Chai Taco

Chai Taco is a new food business inside the Star Stop Exxon at Gosling and Kuykendahl.  I stopped in the other day to give them a try.

I ordered a Kebab Paratha roll and a Butter Chicken burrito.  The portions are very generous--either of those items would be a filling lunch by themselves.  That and a small drink will set you back about $6 so it's a great value.

The Paratha roll wrap is supposed to be a Pakistani traditional bread, but that shows you how cultures converge--to me it tasted something like a whole wheat tortilla, and definitely functioned like one.  The kebab is ground spiced meat formed into a tube and served with a kind of tzatziki sauce with a kick.  The sauce was good, but the meat seemed kind of bland and mealy--would be better if they put it on the grill and gave it some carmelization.

The butter chicken burrito is a true combination of North Indian and Mexican food--it's a tortilla filled with rice, refried beans, cheese, and butter chicken.  It tastes OK but to me the flavors kind of mush together--I love butter chicken but couldn't pick out the Indian flavor.  I would say more of a mashup than a fusion.

As for the rest of the store--it is much better than my previous visit.  They have a seating area by the restrooms that is kind of interestingly bordered by stacks of 12-packs.  The restrooms were in much better shape than before, pretty clean and ready.  There was a strong sewage odor before that has been much reduced.  The layout of the restroom is not great, you are visible from the door when you're at the urinal, but overall it's fine.

Chai Taco is a great deal and a promising concept, but I think they need to tweak the recipes a bit.  Come on out and encourage them.

As of this writing Harris County has ordered all restaurants to go to delivery/takeout only.  I'll continue to do these reviews as food delivery.  If you can, please support your local restaurants with a takeout meal.

My Yelp Review