Breakfast Report: Chaparrita's...

My wife and I had a hankerin' for a little breakfast taco action this morning in between doing some garage sailing, so why not slip in to a local place that several friends have recommended? Sure enough, found Chaparrita's in the little shopping area located at the entrance to Dover Ridge on Tezel at Mainland.The first thing you should know is that Chaparrita's is a small place but with a steady clientele, so you may walk in like we did and find yourself without a place to sit. No problem, we thought we would grab some tacos to-go, but by the time we even looked at a menu, a table opened and we were seated.

The cafe offers complete breakfasts - people are raving about the Breakfast Enchiladas - but we were just in for some quick tacos. They have a breakfast taco special where you can get two tacos and tea or coffee for $2.99. Not bad at all.My wife went with the potato & chorizo and a bean & cheese, both on flour tortillas. The tortillas don't appear to be homemade, but they were good. She prefers her potatos to be fried - these are boiled, but the taste is fine. I am naturally a pig, so I went with my standard; carne guisda with cheese, a chorizo & egg, and a country sausage and egg. My wife and I had a breif discussion about what type of meat was used to make the carne guisada. Her contention was that this carne gusida was like boiled pot roast where as, she uses some steak or something when she makes her's. No worries, the bottom line is, it was good and there was no gristle or overwhelming chunks of fat in it.The chorizo and egg didn't come out looking very appetizing to be quite honest, but I slatherd on some of the house salsa and all was well with the world. Likewise, the country & egg won't win any beauty contests for presentation, but then again, most of you don't compulsively open up your food and take multiple pictures of it before eating. Either way, I gave it the treatment and enjoyed.

As we were paying, we chatted with the owner and she was just so friendly. Turns out, she lives in the neighborhood and has donated catering services to our association numerous times. That type of giving back to the community gets me back into Chaparrita's to try the Breakfast Enchiladas we keep hearing about.

I hope if you are in the area, you'll give them a try too. Great prices and quick service - if you can get a table.