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There are exceptions, sure. Places where that crazy, delicious burrito exploding sour cream all over your face is only enhanced by Telemundo, oil-speckled squirt bottles of salsa, and a chilled bucket of escabeche. But not many. Anytime you find a new one, there's reason to celebrate. So, yeah, I'm pretty stoked about Tacos Chavez Express 2, even if it's only a better version of so many similar spots serving pastor and pollo asada as tortas and burritos.
Chavez's chimichangas brought me right back to it. Like most of the items on the laminated menu hanging behind the counter, the Christmas-style chimis ($8) look pretty average, with thin salsas and a squeeze of cream cheese. But look closer, and you see the rice is long-grained and moist. Bite in to find that the shell is perfectly crisped and the chicken pummels you with little moist fists of flavor.
Chavez 2—there is no 1 at present—opened about two months ago in a tiny Southeast Foster Road storefront sandwiched between a 24-hour adult-video store and a used-car lot. It's a small, rough space. There's barely enough room for the nine chairs. Above the door to a backroom hangs an altar with the Mexican tricolor, a painting of Our Lady of Guadalupe, candles, plastic flowers and two pairs of Locs.
Behind the counter are Jorge Chavez and his father, Claudio. Jorge is tattooed all over—including his earlobes. On the counter sits a bubbling vat of horchata and a tub of salsa de aceite marked "XXX HOT." This house recipe is the Mexican answer to Asian chili oil, a slurry of chile de árbol and sesame seeds that's hot, nutty and addictive as hell. You want at least one little plastic cup, and it goes with anything you order.
The Chavez men come from Michoacán, west of Mexico City, and a few of the dishes have their regional touch, especially the enchiladas Mexicanas ($8), which come in a rich red sauce under a pile of crispy papas doradas. Order the slightly chewy shredded beef for $1 more.
I'm also a big fan of the California burrito, stuffed with smoky steak and floppy french fries; it's the perfect receptacle for that salsa de aceite. "We didn't want to have a California burrito, but people asked back when we were in the cart," Jorge says. That cart was Chavez 1 on North Lombard Street, and it's out of commission until there's enough demand. Actually, this is the Chavez family's fifth restaurant, as they built a little chain from their original spot at Southeast 82nd and Foster a decade ago, before Jorge's mother fell ill. This new spot is the most centrally located.
"We're trying to come back, get re-established," he says. "We've got to get people addicted to the taste before we do that."
Get them to try the aceite, and he should be fine.
- Order this: Chimichangas, enchiladas Mexicanas, California burrito.
- Iâll pass: The torta bread was a little too stale on my visit.
EAT: Tacos Chavez Express 2, 5222 SE Foster Road, 926-1506, facebook.com/tacoscex2.
WWeek 2015