Taco Tuesday Review: La Chaquita

Tucked inside the La Chiquita market on the south side is a food counter with some great, very affordable options.

(Note: Priscilla's phone died walking into the store so I was on photo duty. Let's just say we'll stick to our strengths next week.)

Head south on Main Street through downtown Rockford and in about 3 minutes you'll see the La Chiquita Food Market on the left-hand side of the road. The advertised taqueria has intrigued me for years so Priscilla and I decided to take the plunge.

Walk through the front door and immediately to your right you will see the food counter. In addition to your normal Mexican fare, you'll find a VERY intriguing hot bar that serves up specials prepared daily.

A gentleman after us ordered the chicken soup and it looked wonderful. Maybe next time.

You order your food at the counter and then pick a seat at one of the roughly 10 tables.

It's not the restaurant type setting, with cushy booths and decorations. It's a grocery store, the booths were comfortable enough and better than eating in the car.

We went straight tacos for this trip. Orders were as follow:

Joe - 1 steak, 1 al pastor, 1 chicken tinga (the tinga was part of the hot bar that was available as a taco, pro move)
Priscilla - 1 steak, 1 chorizo, 1 chicken

One other nice note about La Chiquita is that after we ordered and I paid, I realized I forgot to order chips and salsa. When I asked to order some the cashier informed me that they were included in all orders. A nice perk that doesn't always happen when you order at a counter.

We had a seat, I sipped on my horchata (good but a little underseasoned for my liking), and a few minutes later a half dozen tacos were delivered to the table.

Here's what we thought. All scores are out of 10.

Chips and Salsa:

Joe - 7 - After a streak of "well-salted" chips, these were a little bland and possibly a little stale. Salsa was excellent and they were free.
Priscilla -6- The chips were on the thicker side, not warmed and likely out of a bag. Salsa was cold. While I prefer room temperature at least, it tasted pretty good. Plus, as Joe mentioned, we weren't expecting chips and salsa with our order, so bonus!

Tortillas:

Joe - 7 - Doubled up corn tortillas were good. Nothing special here but nothing bad. It did exactly what a tortilla is supposed to do and support my taco.
Priscilla -7-Again, I like 1 tortilla. This girl is trying to cut a few pounds.

Fillings:

Joe - 9 - Steak was above average and the al pastor was good. The chicken tinga was one of the best tacos I've ever had. Grab that if it is on the hot bar that day.
Priscilla - 8-Filling on all tacos was just right. Not overstuffed and not skimpy. Steak was average, chicken tasted fresh and had good flavor. The choriza was my favorite, not too spicy or greasy, just a good taco.

Value:

Joe - 9 - Total was just over 20 bucks for 6 tacos, chips and salsa, an horchata, and a bottle of water. A good price for average tacos, a steal for great ones.
Priscilla -9-Pricing ran inline with other lunches checks. Again, chips and salsa were complimentary which was awesome!

Intangibles:

Joe - 8 - The hot bar was a real nice touch, looking forward to getting deeper into that on the next visit. You're also in a grocery store so you can do a little shopping when you're done. A great place.
Priscilla -8.5-Quick lunch, a little grocery shopping, can't beat it. Next time, I'll hit up the grocery store for their guacamole salsa and the hot case. By the way, they also have slots available.

Official WROK Taco Score: