My family has been going to Chico's possibly since they opened. I know my mom and dad's orders by heart. But I also know they haven't visited much since they opened the location on Maple. The common theme from them and from others is it's just not the same as the old spot. My opinion is similar. We went there pretty regularly, got to be friends with the family, and I even went to school with some. As fellow small business owners in the same neighborhood, they do have a special place in my memories.
But enough reminiscing - we wanted to give them another visit to see if things have improved and frankly just to give them a bit more business. So how did it go this time around? We went on a Tuesday and they were pretty busy (compared to last time when they had maybe 1 or 2 other tables taken). I arrived first and was seated fairly quickly, but there weren't many tables open and people were coming and going. I ordered waters all around and the other two arrived shortly after. The chips and salsa were complimentary but they did take a bit of time to arrive. Chris timed the time between our drinks arriving and when we placed our food orders - 15 minutes. Even when you're pretty busy, that's an unusually long amount of time between water arriving and coming back to us. We didn't see much of our waitress, so flagging her down sooner didn't work out. Once we placed our orders, however, the food arrived in a reasonable amount of time considering how busy they were. I didn't watch the clock, but I'd say it was quicker than our order was taken.
Getting our waters and chips refilled was a chore that took longer than it should have. We were shorted a set of silverware and had to grab the waitress before she left after dropping off our food. She didn't ask really anything and was leaving without checking on us. We also had to ask for more chips even though the basket was obviously barren also. When the water refills finally arrived, it was from a different server. So the consistent theme between these two visits is frankly the service is below average. It's kind of sad considering this is a family run business. Service can make all the difference and unfortunately it's not making a difference this time around either.
That said, the tacos I ordered (al pastor) were pretty tasty. I didn't bother getting a variety this time around. Looking over the menu, I wasn't impressed with the pricing so I just stuck with a simple combo plate with beans and rice. The tacos weren't hot - just warm. They were seasoned pretty good though and I enjoyed the taste. They're not in the top 5, but they had good taste. I will confess that I didn't know there was a Taco Tuesday deal here. I asked the guys and none of us remember anything being said to us or seeing any signage. Maybe we should have known - but had we, we probably would have ordered a few more tacos... So on a Tuesday, the value is pretty high - other days, not so much.
Shon's Take:
Chorizo - probably the best taco of the day, a nice spicy pepper flavor without the crappy after taste some places have. I liked that it came on a fried shell, which held up well. I could totally go back and have a plate of just chorizo tacos here.
I also had an al pastor, a steak, and a chicken taco. Onion and cilantro. Honestly, they were all three ok. Not horrible by any stretch, but nothing memorable. Seemed like a fair amount of meat, but just not a ton of seasoning or flavor. That said, I could’ve eaten a couple more tacos, but I was ordering based on the menu price which looked higher than average. Yet when we cashed out, we had pretty cheap bills. Apparently there was some kind of taco special going but no one mentioned it.
We reviewed the menu and I settled on an al pastor street taco and a fried flour chicken taco. The last time we visited was early in our taco adventures. What I previously thought to be good al pastor is mediocre at best. I am unsure about the other yahoos but my al pastor was room temp and lacking in flavor. The chicken taco was also very bland. It tasted like unseasoned chicken was tossed into a shell and into the fryer and some cheese tossed on top when it came out. There was no taste to speak of.
The real confusion came at checkout when my ticket was about half of what I expected. The lady checking us out referenced the $1 al pastor and what a good deal it is. The three of us exchanged confused looks as there had been no previous mention of the promo.
At their normal price of $3+ per taco, the value is non-existent as that is roughly $1 per bite. At $1, it’s hard to whine too much about the mediocre al pastor. I wouldn’t order the chicken taco again and would never consider paying regular al la carte price for their tacos.
So in conclusion, you'll see that service was still lacking and the food was somewhat okay depending on who you ask. If you want my opinion, I think that's the core of why they've struggled. The two things they had going for them on West Street was good, consistent food and family-oriented service. Without those two things, pretty much any restaurant is going to struggle regardless of size, location, or drive-by traffic. I do wish them the best of luck though!
Out of 5 tacos, here are my ratings:
| Food Taste: |   |
| Value (based on $1 tacos): | |
| Value (based on regular price): | |
| Cleanliness: | |
| Service: | |
| Overall: | |
| Likelihood to return: | |
