THE ORDER
The place: Carniceria Loa No. 7, 1500 Broad St.
The dish: Two ground beef tacos, 1 beef tostada
The cost: $5.44
I felt a little odd driving around the corner from La Tienda, a perfectly good Mexican restaurant I've frequented often, to order tacos and a tostada from the counter at Carniceria Loa No. 7, but I wanted to try something new.
I also suspected the food served in the small dine-in space at the back of the large grocery store and meat market at the corner of West Main and Broad streets would be worth trying.
It's a fairly basic setup with a food display counter and a short menu on the wall. The space seats 15-20 people.
On the day I visited, I ordered fairly traditional (for me) ground beef tacos and a tostada. The friendly woman behind the counter brought out four soft shells and stuffed them (two shells per taco) with beef and then allowed me to add condiments. I added pico de gallo, salsa verde, sliced cucumbers and a couple of lime wedges to the carton.
She then asked if I wanted a roasted jalapeno, and I accepted. Spicy hot is a relative thing but, suffice to say, if you think Tabasco is hot, stay away from the jalapeno. It was tasty, though.
The tacos were very good, and I was especially glad to be able to doctor them up. The tostada was OK but not anything special. It was served with cubed beef, lettuce, tomato slices, onions and a sour cream sauce.
I liked being able to tailor my order, and the food was plentiful and inexpensive.
Barry Courter is staff reporter and columnist for the Times Free Press. He started his journalism career at the Chattanooga News-Free Press in 1987. He covers primarily entertainment and events for ChattanoogaNow, as well as feature stories for the Life section. Born in Lafayette, Ind., Barry has lived in Chattanooga since 1968. He graduated from Notre Dame High School and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga with a degree in broadcast journalism. He previously was ...
