Family fiesta: Lindon’s Los Hermanos carries on delicious food, great traditions of Provo location
Fajitas and taquitos at Los Hermanos in Lindon.
An order of nachos with beef at Los Hermanos in Lindon.
A sizzling fajita skillet with a variety of toppings at Los Hermanos in Lindon.
The Smothered Burrito with Spanish rice and refried beans at Los Hermanos in Lindon.
A Combination Dinner with a hard-shelled taco, taquitos and a tostada, served with rice and beans at Los Hermanos in Lindon.
A Smothered Burrito at Los Hermanos in Lindon.
On Feb. 11, a spontaneous fire tore through the building housing Los Hermanos restaurant in downtown Provo, consuming years of history and a business that has stood as a staple in the Utah Valley community for decades.
In the passing days and weeks since the incident, it’s been incredible to watch the community rally around one of its own, supporting the restaurant’s legacy through donations as well as dining at the Los Hermanos location in Lindon.
Restaurant owners Craig and Lisa Witham have wasted no time in questing for a new location for the popular Provo eatery, and I’ve marveled at the special items they’ve been able to salvage from the fire, as well as their determination to keep the iconic Provo eatery alive.
After listening to friends share how the restaurant shaped their college experience and reading community comments on the special significance of Los Hermanos in landmark life moments, I knew it was past time to create some memories of my own, so on a Thursday night after our 4-year-old’s dance class, we grabbed some friends and made our way to the restaurant’s Lindon location for a late dinner and a little celebration.
After exploring the parking areas for a close spot, we wandered in and were immediately enveloped in the warm, welcoming environment the Mexican restaurant offers. Wood paneling, wood floors, and even some great wooden furniture combined with unique decorations gave off a rustic, down-home feel that quickly made us feel like part of the Los Hermanos family. The friendly host showed us to a waiting area while they cleared our table, and we took a moment to enjoy reading the signs and promotions. The delicious smells that filled the restaurant only made us more excited to peruse the menu when we were escorted to our table moments later.
Room divisions made the decently large restaurant feel much cozier, and we were grateful for the early onslaught of complimentary chips and salsa to stave off our hunger as we perused the extensive menu of tasty, freshly made options.
One splurge I was so grateful I made was for a refillable cup of strawberry lemonade to start the meal. It was literally divine with a sweetness and flavor that left me wanting more. The texture was almost creamy in the best way, and I’m certain they could put soda shacks out of business if the lemonade was offered in giant to-go cups.
With a suggestion from our waitress, I finally decided on the Smothered Burrito – a shredded beef burrito topped with pork chile verde, lettuce, cheese, sour cream, guacamole and tomatoes with a house-made green chile sauce.
The meat was delightful and plentiful, with a seasoned shredded beef packing the large burrito and pork chile verde adding flavor and texture to the outside. I loved it, especially combining each bite with the accompanying Spanish rice and refried beans.
My meal was so great, I felt a little less enthusiastic than usual about delving into the meals of my dining companions, but I was glad I did when I tried my husband’s Combination Dinner. With Los Hermanos’ combos, you can pick up to four items served with beans and rice, so we enjoyed a hard shell taco with the most flavorful, moist chicken, deep fried taquitos packed with shredded beef and a tostada with beans, cheese, lettuce, tomato, sour cream and guac piled onto a crispy corn tortilla. With seven options to choose from, the combo was a great choice, and it offered a pretty delicious variety of flavors and textures.
Our ambitious kids shared the restaurant’s nachos appetizer, which starts at just $6.99 for a huge plate piled high with crisp corn tortilla chips, melted cheese, enchilada sauce, sour cream and guacamole. For $2.49 more, we added beef – a decision well worth the cost considering just how much extra beef was sandwiched between the chips.
The enchilada sauce combining with the cheese and meat gave the chips a fantastic flavor, and the kids made a pretty impressive dent before we loaded the rest into a box to take home. Though the sauces expedited the softening process in the chips, the cost was well worth the benefit, with each flavorful bite.
My friend took on a half-order of fajitas during our dinner feast, which included a sizzling skillet loaded with an impressive amount of marinated chicken and top sirloin steak, grilled with fresh green peppers and red onions and accompanied with tortillas and anything else you might need to create a fajita burrito. The skillet brought a great flavor combination that was fresh and sizzling, really showing the variety in the entrees that Los Hermanos offers.
Between the strawberry lemonade refills and the complimentary bottomless chips and salsa with just the right hint of heat, we were already pretty full when our meals came, and we had ample leftovers that really were just as delicious the next day. As a bonus, taking things home gave us just enough space to check out the churros, which get less expensive the more you buy. Hyped as “crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside,” the warm, cinnamon-rolled treats were everything we hoped for, especially with the Bavarian cream filling in the kind we chose.
We walked away from our experience, full, happy and planning our next trip back, knowing that not only were we supporting a wonderful local business, but that we were also in store for a delicious, hot meal and a family-centric approach to business that would make us feel right at home.
LOS HERMANOS
Where: 395 N. State St., Lindon
Hours: 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, closed Sunday.
Cost: $3.99-$18.99
Info: (801) 785-1715, loshermanosutah.com