The seemingly run down-restaurant known as Little Tijuana holds it own against the local eateries due to the unique spin they put on time-tested Mexican favorites and the homemade tastes of the dishes.

There isn’t a a single dish priced over $10.50 on Little Tijuana’s menu, which is surprising, seeing as the portions, dessert included, are large enough to share, and everything on the menu is handmade and delicious.

Little Tijuana has all the typical Mexican fare, such as nachos, chimichangas, fajitas, tamales, tostadas, burritos, tacos, and enchiladas, but it’s what they do with the entreés that make them so special.

For example, the non-enchilada dishes can be served enchilada style for $2.75 extra, they make guacamole and seasoned sour cream in house, and 4 ounces of fajita meat can be purchased and added to an entreé for a small fee, but that last one is unnecessary because Little Tijuana’s portions deserve an area code of their own.

For the people who have trouble in deciding what they want, Little Tijuana does offer menu items a la carte (ordered singly instead of the full meal), and they also have carryout for those in a hurry.

There’s space here for non-Mexican food lovers, too. They offer up a variety of salads, including a mean traditional Greek salad, alongside a plethora of charbroiled burgers.

Some sandwich options are more upscale, like the L.A. Chicken Sandwich–a charbroiled marinated chicken breast topped with Monterey Jack cheese and avocado slices–while some are more daring, but equally tasty, like the Chili Burger which is topped with chili and cheddar cheese.

For dessert, Little Tijuana takes it old school with banana splits, sundaes, and the like. However, old school is complemented by the new school on their menu, like their signature Chocolate Chimichangas, which are chocolate bars wrapped with flour tortillas, deep fried, then topped with vanilla ice cream, caramel sauce, and whipped cream.

For all the vegetarians and vegans out there, don’t be afraid to venture down. They don’t use lard or chicken broth in their food preparation, but we carnivores don’t even miss it because the food is so flavorful.

The staff are a little picky as far as the fact that they don’t allow substitutions or split tabs, but these two slightly annoying things are easily overlooked in favor of their tasty offerings.

Little Tijuana is located on 17 E 26th St. in Minneapolis, and is open from until three in the morning.