Tacos Don Chente: The Same, Only Different

Tacos Don Chente isn't easy to get to from town. Located on the southwest corner of the 281/1604 intersection, where one-way frontage roads cross, you must either go across 1604, turn left twice, and then turn into the small, easy-to-miss driveway next to the large sign, and thread your way through a few unrelated parking lots; or you must go west on 1604 to the turnaround at Stone Oak, then drive all the way back to 281. If you take the turnaround on 281, as I tried about a month ago, you're put out onto the southbound access road too far south to get to that driveway.

Today, unusually, I happened to be at Stone Oak and 1604, in search of "the best chilaquiles you will ever eat," according to a comment on some restaurant review I saw -- but the place blessed with that praise doesn't open for breakfast. So I found myself with the chance to try Tacos Don Chente without elaborate maneuvers in the car.

From the outside, the place looks like any old fast-food restaurant. I'm pretty sure there used to be one in that space, and so right there we know that the world is a little bit better for seeing its demise. Inside, the place looks like some coherent effort has been made to make dining there a nice, slightly upscale experience. There was an unusually prominent bar, very nice colour schemes, some attractive if inexpensive artwork, and none of the tchatchkis folklóricos that so often substitute for a decorating theme in Mexican restaurants. From the moment I sat down, I felt comfortable. Strangely so, as if I'd been there before.

The waitress brought menus, and my friend Rick and I were both smitten with a wave of déjà vu. Except for the name on the front, the menu is exactly the same as the one at Potosino, where we had breakfast yesterday. The waitress confirmed that both restaurants share the same ownership.

Since I posted a review of Potosino just last month, it would seem, at first blush, pointless to spend any of my oh-so-valuable time writing about Tacos Don Chente. But there are some qualitative differences. The food, while still better than average, is not quite as good coming out of Don Chente's kitchen as Potosino's. This  likely just reflects a natural difference between two people doing the same job, but I found the chilaquile tacos at Don Chente to be a little less agreeable in seasoning; and Rick thought the beef fajita tacos, which we both thought were excellent at Potosino's, to be not quite as perfectly prepared. The flavour was slightly muted, the doneness not as on-the-mark.

Service at Don Chente was good. If I raised their rating by a half a chili pepper, I wouldn't think I was overselling them. The staff was cheerful, and worked well as a unit without making us feel like we'd stepped into a tag-team operation. Our food was brought promptly, and our coffee cups were kept filled. (Coffee here, by the way, is served in regular cups, with saucers, in keeping with the slightly tonier feel of the place; at Potosino's, they're served in large mugs. Normally I prefer mugs, but that's just because in most places the staff are not as diligent in their attentions.)

The tables at Potosino are stocked with a sugar dispenser of salsa verde; here, the server brings two salsas, a red and a green, with the food. This, too, is a nicer touch, and while I found the salsa verde somewhat less piquant than at the other restaurant, the salsa rojo was nicely spiced, right up to the edge of perfection.