Tacos Chilo’s

February 27, 2020Katie

I have noticed Tacos Chilo’s on 50th Street just east of MacArthur (next to Marcos Pizza) many times when I pull into either Charm or Abels and I’ve been wondering…

Is it worth sacrificing an Abel’s trip to try it?

I finally bit the bullet yesterday and headed in.

It was worth it.

I’m hesitant to publish this because Tacos Chilo’s has a small space inside with less than ten tables to sit and I’m not sure I want the word to get out. The kitchen is run by a one-person-cook in a small space but it matters not because they turn out big flavor.

The menu has only two pages plus a back page to offer their choices of meat.

As you can see, the menu is limited but the prices are fantastic!

I’ve found sometimes that a small menu means that the few things on it are done really well as they are at Tacos Chilo’s.

Wordmeaning.org gives the Spanish to English translation of chilo as “In Mexico it means nice, attractive, beautiful, that I like.” So I believe …I like tacos or …beautiful tacos is a rather appropriate name!

First off, you’ll be delivered a trio of freshness in the likes of chopped radishes, limes and pickled spicy vegetables.

They’ll also bring out two sauces (neither are spicy). One is a thin sort of salsa verde while the other is like a thin tabasco sauce.

I ordered the chicken flautas ($5.99) upon the recommendation of my waitress.

Never mind that chipped plate and look instead at those five crispy flautas covered in a salad topped with crema and fresh cheese with a side of sliced avocado and tomatoes. Oh yes- I squeezed liberal amounts of those sauces over top as well!

One note on the flautas – it is obvious immediately that the tortillas are homemade. They are wonderful.

I also had a mulita.

Think of a mulita as a quesadilla of sorts, but while most places make quesadillas with flour tortillas these are with corn. Those lovely homemade corn tortillas are lightly fried until they puff a bit and then are filled with carne asada (my choice) onions, cilantro, a hunk of avocado and a lovely melted cheese (maybe queso Oaxaca?). And again, I dipped liberally in the sauces.

The meat choices (shown on the back of the menu) for most of the dishes are asada (beef), pastor (pork), higado (cow liver), lechon (soft pork) and pollo (chicken).

I also tried the Al Pastor Tacos. At $1.50, I have to say, this was quite large for a street taco and the Al Pastor was some of the best I’ve had – juicy and deeply marinated. On the left of this picture is an asada sope. I don’t think it rivals Birrieria Diaz. as they have my favorite sopes, but it was pretty good.

This was perhaps the most different item I tried.

The homemade corn tortillas are stuffed with what I think were mashed potatoes, then deep fried to a crackling crunch. They were thin, hence the name “Delgado tacos” (or thin in Spanish). They were a fun crunch but probably my least favorite item I tried.

If you ask for salsa you’ll get the choice of tomato or hot. Both look similar -thin again but at least the hot carried some punch.

There are house-made agua frescas or horchata and a refrigerator full of Mexican sodas.

It appears for all you Menudo fans, that it is offered daily instead of just on weekends like Abel’s. They also offer Birria. (If you want more info on birria check out my article on Birrieria Diaz in Bethany by clicking here.)

Chile Rellenos are not on the menu but there is a sign on the drink refrigerator offering them.