Michael’s Cantina

Ok don’t be discouraged by the fact the guys here do not appear to be of Mexican decent…
Anyway. If ever there was a reason to eat lunch in the Myer Centre food court, the reason is at Michael’s Catina. It truly is Mexican food at it’s best. Well, almost…
And so, welcome to Michaels Catina where food court cuisine taste just as good (dare I say it, even better) than some other Mexican Restaurants that I have entered, and paid a lot more for.
At Michael’s you can expect to eat nachos, burritos, fajitas, wraps and salsa chicken.- You know all the good stuff!
It’s just a pitty that the food must be devoured is in a dark and unappealing setting. Not my favourite food court in the world, I must say. Oh well.
I used to eat here after Uni and before I started a shift at work. It would give the right amount of energy to last me until the end of the day. In other words, for about ten bucks it is a good and heavy feed.
Just for the record I always order the same thing, which is the bolognaise burrito, and for the record, it’s good!

15÷1÷2012
$ 7.40 for a small serve of nachos?
Now THAT’s a great deal for me!
While I was watching a medical documentary about heart disease, it said that Mexican food is one of the unhealthiest foods in the world, and hence why Mexico has one of the highest rates of heart disease in the world. I know I should be eating healthy today, but I was craving for some Mexican, I haven’t had it in a while anyway.
Basically — I was so hungry I asked for the lot. Cheese and guacamole and sour cream, but no olives for my nachos — and I must say — this was just really good! No wonder the owner told me that it is the most popular choice off the menu.
Quick nutrition facts of one serve of delicious nachos (from Google):
Calories: 346
Good:
Low in cholesterol (18mg, 6%)
No sugar
Bad:
High in saturated fat (7.8g, 39%)
Final grade: B
The rest of the menu? I’ve tried their burritos before, and it’s not as good as their nachos. The servers do not engage in any conversation whatsoever, but they don’t muck around when it comes to wrapping up your food for you.
To conclude: for less than $ 8 only, the food was really tasty!

This is unquestionably Westernised Mexican food. No self respecting Mexican would chow down here and tell you about how it tastes just like home. Still, it’s pretty delicious and stays true to many of the important hallmarks of Mexican food.
For one, it’s all fresh. The veg, the meat, the tortillas, they’re soft and crunchy in all the right places.
Secondly, the general formula of the burrito is here. You can even get guacamole and rice if you feel like being reeeally authentic. Though I did stop by here once and spotted some mixed veg in the rice, which just ain’t right.
Their deviance from the traditional formula is also a boon for this place. You can get your regular, salsa-​y burrito is you like, or you can branch out to a bolognese sauce, vegetarian options and more.
Sandwiched between chains like KFC and McDonalds, Michael’s holds its own and is definitely worth a try.

Put that yellow Old El Paso box back into the pantry kids!
Michaels Cantina exists!!!
*Cue the Mexican Hat Dance*
Mexican food in Australia is quite uncommon. There aren’t a lot of places that do it. However, more and more Central-​American eateries are popping up around the place.
Burp and Zambreros to name a few of the fast food options. And to be honest both are better than Michaels Cantina (in my opinion), but Michael’s is still well decent. As far as food court food goes, Michaels is one of the better options. Their food is fresh and made on the spot. The burritos are big and filling, however they do tend to be a little bland and dry at times. Not always, mind you. Just on some of my encounters.

I’ve frequented Michael’s Cantina on a number of occasions, usually when waiting for my wife to finish shopping.
The service is not bad, and the food is pretty good. I love their nachos, and the tacos aren’t too bad either.
What I like is the place always looks clean, and the stuff in the bain marie always looks reasonbly fresh.
this place is pretty cheap too. It would cost me more to buy the ingredients and make it myself, and probably wouldn’t taste half as nice.

Expectations affect experience. We all know that. I’ve a few friends who SWEAR by this place. We were in the city and they dragged me along. Well, they didn’t really drag me along. I’m a notorious tight-​ass, and they told me the prices were low, so it wasn’t too much of a struggle to get me out there after that.
The place doesn’t look like much. That was the first thing I noticed. But then, I’ve never been one for appearances. It’s the inside that counts, after all. Oprah may be gone, but her life messages will long stay with me.
I was somewhat impressed with the pricing. It’s fairly cheap. But for a guy who’d rather starve than let go of his hard-​earned money (earned through birthdays, odd-​jobs and swindling), I wasn’t terribly impressed. For that price, though, I’d definitely eat here again. I just wouldn’t make it my go-​to Mexican outlet.
And here’s where the expectations get in the way. I’d tried to by cynical. I’d tried. But the way my friends talked up these burritos… They were good. I’ve never loved Mexican food, but I’ve never hated it. And these burritos have the wonderful privilege of attaining a spot on my taste-​o-​meter slightly above the middle, toward the ‘love’ side of things.

I wish I had a Poncho, but you still have to wear pants with a poncho hey?! Bummer!
Michael’s Cantina at the bottom of the Myer Centre is about as Mexican as a food stall gets in the Southern most state of Australia.
In my days of pretending to be a smart person, I spent many a lunch hour (and tutorial session) in the food court, sampling all of the wares on offer, but more often than not I ended up at the counter of Michael’s, ordering a Burrito Meal (hold the refried beans) and devouring/​cherrishing every last morsal!
i hadn’t been down there for a while until earlier this week, and as usual Michael’s Cantina was there to greet me. It is funny how it always seem that the least elaborately decorated places in food courts are the best… certainly the case here.
The Cantina offers most of the common mexican meals that we all know and love. Enchiladas, Burritos, Nachos and of course Chilli and Tacos head the menu, with some other awesome options and combo’s to choose between.
I also find that wearing a Sombrero assists with the meal… doesn’t it always?

Beautiful burritos, possibly the best I’ve tried (well, maybe with the exception of Burp).
I try to squeeze a trip past here whenever I have to drag myself into the city to do some shopping. It’s cheap and good. That’s really all you need to know.
The staff are great, and I usually get served pretty fast. There are lots of other food outlets in this food court, but don’t be fooled into thinking that they look more appealing than Michael’s.
What Michael’s lack in décor and appearance they more than make up for in taste.