By William Britt

El Chido food truck.

When driving down Quioccasin Road, you may be heading towards Regency to grab a bite to eat at Chipotle or Jersey Mike’s. You may be driving to take a left on Parham Road to go to Chick-fil-A or the brand new Hangry Joe’s Hot Chicken. Or you could be heading to Richmond adolescents’ favorite Mexican restaurant, El Caporal. Yet you may not even know that you are driving by one of Richmond’s hidden gems when it comes to Mexican cuisine: Taqueria y Antojitos El Chido, or just El Chido for short.

El Chido has a restaurant at 7568 West Broad Street, with another food truck location at 6751 Staples Mill Road. But my attention is focused on their food truck in the parking lot of the BP gas station on Quioccasin Road near Quioccasin Middle School. The location is not ideal, but I find it lively and entertaining. Cars constantly are pulling in and out, and people are walking up to order food. We even once saw a neon green Maserati drive by. The flood light on the food truck and the gas station lights keep the area well lit. The food truck has about five tables placed to the left of it for dining in when eating. Every time I have been to El Chido, I have dined at the tables, but I noticed most people will choose to pick up their food to go. 

Tacos de Barbacoa.

Robby Aboud (‘23), T Rigby (‘23), Jack Bradley (‘23), Hudson Pace (‘23), and I traveled to El Chido on a recent Sunday night. I had been a few times before, once with both Aboud and Rigby. I order the same thing every time I go: Tacos de Barbacoa, which are barbeque tacos. I highly recommend these tacos; they come out warm, with two tortillas per taco and a very dense melted cheese that will fill you up, alongside a light dipping sauce. You get three of them for $16. 

Hamburguesa de Cubana.

Pace and Rigby both ordered these same tacos due to my recommendation. Pace said, “I have two words to describe this food: it’s really good.” 

Aboud ordered the Torta El Chido, containing Mexican sausage, breaded chicken, and ham, along with some assorted veggies and seasonings cut on a large bun, which is $12. 

Bradley ordered a Hamburguesa Cubana, which is a typically American thing to do when presented with authentic Mexican options. Bradley still thoroughly enjoyed his burger, complete with a beef patty, ham, cheese, pineapple, lettuce, tomato, and pickle, with a dollop of mayo, for $12. Afterwards, Bradley said, “I would rate this a 8.5/10.”

When asked about his experience, Aboud said, “Why would you go to Chipotle when you could come to El Chido right down the road?” I completely agree. Tex-Mex chains like Chipotle and Qudoba rob us Americans of authentic-tasting, moderate-speed, Mexican food. 

We finished the evening with a round of very delicious Mexican dessert, the churro. We ordered six churros with chocolate sauce splattered on top. The warm, cinnamon-flavored, chocolate sauce sprinkled dessert was a perfect ending to our night at the BP. 

El Chido food truck being approached by Robby Aboud (’23).

My night was well spent at the El Chido food truck on Quioccasin Road. The combination of the company of friends, fantastic food, and never a dull moment watching cars race by and people come and go was fantastic. The food truck is an experience I would not shy away from. However if it’s not for you, you must still try El Chido. 

All photos by William Britt.