Torchy's Tacos - Houston

Torchy's Tacos is your go to place for Mexican comfort food if you're near River Oaks. They've got a pretty nice patio, and and their tacos are pretty darn awesome! What's equally awesome, and interesting, are the names of some of these tacos!

I had The Democrat (shredded beef, avocado, queso fresco, cilantro, onions), the Baja Shrimp (shrimp, cabbage slaw, pickled jalapeños, onions, queso fresco, cilantro), and the Green Chile Pork (pork carnitas, green chilies, queso fresco, cilantro, onions). The Baja shrimp isn't heavy on your stomach, and yet, it was The Democrat that won me over - in terms of flavor, and filling :)

The beef in The Democrat was seasoned well, the avocado and spices blended well, and the cilantro and onions added the 'icing' in terms of the zing it adds to the overall flavor. The green chillies in the pork are exactly what's needed - not many people know that adding green chillies to pork can add an awesome flavor profile (most stick to just black pepper and other sauces that are made from red chillies).

The only disappointing aspect was that the tacos were quite obviously not made in house, and seemed like they came out of a packet. Not the most ideal, but then again, I guess for a small-ish fast food kinda place it could suffice.

We had also ordered a portion of tortilla chips and it was pretty swell with the dip it came with. Overall, satisfaction guaranteed!

Chilis Grill and Bar

Chilis is in Bangalore! Well, actually, it's been here for a couple of months now. So Friday night (2 weeks ago), since mom and bro are out of town, and I wasn't in the mood to cook dinner (for once), P and VP accompanied me to Chilis. As usual, I got there first and had to wait as VP went over to P's place to pick him up (off late, P's been acting a lil cranky and fussy about going out - kinda like when women are on the pill!).

The one thing we instantly agreed was that this place was another TGIF - with the kind of drinks and food available, but where it would score is with the number and variety of veg dishes. However, overall, I think TGIF still ranks above this place as being more memorable...for what reason, I'm able to put my finger on it right now, but take my word for it.

P and I ordered a cream of mushroom since it was a cold, rainy night outside, while VP, who had a tummy bug, just had a glass of orange juice. The soup was nice - hot, thick, creamy, with a hint of pepper.

Cream of Mushroom

For starters, we ordered the Texan veg roll and a plate of nachos (which came at the end of the meal - confusion on a Friday night I guess). The veg rolls were amazing - not just the way they looked when served, but they tasted great too, and the dip along with it was super as well. As for the nachos, they were ok...nothing mind blowing - you know, the usual nachos, crispy chips covered with cheese with a piece of jalapeno pepper on it.

Texan Veg Rolls

For the main course, I ordered a chicken fajita, which came on a hot plate. It was nice, although considering the cold weather outside (and that it had a Mexican sounding name), I wanted it to be a little spicier.

Chicken Fajita

Mr P ordered a veg quesadilla with mushrooms, and although the only other place I've had a quesadilla was at Shanghai Salsa, I can say that the quesadillas here were at least as good if not better.

Veg Mushroom Quesadilla

Mr VP ordered the honey fried crispy chicken, and soon after eating one piece, wasn't in a mood to continue - not because the chicken tasted badly, but he just wasn't up to eating.

Honey fried chicken

And so the evening passed, with us discussing the upcoming marriage of a classmate of ours, and about all those married, and those in the queue. I'm sure you've all heard, or even imagined a scenario where it's raining outside, and a small group of friends (3 in our case) discuss, gossip and bitch about classmates and acquaintances from the past over drinks or food. Many of you would probably have already indulged in such activities. And if you're wondering what happened to the chicken that Mr VP couldn't eat, don't worry, I didn't let it go to waste, I had it parceled and took it back home.

Food: Pretty good; vegetarians can feel happy as there's more veg here than non-veg.
$$$: Expensive, a la TGIF
Service: Good, prompt
Verdict: Veggies can frequent this place if they like TGIF sans the non-veg. Drinks are almost the same here as in a TGIF. Non-veggies can stick to TGIF.
Extra Info: It's just after Total Mall on the old Airport Road. They have Valet parking.

Chili's Grill & bar, Phoenix Idiom, Above Papa John's Pizza, Old Airport road, Bangalore.