For the Carnivorous Foodie in all of us….by Jessica Chang

Cha Taqueria

305 Northwest 21st Avenue # 203, Portland, OR 97209-1141

chapdx.com/

So of course as usual, we found a Living Social Deal/Coupon for Cha Taqueria.  The owner of Cha is also the owner of Cha Cha Cha.  Cha Taqueria was opened so the owner could “expand on the culinary ideas he started at Cha!Cha!Cha! wanting to create a more formal and modern Mexican dining experience”.  I must agree, that that is what he did!   Their philosophy of sustainability and local-ness in their foods still rings true with this restaurant.  We checked it out and this is what we found!

What we ordered: We were big fans of the “Molcajete” at Cha Cha Cha and so when we saw this at Cha, I was curious to see if anything was different here. So we ordered it.  We also ordered the Barbacoa (mix of lamb and goat meat). I couldn’t find it on the menu, but I know it was on the menu at the restaurant, so just in case it’s not on the menu, you should ask for it anyway.

How we ordered it: Hold the tortillas and rice please.

What we got:

Cost: Molcajete – $14, Barbacoa – $18

Quantity:  El Molcajete was decent.  Great mix of veggies and meat, but really not a ton of meat.  It was almost exactly, if not exactly the same as the $10 Molcajete you get at Cha Cha Cha.  Not sure what the difference is, but it’s really close, maybe Cha had a tad bit bigger-crazy-rock-like-plate-presentation….eh.  The Barbacoa was just ALL meat.  It was a ton of meat. Very filling.

Quality:  Very good.  They get their meat from Carleton Farms and it was tasty just like at Cha Cha Cha.  Thought it’s not grass-fed meat, it’s local.  However grass is what goat and lamb eat anyway, so that’s usually the most paleo meat you can order at a restaurant anyway.

MEAT-O-METER says!

Sorry these pics are off a bit.  This place is a fancier, more expensive, better decorated version of Cha Cha Cha.  The Barbacoa was very generous with its meat.  I loved it because it’s great atmosphere for a date night and you can still wear your gym clothes there, as pictured.  With the coupon and our overall experience here, this restaurant is pretty great. Not many substitutions need to be made and the portions were pretty decent.  We’ll be back again of course, with our other coupon.

On a side note, I will try to keep posting Groupon/LivingSocial Deals that I find for you to take advantage of!

As of June 26th, this restaurant has been re-Meat-O-Meter-ed.  Having just gone to Mextiza for dinner last night, we have found a new favorite Mexican restaurant.  Here is the new rating for Cha Taqueria:

Go check out Mextiza’s review and that’s why we had to change Cha Taqueria’s rating…

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