Mi Carnal - St. Augustine

Sensational foodWe found this wonderful family run eatery in a shopping centre outside the touristy historic district of St Augustine. We liked it so much that we came here 3 times during our 4 night stay at St Augustines. The dishes that we tried were:Chicken tortilla soup The soup was delicious – made with real chicken broth and full of fresh ingredients and flavour which was improved by the addition of 5 drops of habanero sauce as recommended by the owner Carlos. We had this every time we visited because we loved it!!Biggest burrito pastor (spicy grilled pork) made with paper thin flour tortillas and the perfect amount of rice, beans, lettuce, cheese and meat. Taco salad campechano –fresh crunchy flour tortilla chips topped with lettuce, beans, cheese, pico de gallo, avocado, steak and chorizo.Pupusas delicious corn flatbreads stuffed with tasty porky chicharron and cheese.Tacos – soft corn tortillas filled with spicy chorizo, topped with cilantro and finished with a squeeze of lime.We loved the house made salsas too. The meals here are just sensational – they are made with love and pride and you can just taste it in the food!

I relocated from Maryland and discovered Mi Carnal by chance about 8 years ago and my family and eat at least once a week. The food is very inexpensive for the quality. The food is consistently delicious and the owners make you feel like family. I recommend the mexican sandwiches or 'torta Mexicana ' which is just amazing. Also, they have the best tasting Pupusas in the area and I should know since I 'm from El Salvador. This is the best kept secret in St. Augustine. Just delicious quality food at an amazing price with excellent service. Just be careful because the food at this place is truly addictive!

Great Mexican food. Just like on the border!. We got used to high quality, authentic Mexcian food while living on the border with Mexico.<br/ <br/ And this place did NOT disappoint.<br/ <br/ We have been twice now, and the service is great and the food is wonderful.<br/ <br/ We tried several different things. Tacos, burritos, specialty platters, beans, rice etc and we loved them all.<br/ <br/ Fresh simple ingredients.<br/ <br/ It is always a joy to talk to the friendly owner, too.<br/ <br/ We also love the little store, attached. Had some of our favorites that we have missed.

Why do Chipotle when you can have authentic for less dinero?. Why go to Chipotle for a meal when you can get an authentic burrito right down the road for less money!? It 's just past Walmart on U.S. 1 South. They have Mexican barbacoa; sound familiar, Chipotle lovers? Mi Carnal is a 'hole in the wall ', but I mean that affectionately. It is home to a lovely local family (he 's Mexican, she 's El Salvadoran, I believe, and they have two older children who help run the place). The ambiance is dull, but the food shines. Get the mixed pupusas (a traditional El Salvadoran dish eaten with the hands) which comes with an excellent vinegary slaw called curtido, and a tomato salsa. Have you ever had a Mexican torta (sandwich)!? It rivals a Publix sub. The meat is where it 's at, try the: Pastor (tender pork braised in pineapple), the campechano which is steak with chorizo for a little spicy kick, they have chicharron for those who like fried pork rinds. Of course, Micarnal serves chicken, pork loin, steak, as well. They also have a vegetarian menu featuring, soy meat, beans, and stuffed peppers. For me, the best indicator that this place is authentic is all the Hispanic faces you 'll see eating inside; must taste like mom 's. Only downside? Super-affordable Micarnal closes at 7pm. Check out this place 's rating on TripAdvisor, Yelp, Google+, Facebook. It gets 4.5-5 stars across the board. Salud(oh, wait, they don 't have beer or wine...so...fine...there are two downsides)!

I cannot say enough good things about this place! I was born in San Diego and know real, authentic Mexican food. This is the real deal! So friendly! Salsa and guac made to order