Taco the town

It’s been only six years since Chando’s Tacos started getting rave reviews and building a following for its adobada and grilled fish tacos. When you see a Chando’s truck in the driveway, you know the party will be great.

Since then, they’ve expanded to four taquerias and several food trucks without seeming to miss a beat. Until now.

Owner Lisandro “Chando” Madrigal debuted his first table-service restaurant in Midtown this past January. Chando’s Cantina took a plum spot once home to the short-lived Rum Rok tiki bar. The interior shows an atmospheric overhaul, including lights under the bar and heavy Mexican-built tables and chairs. Outside, a narrow patio beckons.

Given the eatery’s inviting decor and history of success, it’s a surprising disappointment that the food and service don’t meet the standards we’ve come to expect from Chando’s.

Our first visit was an unfortunate introduction. We wanted to sit outside, but there seemed to be no one assigned to that station. We finally perched at wobbly tables and waited forever for menus, then longer for a server.

The menu offers plenty of regional Mexican choices, but in an overwhelming list. It’s not immediately clear which are the starters and which the entrees. Cutesy design flourishes distract you from small type offering items like fish tacos.

The nachos ($10) are pretty standard, although we ordered ours with veggies instead of meat. Roasted jalapeños and mushrooms added great flavor, but the gloppy cheese sauce ruined the effect. Perhaps we should have gotten them with meat, usually a Chando’s specialty. Without, they’re not worth it.

An order of alitas ahumadas ($14 for six; $24 for 12) delivers enormous chicken wings, which are smoked, fried and served with three sauces. Six of the juicy wings are plenty for two and go especially well with the avocado-lime sauce.

Esquite ($5) stands out as one of the best things we tried. It’s a version of street corn off the cob, so you get hot kernels drenched in liquid-y mayonnaise and topped with chili powder and grated cheese. There are optional toppings listed, but they’re curiously unavailable.

A holdover from the taquerias, two mulitas cost $9 here, versus $3.49 each on Arden Way. The cantina version has crispy tortillas, while the usual features soft tortillas. Otherwise, they’re so similar as to incite wonder at the price increase. Actually, a recent order of mulitas at Chando’s Tacos came out much hotter and juicier.

A new addition, pambazo ($11), seems equally overpriced, as you get two smallish rolls with scanty filling. A $6.79 torta from the taqueria holds more than twice the meat and a better ratio of sauce.

The enchiladas poblanas ($12) seemed promising, since we enjoyed the mole with the chicken wings. However, they turned out to be drowned in the thick, bitter sauce so that the cheese filling was indistinguishable. Pickled onions on top cut the richness somewhat, but with no rice or other side, the sauce simply steamrollered the dish.

At least the pozole ($8) salvaged our lunch with the layered flavors of tender pork, long-simmered broth and fresh radishes and avocado.

Is it a glitch in going from fast casual to midlevel dining that’s causing the problems? Or is it a miscalculation of the customers—a subtle gringo-fication of the brand?

I’m sure the higher cost of business in Midtown affects the menu prices. However, with lots of other choices for better Mexican food on the grid, I’d pass up the cantina and stick to Chando’s taquerias.