Chico's Tacos is unlike any restaurant I've ever been to, it's not really Mexican, not really fast food, and has some special "tacos". El Pasoans definitely know this place, and most seem to like it. With it's unique charm and it's great food, it sure has not changed very much. The restaurant was made in 1953, strangely on the 4th of July. It had never advertised, AT ALL. So how did this place become so iconic? Same as any other family business; it just spread by mouth. A thing of the mouth it was, and it went from person to person until it was known by all of El Paso. Chico's had become famous. The restaurant has a great (and weird) menu. The most unique item was a hot dog cut in half, put in a hamburger bun and served with pickles and green chiles. But still, the most iconic menu item is the tacos. The tacos are made with ground beef rolled into a corn tortilla, deep fried, and put into a paper boat, drowned in a secret sauce, and covered in shredded cheese so fine there is powder covering the tacos. The tacos are a family recipe, and no one has ever been able to recreate the sauce. Back in the late 2000's, a restaurant named Chuco's Tacos opened in Austin, Texas, serving a dish similar to Chico's tacos. Chico's threatened to sue the restaurant. But due to the sauce tasting worse than the original sauce, Chuco's went out of business before a hearing in 2008. In my interview with Manny Quintana, who knew Joe Mora as a child, gave me some information on my topic. He said Chico's had barely changed since the fifties. He also informed me that the location on McRae had closed, providing me with some insight on the restaurant chain.
Joe Mora had been exploring a whole new frontier making a restaurant, for he had not owned one before. The restaurant's food was full of diversity, and being able to make the restaurant such a success must have been an grand odyssey for him. Chico's is still a unique and charming restaurant after all these years. It survived all the way to the 3rd millennium, and is continuing to serve us. Chico's is special-you either love it or hate it. Chico's Tacos is certainly a great place , and will never die in my perspective.