Chop Shop Taco, at N. Henry and Madison Street in the Parker-Gray Neighborhood of Old Town Alexandria

[ktmoomau]

https://www.chopshoptaco.com/

Hubby and I tried to go to Chop Shop Taco Friday night, but it was so busy that they were only doing carry-out at that point.  It was a little on the later side, so we didn't think our chances at bar seating were good either.  Happily on Sunday there was plenty of space to be had.  They make their own tortillas here, I know as I watched them press them on Sunday.  I thought the tortillas quite tasty, they were sturdy enough to hold up and not fall apart even when there was a good bit of sauce, but I thought they had good flavor and weren't bland or too tough.  To be honest, I would like to see how they make them, as I was a little jealous, mine are nowhere near this good.  They serve the tacos to us in this little cardboard box with three taco slots.  I had chicken, brisket and chorizo.  The brisket was by far and away the favorite.  I thought the flavor was smoky, with nice pickled onion balance, good sauce, the meat was tender, but not too soft.  I also liked the chorizo- quite oily- but good flavor with lime crema.  The chicken was interesting- my least favorite of the three- it had a mango salsa that was kind of mustardy.  It wasn't bad at all, but just not nearly as addictive as the brisket. I would like to try more of the menu.  The staff was really nice.  I haven't been to Urbano yet, but will probably soon, and will do a comparison, the meat and fillings are way better than Tios and Poblano.  This place was really fun, the drinks look nice.  It is a small space so it fills up fairly easily.

[ktmoomau]

Another stop by Chop Shop Taco.  We had a couple rounds of drinks, and found the classic marg, whiskey smash and paloma to be quite tasty.  We had the smashed avocado, and that was tasty, BIL and SIL said the rice balls were delicious.  We had a sampling of tacos, and besides the fairly hefty portion of cilantro that I picked off (I am one of those people) the brisket and pork taco were very good, although the pork was not in a banana leaf, as the menu made it seem, just a taco.  I think because of the weekend and storm we were able to find a table.  Service is very friendly. 

[ktmoomau]

Chop shop Taco is doing contactless take out. You can tell they are taking being clean and sanitary very seriously when you go to pick up.

They have 4-5 Specials they are running.  1)Family Meal Deal, which includes- posole, chorizo, chicken, all the taco sides, a $25 GC 2)Beer Can Chicken Dinner 3)$12 meal deal which helps first responder meals too 4)Burger and Beer Deal. Last night they also had spit roasted pork.

They also have their regular menu.  They have great take out boxes for tacos that keep them separated by taco, and are cardboard so you can throw it all in the microwave for a few seconds. (Their other take out containers, similarly easy to microwave)

We don't live far away and our tacos stayed together (you could ask for a few extra tortillas so you could double up if needed.  We also got rice and beans, guacamole, salsa and chips.  Their meats and accompaniments are all really good.  We had a spit roasted pork taco, smoked brisket taco, chicken, fish, chorizo.  The brisket and pork were spicy, but spicy good! The chicken and fish were fine- good even, but the smoked and roasted meats just really shined last night.  If I was running lower on food than I am I would have gotten the family meal deal. 

This has been by far and away the best take out we have had so far, highly, highly recommend.