Cristina’s
By: Mr. T on
June 9, 2008
Even though Lincoln has come a long way in terms of Mexican food in the past few years, many local aficionados still claim that Cristina’s in Crete is worth the 30 minute drive from town. I would have to agree. Cristina’s is located in a strip mall on Highway 33, and is pretty easy to miss. It’s a family run place with an ambience similar to Super Taco or the original El Chaparro: sparsely decorated, cozy, with a few rough edges and a definite mom and pop feel.
I ordered the steak taco platter ($9), which was three carne asada tacos with a side of beans and green chili sauce. Although the best carne asada I have ever had was in San Diego, I would have to say that the carne asada at Cristina’s was the most satisfying I have had in Nebraska outside of Omaha. Although the steak chunks weren’t huge, they were about as big as you would find in most of the Lincoln-based Mexican restaurants, and were cooked perfectly: done enough to be cooked thoroughly, but not to the point that they resembled rubber from my car tire.
The carmelized onions, diced tomatoes, and green peppers gave it a nice kick. What was also pleasant was that the tacos weren’t oozing streams of grease that run down your hand or leave your tortillas soggy like at some restaurants. The only downer for me was that the beans had a very thick consistency, and I prefer mine to be runny.
What was really unique was that the steak taco platter came with a modestly sized stone bowl of green chili sauce on the side as well. In fact, it seems that many of the dishes at Cristina’s come with this green chili sauce, and you can order it mild, medium or hot. I ordered the hot version, which was at about the right level of heat for me. The sauce was warm and had the consistency of a soup, with a nice and clean chili and onion taste that was not overpowering like some of the smoky habanero sauces you see at some places. It definitely complemented the carne asada and did not overwhelm it.
It was also great that it came in a bowl so you could control how much to use, and they served you plenty of it to begin with. I used the green chili sauce pretty generously on my three tacos and there was still about half a bowl of it left.
Mr. Wilson and The Missus both avoided the freedom fries and opted for their favorite dish: the stuffed empanada with chicken and rice ($7), which also came covered in their choice of green chili sauce, cheese, and lettuce. Apparently, the Wilson clan order this dish religiously.
Both the menu’s description and appearance of the stuffed empanada reminded me of a chimichanga. The chicken was shredded white meat, and there was just the right amount of green chili sauce and cheese on it. But instead of a fried flour tortilla wrapper, the stuffed empanada casing was made of a fried pastry-like dough. I had a few bites of one of these golden, deep fried treats. I can see why one would take a 30 minute drive out of town to eat the stuffed empanada.
I have never liked tamales, but Mr. Wilson loves these things. The man is a Mexican food-eating robot. In addition to his stuffed empanada, he also polished off a tamale smothered with the ubiquitous green chili sauce ($2.50). Somehow, after packing away all this food, we drove back to Lincoln and stopped at Zesto’s on 14th and Pine Lake Road to cool off the palate with some ice cream treats.
Besides the usual dishes, Cristina’s also serves sopes, gorditas, fajitas, “Navajo tacos” (which were described as deep fried, bread shell tacos – I’m guessing probably similar to the tacos you can find at Omaha’s California Taco), tortas, guacamole salad, and a small selection of desserts. A basket of chips and mild salsa comes complimentary with orders. Cristina’s Family Restaurant is open 10-8 Tu-Sat and 10-6 Sun. I will definitely be back.
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I see you started off the post with one of your stalker photos. Nice!
The Missus and I try to hit Cristina’s every 2 or 3 months. We would go more often, but with Robbie it just doesn’t always work out. I love their green chile. It’s the only place I’ve found in Nebraska that offers a green chile that reminds me of New Mexico.
I really wish the folks behind Cristina’s would open a restaurant in Lincoln. They would make a killing. Then again, I understand why they don’t; it’s just a family-operated joint, and I’m sure the increase in workload would be difficult.
First what a great view into Christina’s you gave Mr. T. It makes me want to check it out sometime.
Just an observation about all the cool new mex places. As a youngin I loved taco bell, taco inn, chi-chi’s, and a few other mex places my parents would take me to. As I got older my palate got a bit more adventurous and I found some great places. But I began noticing some stuff. Many of the raved about places are doing what I would think would be traditional preparation of the basic raw ingredients and from place to place flavors are very similar.
The chain from that one family that has La mexicana and El Toro, and others like El Chapparo, and Mi Guadalahara are all pretty much interchangeable. I guess what sets them apart from each other is the sauces and little specialties.
The one I miss the most is El Charro (where the burrito shack was) because they seemed to add more to basics like peppers and other spices in the refried beans, their fried rice had stuff mixed in, and their enchilada sauce was amazing.
I pretty much get the same thing everywhere I go though. Chicken enchilada plate. It is my default when checking a new place out to compare them to others. Maybe it is like comparing french fries between restaurants instead of checking out some new specialty. Maybe the similarities are a sign of traditional mex food done well. I just get bummed when wanting to experience something new and not being wowed.
I look forward to taking a trip and seeing what they are like.
If you’re in Omaha, try Los Compayes at 33rd and Q. It’s different from the typical interchangeable Mexican restaurant that beerorkid refers to, because they are constantly inventing new menu items. It all comes from that traditional Mexican food foundation, but there’s some great stuff there. I recommend the Papa Loca, which is grilled steak, Mexican sour cream and melted cheese over grilled shredded potatoes. They also make everything there—salsa, ice cream, tortillas, etc. This probably reads like an ad but I love that place, and I’ve eaten there at least once a week since I discovered it.
The chain from that one family that has La mexicana and El Toro, and others like El Chapparo, and Mi Guadalahara are all pretty much interchangeable. I guess what sets them apart from each other is the sauces and little specialties.
I agree. With the proliferation of new Mexican places in town, there are some real hits and misses out there, and definite similarities, although in general I think its a fabulous trend because there is more choice. In my mind I already have some of these places singled out for particular specialty dishes.
El Chaparro at 13th and F has great flautus; Mi Guadalajara has great chipotle chicken tostadas; Lina’s has great chicken fajitas; El Rancho and Super Taco have their own well-made and unique dishes, etc.
Thinking I need to expand my orderings a bit.
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