La Hacienda

Here it is. The Mad Sampler's first negative review. It took us awhile but I think we've found a worthy candidate. Hey, it's not our fault that Madison not only has tons of restaurants but that it has TASTY restaurants.

La Hacienda should be a great place for us- we can walk or bike there, it's just right down the street, they have nice outdoor seating and considering it's located in a highly Latino part of town, one has some expectations of quality! Am I right? Mexican food is one of our favorites, so we were excited to find the best Mexican food in town.

Well, La Hacienda is not it. It's not that this is a terrible restaurant, it's just "ok." And in Madison, ok can't get you all that far. The food was bland (especially compared to a FANTASTIC mexican restaurant down the street a bit- see last sentence) and the menu was too huge (I really hate that- just tell me what you're really good at making!) and basically that sealed the deal. I got the tostadas and was pretty disappointed. Not much flavor but unfortunately piled so high on my plate (another annoyance- I'm here for 1 meal, not 8!) I enjoyed sitting outside and MAY give it another try but if you're looking for authentic Mexican food- Taqueria Guadalajara does NOT disappoint.