Stoked about Chronic Tacos
J and I met for lunch on a weekday - a rarity - and in the short time we had, we turbo’d over to Chronic Tacos for the first time.
The lunch lineup on an overcast Friday afternoon was still formidable; we anxiously fidgeted in line for our turn to order. The Californian skater ambiance didn’t help with our perception of its efficiency either.
But ‘lo, we got to the Subway-fresh-style counter, and ordered to our stomach’s content (soon to be our stomach contents). It was hard to not pick everything on the menu considering how much both of us love Mexican, how there was a variety of other interesting things ordered before us to entice us, and how our hunger had multiplied in waiting.
We settled on tacos, and were happy with our choices. We had crispy carne asada, crispy al pastor, soft corn Baja and soft corn beer battered fish taco. All were near impossible to eat with any shred of dignity, and they were tasty enough to justify getting taco all over your face and shirt (whatever was lost to my shirt, I wistfully mourned).
The crispy tacos were best, and surprisingly manageable even though they don’t hold their structure after one bite. Everything was freshly put together, and we were surprised to see the for the Baja it was fresh fish grilled before our eyes. The fish was dense and meaty, but both of us preferred the beer battered version since the grilled was a bit too fishy for our liking.
Looks like Chronic Taco’s success has led them to open up a new shop in kits, and I heard one on Granville was in the works as well. For this location, competition is coming soon at a block down on Cambie and Broadway, where La Taqueria is slated to open soon. I could still remember how difficult it was to get a decent taco anywhere in Vancouver, and it’s very promising with the advent of more Mexican food in town that’s actually affordable (I like Las Margaritas and Cobra, but I’m not about to eat there everyday because $$, y’know). This is so exciting!
