near closing time, but the waitress brought out a mini plate of carnitas along with our chips and salsa! We ordered some tacos and a bowl of Posole. The bright red posole soup was tasty and had big chunks of carnitas in it. It wasn't very spicy so you can add some hot sauce to your liking. The tacos were generously filled. The carnitas is definitely a little different from the norm. It doesn't have the crunchy bits on it but it is still very flavorful and tender.
At the end of our feast, a young waiter stopped by and asked if I liked chicken. Yes, I do....and he offered up a to-go package of cooked chicken and corn tortillas, since they were closed the next day and it would go to waste. We graciously accepted the offer and had enough chicken for a few meals.
Based on my experience, the food is 4 stars and the service is 5 stars. I will definitely go back when I am in Gilroy again.
Excellent carnitas, great service. excellent for party plates to go. Everyone I turn on to this place rants and raves and returns often. it is addictive. No alcohol served but who cares. If you eat carnitas anywhere else in the area your probably eating meat they cooked. Vendors and other restaurants buy their Carnitas from them.
I'm a firm believer that there's 3 things why people love Gilroy!
1. The "Premium Outlets"
2. Gilroy Garlic Fest
3. Carnitas Michoacan
If you really love anything else in town... please share cause I'm curious to know.
My family discovered this place about 7 years ago. I think we have all made trips to here to get anything from 10 to 50 pounds of carnitas for parties and what not. If you don't know what to bring to a party one day... carnitas could make you the hit of the party :)
Their carnitas are the tastiest, softest and the best I've had in my life! Serve them with rice, beans and salsa and make it the best meal ever!!!!!
The owners are really nice and genuine peeps too and they truly care for their costumers. That's why they always hook you up with extra half pound of carnitas or give you a free bottled drink if you've been waiting in line for too long. If you've been here you know what I'm talking about :)
I've started a taqueria tour of gilroy, revisiting many but this is my first trip to carniatas michoacan. We ordered carnitas to go (which included one pound of carnitas and 12 tortillas) , and a medium half beans half rice plate, guacamole and red and green sauce. The total came out to 25 which I thought was a little expensive until I saw the food ... we ordered way too much for 2 people at lunch! The salsas and guacamole were given to us in containers about the same size you'd get at the store (and the guacamole was by far the best i've ever had, I definitely recommend it). We got what seemed to be way more than a pound of carnitas and only managed to finish about half of the food between the two of us (and both ate quite a lot!).
The carnitas were the most flavorful and delicious i've ever had. The homemade flour tortillas were absolutely mouth wateringly good. The rice was about the best i've ever had.
In total I think this is one of the best stops for mexican food in town. About a dead tie between los pericos and here for me. I think los pericos has better beans and red chili sauce but carnitas michoacan definitely takes the cake for rice, carnitas and tortillas! If you live in gilroy and haven't been here ... go!
Ok, maybe the carnitas here are a particular tradition, but my wife and I were unimpressed with the food here, overall. It wasn't out-and-out bad, but not 5-stars good by any means. She got the carnitas platter, which was enough for two, and I got the two tacos platter. My frijoles refritos were not terribly good (I skipped 'em), the pollo taco was dry and tasteless (requiring a serious dousing of hot sauce) and cueritos taco was decent. Rice and salad, meh.
The carnitas (signature dish, yah) was more a "bbq-style", which seemed like good quality meat with a dark color and fairly strong flavor, but lacked the simplicity and tastiness of a good solid traditional carnitas. Like I say, perhaps it's more a regional take on carnitas, but a take I wish we'd passed on.
My wife and I went based on the recommendations of others.
I got the carnitas, which was ok, but fairly bland. (Perhaps that's how real carnitas is?) Service was lacking -- slow and inattentive.
Not bad, but I don't see us rushing out to return.
If you like Carnitas then the worst time of the week for you will be Mondays and Tuesdays (Carnitas Michoacan is closed on these days). Get the Carnitas dinner plate if you haven't been here before and if you like pork then the pig here is gonna make you squeal for real.
They sell Carnitas by the pound and the catering here is the bomb. You can get enough food catered to feed anywhere from 25 to 500.
The Carnitas is 5 star.
The salsa red or green is 5 star.
The beans are 5 star.
The rice is 5 star.
The tortillas are 5 star.
The combination of the above elements make for a deadly combination that you will want to repeat until your ready to explode.
I'm a jerk when it comes to writing one star reviews and I give them to a lot of places but this is not one of them. I am standing behind these folks 100%. There are so many mexican restaurants in the area that are sub par so this place is truly a diamond in the rough.
I have had the catering on 3 occasions and finally got to eat here today and WOW.
They don't have a catering or paper menu but if you call they will be happy to tell you what you might need.
Service has always been good catering or in the restaurant but even if they treated you like dirt it wouldn't stop you from coming. The Carnitas are just to DAMN GOOD!
People thought this was:
Great Michoacan style carnitas, not crisp, just slowly fried to a pulled-pork consistency.
