Cicero’s Bien Mexicana will soon have national exposure it deserves
CICERO, Ind. (The REPORTER) — Cicero restaurant Bien Mexicana will host a visit from America’s Best Restaurants this month.
ABR, a national media and marketing company focusing on local, independently owned restaurants, will bring its ABR Roadshow to the restaurant on May 11. Popular dishes will be highlighted, along with an extensive on-camera interview with owner Angela Garcia about the restaurant’s special place in the community. The episode will be aired extensively on social media channels at a later date.
Bien Mexicana – meaning “good woman born in Mexico” – came about after Garcia found herself unemployed during the pandemic and posted on social media to see if neighbors would buy the Mexican food she enjoyed making. After people lined up and down her street to purchase her homemade food, she bought a food truck and then opened her brick-and-mortar store earlier this year.
The interior of the restaurant pays homage to Garcia’s Hispanic culture; a local artist painted a mural and a painting of La Catrina, an elegant skeleton woman traditionally depicted during the Day of the Dead. In this case, the restaurant’s La Catrina resembles Garcia.
“When I look at myself as a Catrina, I feel inspired,” Garcia told the Hamilton County Reporter in April 2023. “I knew I wanted a Catrina painting, and I thought, why not make the Catrina me? After all I am Bien Mexicana.”
A popular food item that may be featured in the episode includes birria, a meat stew cooked in and served with its braising broth. Garcia makes tacos, quesadillas and tortas with the savory meat, going through 75 to 100 pounds a day.
ABR will film on location from 2 to 5 p.m. on Thursday, May 11. Bien Mexicana’s finished episode premiere date will be announced on the ABR Facebook page and will be featured on AmericasBestRestaurants.com.
About Bien Mexicana Open Wednesday through Sunday, Bien Mexicana is located at 150 S. Peru St., Cicero. For more information, call (317) 420-0062 or visit BienMexicana.com.