Monday, May 26

AVOID: Chicken tacos almost everywhere

Photo courtesy of Murky1

I don't know why, but otherwise decent taquerias (and trucks) that make great beef/pork tacos, have trouble making edible chicken tacos (or, really, chicken anything).

My guess is that these places are buying the cheapest chicken possible ... and it shows. They then compound that by overcooking the chicken until it is dry. Then, hoping to hide that, they shred it. The result is a nasty, disagreeable taco and an equally nasty, disagreeable Commish.

Anyways, I've been burned too many times with chicken dishes and I generally avoid them. Here, though, are a few of my general rules of thumb on when to order and when not to order the chicken.
  1. Is it a Jalisco-style taqueria? Does it say Arandas on the sign? DON'T ORDER THE CHICKEN!
  2. Is the place a bit 'fancy' and full of gringos (e.g. Torchy's, Zocalo)? DO ORDER THE CHICKEN. An exception to this rule: Is it a subpar taco stand sandwiched between the excellent Alayna's and Mi Madres that has inexplicable long lines? DON'T ORDER THE CHICKEN!
  3. Is the place named after, or does it specialize in, a particular dish (e.g. Al Pastor) that isn't chicken? DON'T ORDER THE CHICKEN!
  4. Does the menu recommend the chicken (e.g. Habenero)? DO ORDER THE CHICKEN.
Please share your chicken finds in the comments. We'd love to hear what places are safe for chicken lovers.

7 comments:

Dominic said...

I recommend going by El Nortena near 51st and Cameron Rd. It's a 20' box trailer in the parking lot of a gas station. They have delicious chicken tacos, and their green salsa is to die for.

Anonymous said...

This is awesome.

I really, really regretted getting chicken at Tacodeli.

Thomas Lockney said...

my advice: if it has chicken in it, DON'T ORDER THE CHICKEN! Chicken is gross, don't eat it. Makes life easier. ;~)

Cabeza De Taco said...

true-dat. taquerias don't do chicken well...pollo regio DOES do chicken. so does Chango's.

porkmuffin said...

Second that emotion on El Regio. Chicken + green sauce = joy.

Anonymous said...

Third the emotion on El Regio. I used to live like two blocks from the one on Stassney and it was a huge favorite of ours. Onions, chicken, beans, rice, salsas--cheap and gooood. And even the gringo-est gringo can say "un pollo medio."

Anonymous said...

Azadero Nuevo Leon ( no, not the tex-mex one) @ 1200 (?) Montopolis. Real deal, whompin' mesquite wood grilled chix, like eatin' Down Mexico way. Fire-roasted green chile "salsa" sittin' out in the mucho grande molcajete (sp?). By far my fave chix on the planet, the only one that trumps the almighty El Regio