The marinade used for the pork is excellent.
Until I tried this place for carnitas, I believed that Carnitas Trejo's in Watsonville made the best Michoacan style carnitas, but I believe that Carnitas Michoacan rates just a little bit higher than Trejo's, if not for the food, at least for the nicer atmosphere and friendly service.
A visit here is a good lesson in discipline. Trust me on this.
You're not to order the carne asada, chicken or menudo (beware, no hominy in this menudo). Not that the non-carnitas offerings aren't good but if you opt for those other options, you'll just end up gazing longingly at the heaping plates of delicious porkiness at the tables around you.
You're not to come here if you're a vegetarian or if towering mountains of steaming pork bother you. Come here on the weekend and you'll get a glimpse of their brisk take-out service, which attracts lines of people on the weekends. At the head of the line, someone is scooping handfuls of meat out into those clamshell containers. For carnivores, it's a fantasy beyond description; for non-meat eaters, it's Hades on earth.
You're not to think about cholesterol, fat grams or calories. Something this good can't be good for you. Just accept it.
You're not to fuss with fancy salsas or too many condiments. Simplicity should rule here. Meat, tortillas, salsa, maybe some beans.
You're not to talk once the food arrives. Concentrate on stuffing your face with some of the best carnitas in the area.
People thought this was:
This place is the best Mexican food in Gilroy. The rice is the BEST i have EVER tasted.
This place is closed on Monday's & Tuesday's (which sucks).
Every party that I have ever had has been catered by this place. And my party guests have never been disappointed. All of my friends use this place to cater their parties also.
This place is a total hole-in-the-wall place and you can easily miss it even when walking by. But once you get inside, its pretty big and nice.
Highly Recommend!!!
People thought this was:
Best. Carnitas. Ever.
Great home-style Mexican food. No frills dining, but everything on the menu is good.
As a couple of others mentioned, these folks are the PREMIERE caterers around the Gilroy area. I bet I've been to twenty different events that used their services and there is always a TON of food for a great price and it always tastes great. At a recent event people had a full layout-enough for about a hundred with buckets of three different kinds of salsa, both kinds of tortillas and huge trays of rice and beans. The hosts had the carnitas staying hot in one of those turkeys roasters. It was like DOPE- you can't stop having it, and you feel different afterwards.
People thought this was:
Get it to go. The carnitas, that is. Order up a pound and a dozen fresh, hot flour tortillas. You'll probably wind up with a pound and a half, plus a big chunk to taste-test while you're waiting. You can thank me later.
Had to find this place after a friend's party had gotten party platters from this place.
Didn't eat at the restaurant, but did go to the butcher table in back and pick up a couple of pounds of their most excellent pork carnitas to take home. Amazingly good. A bit under salted, but easy to remedy.
If you are looking for good carnitas then this is the place!
Excellent carnitas. Excellent. You get a plate of carnitas, a stack of tortillas, some cilantro and onions, a few limes, and then chow down.
I first encountered these carnitas when they were catered at a neighbor's party. Now, every now and then I make a probe to Gilroy with la familia.
Excellent!
This is tough for me to say being from San Jose..but this little Gilroy spot definitely takes the prize for the best Carnitas in the South Bay. It's even worth the drive to Gilroy just to pick up a pound.
People thought this was:
Best Carnitas I have ever had here in the South Bay/ Norcal. Jaime the owner is super nice and hooks it up big time with the catering. They provide everything!
Mighty fine carnitas, barbacoa and green salsa to be had here -- and on a budget, no less! Ravenous after 7 hours in the car on the long road up from LA, $10.60 bought enough food to make two adults nearly explode.
I'll definitely be back next time I'm in Gilroy.
Carnitas Michocan in old town on Monterey. While you may be the only gringo in the place, trust me, that's a good sign! We've had both dinner and breakfast here. My only complaint about dinner, they don't serve beer or margaritas to wash the wonderful food down with. But I can live with that. I always have the Huevos Rancharos for breakfast, try both the red and green sauce, and it's AMAZING! Muy bueno!
People thought this was:
Awesome all the way around.
They do not have a liquor License, but do not let that scare you away. The Carnitas are the best, and worth the drive. The staff is excellent and the Owners will greet you with a smile and make you feel at home.
I ate there 3 nights in one week. Go find out for yourself. 3 dinners for $25
Hands down the best carnitas in the area! Forget about the carnitas you've tried in the taquerias this place is the bomb! This place comes as close to homemade casero carnitas you will get. The meat is flavorful and tender, not hard and dry like you find in many places. Try them with a little lime and the salsa verde its like heaven in a tortilla. They also have chicken cooked in the same style, also very good. This place is worth the drive. Five stars in my book.
Gilroy, CA
Category: Mexican
Gilroy, CA
Category: Mexican
Gilroy, CA
Category: Restaurants
Gilroy, CA
Category: Mexican
Gilroy, CA
Category: Restaurants
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