You gotta try El Paraiso

A treat of impressive magnitude… Great fillings, great crunch bring wow to El Paraiso’s churros

Story and photo by Jeremy Gonsior

After arriving at El Paraiso Mexican Restaurant on a sunny Saturday afternoon, we grabbed a small booth and quickly paged through the menu until we spotted what we were here for.

“Churros!” I shouted.

My son smiled across the table from me. Tucked away in the menu full of authentic Mexican food was a small photo of churros, fried dough covered in cinnamon sugar. 

What makes El Paraiso’s churros extra special, though, are their fillings: strawberry, vanilla and caramel. 

I ordered three of every kind at $1.50 each.

The waitress looked at me like I was a little crazy, but wrote it down and left. I’m used to weird glances from servers all across the country, so I figured we were on the right path.

Traditional Mexican music played in the background. The restaurant, which has been in business for 25 years, had good weekend vibes.

Before the food arrived, the waitress dropped off a to-go bag at our table. Strange, I thought, but we got this.

Well, about ten minutes later, our treats arrived and I couldn’t believe my eyes. Each churro was about a foot long and they covered a plate. 

The first couple of bites were heavenly. The dough was crunchy and the cinnamon sugar was so sweet. Then we tasted the warm filling and became instant believers. My son’s favorite was strawberry, mine was vanilla.

After about 15 minutes of savoring the treat, we hit a wall and surrendered, walking out with a few churros to-go.

If you’re looking for a warm, sweet treat this spring, drop by El Paraiso, located between Holland and Zeeland at 112th Avenue and Chicago Drive. 

El Paraiso Mexican Restaurant
11190 Chicago Dr., Zeeland
616-396-8040
elparaisomexicanrestaurant.webstarts.com