A forum member told us about this place and we’re very glad they did. We had driven past it many times without realizing there was a restaurant inside. It is Carniceria Loa at 400-A Chickamauga Road (at the intersection of Lee Highway/Airport Road/Nelson Road/Chickamauga Road).
You enter the grocery store and walk straight into the restaurant where you order at the counter. The menu is very small (see photo), but there are at least six selections of meat. Not listed are the plates which are in the $6 to $7 range and served with beans and rice. The meat isn’t chopped for your plate, until your place your order.
We both ordered tacos, but with different meats. Wayne ordered two ground beef and one lengua, while I ordered one ground beef and one chorizo. These are the soft, double, corn tortillas. Tacos are priced at $1.50 each and you can actually smell the freshness when you go to the counter to claim your order.
The taqueria is definitely not chintzy on the meat fillings; you get plenty. There is no topping when served, but across the back is a counter with plenty of fresh made items including several hot sauces, pico de gallo, onions, peppers, guacamole, fresh chopped cilantro, and you can help yourself to top your order any way you like. We both loved the food! Drinks are from coolers.
We also did a full tour of the grocery where there is a butcher shop featuring items such as chorizo, tongue, and many other meats. I noticed a lot of fresh produce including some I had no idea what they were! If you don’t speak Spanish, you may have a problem because most all the signs, as well as the product labels are written in Spanish, and most of the employees do not seem to speak English. It would be nice if they labeled some of the signs in both languages, because I had a friend tell me he went with his wife and not only did they not know what some of the items were, but they didn’t know how they were to be used. If they had known what some of the items were, he said they probably could have found out how to use them.
We are definitely putting this on our list of places for a return visit. In fact, I already have lunch plans with a friend. Another interesting tidbit is there is a “tamale lady” on Friday, Saturday and Sunday selling freshly made, homemade tamales that are delicious. She has spicy and mild for $1 each. She also had another item, which I did not recognize, but the person in front of us was buying one. It looked delicious – sort of an oblong, crispy shell with several toppings (not a salad).
Carniceria Loa is open seven days a week and it’s definitely worth a visit. Maybe we’ll see you there!
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