By Michel Minorgan for Curtains Up
Ta Chido in colloquial Spanish means “is cool”. Tucked away unobtrusively on the Plateau is a small and definitely funky taqueria or as it is noted on their menu, a Mexican Dinette. Whatever you call it, this family run business is serving some of the best Mexican fast food I have tasted..If their food is great their selection of margaritas deservedly rivals some of the best I have had. They are large, refreshing and whimsically served in salt rimmed mason jars.
Ta Chido is small to be sure with a small , very small , sit up bar with just a couple of stools, maybe 8 or 9 formica covered diner tables inside and a cute pint sized patio on the sidewalk. The overall ambience is pure Mexican kitsch replete with a multi media display of ‘great whites’ both on canvass and as plaster of paris replicas fiercely protruding from the walls. One wall is humorously adorned by a graffiti filled blackboard and a life size replica of R2D2 ensconced in an over sized sombrero sits on a shelf cautiously guarding the cash register.
Before we get to the food, the main attraction in this family run enterprise, let me start by saying the comfort of the food is equalled only by the sincerely friendly and attentive service. The night we were there the place was packed with a mainly twenty something or younger crowd and the owner was ever present making sure everyone felt welcome and was taken care of.
Now to the food. The menu is small, but it offers a wide selection of Mexican fast food similar to any you will find in a Mexican taqueria…..Tortas (sandwiches), Quesdadillas and Tacos. All their breads and tortillas are homemade in-house and gluten free bread can be ordered at an additional cost of $2.Ta Chido is also very vegetarian friendly.
On this my first visit (definitely not my last) my companion and I went with their Friday and Saturday Night Tacos Special, a choice of three tacos for $7. Individually all their tacos cost $3.50. There is an enticing choice of eight fillings to choose from. I chose Mole Verde with Chicken, Refried Beans with Queso Fresco and Potato with Roasted Peppers and Chillies. My companion chose Mole with Chicken, Pulled Pork and Chorizo with Potato and Roasted Peppers. All were equally delicious, boldly flavoured and all came tucked into delightfully light and fresh warm corn tortillas. Two homemade salsas accompanied our plates both also made in-house, a fiery chipotle chilli one and the other a creamy jalapeno concoction…..yum!
To wash down all this amazing Mexican madness we ordered a couple of refreshing Hibiscus Margaritas and a red wine Sangria both served tongue in cheek in those aforementioned mason jars.
I observed a huge sandwich being served to the table next to us and upon asking our waiter what it was he informed me it was one of their specialty tortas, Tinga de Pollo. I filed this for future savouring on my return to this funky, fun and inexpensive gem. How often can you eat and drink so well (we had three drinks in all) and come away with a bill of $30 for two including taxes.
Hasta la vista Ta Chido…but I will be back!
5611 ave du parc
514 439-0935
www.facebook.com/…/Ta–Chido
