Ugaldes Family Restaurant, Warren Indiana

Alright! Let's switch gears! Let's go from bad Tex-Mex to good Tex-Mex! I'm changing it up a bit and doing this out of order to keep with....a "theme". So if you remember from the last entry, I had an awful Tex-Mex dinner at a Petro, well let's talk about a place that did it really well.

I'm talking about Ugaldes Family Restaurant in Warren, Indiana. This is on I-69, south of Fort Wayne at exit 278. Good news for you truck drivers reading this (as I hope you would be), there's truck parking in the back for like 10 trucks. If you're coming south, you'll see Ugalde's on the right. If you're coming north, after you exit the interstate, turn left (and go under I-69) and it will be on the right hand side. Extra bonus, it's directly across the street from another truck stop, so worst case scenario you just park across the street (more truck parking over there, by the way) and walk across.

I stopped here around lunch time. I had some time to kill and I've never been before. It seemed decent, it's open 24 hours. Something just told me, "Liz, go try this place out." So I walked in and it had a regular diner feel to it, nothing fancy or out of the ordinary. My server was this really sweet young lady and I told her, "I've never been here before, what do you recommend?" (I do this a lot when trying out a new restaurant)

Without hesitation she said "The wet burrito". She eats them herself, so that's a fine testimonial. While she also suggested the burgers, she did say the wet burrito was really good. I'll take it! She said it comes with chips and salsa, too. Great! Free appetizer!

So she brought the chips and salsa out and my only question was: how hot is it? You see, I can do mild. I can do medium, but when it gets hotter than that is where I start having reservations. Plus I saw a few Hispanic gentlemen working so I was a little worried because I'm sure they like their food, *ahem* muy caliente. (is that racist?)

My cute and adorable server assured me the salsa wasn't that hot and in fact...she would drink it if she could. Kinda of an odd thing to say but...okay! Thanks, honey, I'll give it a try. She also told me it's homemade.  I just imagined a dark kitchen illuminated with some dramatic lighting and fog while two Hispanic gentlemen in aprons laugh maniacally while shoving ghost peppers into a food processor..wait, is that racist?

Oh I totally got sidetracked. Yeah the salsa was good. It was mild. I don't know if they have options to make it spicier or not, I didn't ask, but yeah it was good. Runny, but good.

Then..the wet burrito. Cue the bold ray of light. The singing of angels...and the dramatic thud of it landing on the table.

It's a shame I didn't give a perspective shot. This was a large burrito. It was thick. It was stout. It was...covered in queso. IT REQUIRED A KNIFE AND FORK!

Let's get the side items out of the way. Refried beans with un-melted cheese on top. Sure. Spanish rice that wasn't screwed up because the person making it actually knew how to make rice. Wonderful.

This. burrito. was. heavenly. Beef and rice and lettuce and tomato and onion and sour cream and then the queso from on top mixes in with it and you have to cut it in half twice just to make bite size pieces and..yeah, this was a damn good burrito. In fact, I was so busy devouring this burrito that I totally forgot to do a picture of the insides after I cut into it to show you everything that was inside. It was just that tasty and delicious.

You're darn right I'll order it again! This is worth stopping for.

Ugaldes Family Restaurant, Warren Indiana. I-69 exit 278 (on the west side of the highway). Truck parking in back, or across the street at another truck stop. Open 24 hours and they take credit cards.

GO THERE!