99. Find Your Favorite Mexican Restaurant

Editor's Note: This is the second of a series titled, "Top 100 Things to do in the South Padre Island/Port Isabel Area." This series is designed to allow the visitor of the area to experience local treasures.

99. Find your favorite Mexican restaurant.

Because the SPI/PI area is on the US/Mexico border, finding good Mexican food is not hard to do at all. Finding the best is hard to do because there are so many choices. We have made the search easier for you by featuring this hidden treasure on Central Blvd. in Brownsville, Tx. that serves authentic Mexican food.

Not everyone can make homemade salsa that is tasty and not too hot. Here you can get three types: mild, medium and "Aye, chihuahua!" The chips are served hot, fresh and with a traditional serving of lime on the side.

"Why, then," you ask, "if there are so many restaurants serving good Mexican food in the area would you single out one?"

The answer is shown below.

Nobody serves homemade, handmade CORN tortillas like Lula's does.

You can get beef milanesas anywhere but a chicken milanesa? It was the first I had ever heard of it and upon tasting it, it is now the only item I order every time I dine at this rare gem.

Owner, Lula Lopez, pictured here with waitress, Samantha, has run this wonderful eatery for six great years. The tables are adorned with pictures of the beauty with her many happy clients and friends under a glass tabletop.







Directions from SPI/PI: Take Hwy. 48 to Brownsville.Turn right on Ruben Torres Blvd.

Go until you get near the expressway. GET IN THE MIDDLE LANE. Go straight under the expressway and TAKE A LEFT on the next immediate intersection which is Central Blvd. and Ruben Torres Blvd. where there is a bank. Go south on Central Blvd. until you see the bright green back of the building pictured below right. The white snow cone stand is another giveaway.

You can't miss the eyecatching paintjob on the back of the restaurant.

Lula's eyecatching paintjob on the rear of the building can't be missed. It is near the intersection of Price Rd. and Central Blvd.

She has now opened a bar area in the adjacent space next to the dining area where you may imbibe wine and beer to your content.

You can't miss the bright-green backside of the building as you near the intersection of Price Rd. and Central Blvd. traveling on Central going south.

Front view of the restaurant.

You owe it to yourself to stop here during a day of discovering Brownsville as you continue on your journey to experience all this region has to offer.

If you want a delicious taste of culture, this is it.

100. Visit the Sabal Palm Audubon Center and Sanctuary

Editor's note: This is the first installment in a series designed to expose rare gems in this South Texas paradise so that the discriminating guest may get the complete experience of this tropical paradise. We begin our journey at the Sabal Palm Grove in Brownsville, TX., only a half-hour's drive away from beautiful South Padre Island.

100. Sabal Palm Audubon Center and Sanctuary

One of Brownsville's most hidden treasures is this haven for flora and fauna nestled in a bend of the Rio Grande River along the US/Mexico border. Sabal Palms once grew profusely along the edge of the Rio Grande for about 80 miles upstream but today, only a small portion of that forest remains, protected by 557 acres of this Audubon Sanctuary.

You can take a self-guided tour along the many paths or take a guided tour, either way it will prove to be very educational.

There are areas where you can sit and quietly watch and wait until you see a rare glimpse of a species you probably will not see anywhere else in the United States.

Many signs are posted that will surprise you with rare historical tidbits you will not find in a history book.

Paths take you deep into a forest that takes you back into a time when these lands were unpopulated and unpolluted by man.

Many educational materials can be found at the

gift shop at the entrance of this amazing park.

Padre Island/Port Isabel

Directions from South Padre Island/Port Isabel:

Take Hwy 48 towards Brownsville.

Where Hwy 48 intersects with Southmost Rd. (FM 1419), take a left.

Keep going on Southmost Rd. for six (6) miles.

Look for entrance signs on your right.