If I had to choose two ethnicities of food I eat most often, it would most likely be Asian and Mexican food. Having half of my heritage being of Asian descent, it was always around me. When I say I could eat Asian food everyday, it’s because there are times I actually did growing up. Friends used to love coming over and having eggrolls made by my mother and aunt.
Then there’s Mexican food. Who doesn’t like a good taco? Or enchilada?
When it was brought to my attention that there was a little restaurant that serves a little bit of both, I dialed up some family members and we made our way there immediately.
Enter in: Chiquita’s Corner.
Chiquita’s Corner is a small little quaint building with a limited menu that’s great for carryout or picnic table dining. They are located at 828 W 11th street at the northeast corner of 11th and Bitting. That area sound familiar? Probably because our most recent review covered Songbird Juice Co. located a corner over!
Their hours are: Wednesday and Thursday 11am – 9pm, Friday and Saturday 11am – 11pm, Sunday 11am – 9pm and closed Monday and Tuesday.
All the food is ordered at a window located at the front of their building. The food is then brought out to you. There are colorful mismatched pieces of furniture scattered around the building where you can dine at. It’s a very nice setup they have. I would almost call the area the Clifton Square of Riverside with the whole ambiance.
Having it essentially be a small carryout stand, the menu is very limited for still tough to choose from. My brothers and sister stood there for a while just trying to figure out what we wanted to eat:
The menu includes your basics like tacos, enchiladas, pork eggrolls, pork sandwiches, and hot links. Every now and then they will also offer some other items such as a Lil Chino or Chorizo Burger on our visit.
We eventually settled on every single food menu item they had with the exception of the beans and rice which I’m kicking myself about still.
The food came out pretty quick and we were all excited to chow down; probably more so my sister-in-law who’s been eating for two lately (future blogger on the way!).
Being a family who isn’t afraid of germs, we all split bits and portions of each of our meals with each other so everyone got a taste of Chiquita’s offerings.
The hands down favorite of the group was the Lil Chino. Before ordering it, the lady taking our order described it their version of a Mexican Banh Mi. It included many of the similar toppings found inside a Banh Mi but placed in a fried tortilla shell. Wow…… that thing was amazing. The marinated pork was just full of intense delicious flavor and then including all your Banh Mi basics like pickled vegetables just made it an absolute joy to eat. Another regret we had: not ordering more of those.
The taco was excellent as well. It was deep fried and larger than we all expected. My brother, for one, loves places that deep fry their taco shells. The eggroll came in a spicy and non-spicy version so we went with both for research purposes of course. Although we felt $2.50 was a little pricey for an eggroll having receiving them free our whole lives, it was still worth it. The hot link was just as advertised. It was your basic hot link with onions, mustard and spicy bbq.
The biggest letdown for us was the enchilada. Everyone noted it had way too much cheese, so much cheese that it really overpowered the entire meal. It needed a little more sauce on it for our taste. It didn’t dawn on us either when ordering that it’s vegetarian; completely our fault on that one. It’s probably not something either of us would order again.
The service was friendly and quick; no complaints there. Outside of the million flies that wouldn’t leave us alone, we really enjoyed the whole atmosphere of Chiquita’s Corner. For those wondering also, they except cash and card.
After having gone to Songbird Juice Co and Chiquita’s Corner, we really recommend that everyone check out the corner of 11th and Bitting at least once. R Coffee House is also located next door to Songbird Juice Co. for all your coffee fans.
Don’t forget to Like Chiquita’s Corner on Facebook
Happy Dining!
Eddy!
P.S. – I would also like to give a shout out to the P.E. teachers at Christa McAuliffe Academy. Thank you for the great feedback on the blog. It’s always great to hear from the readers.
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Ermahgerd – why didn't I know of this place already? Must cross the river and find it.
Also, glad to see you have a family of "taste-swappers" – when we go out, we all order something different and then the forks go flying back and forth across the table. You live with the same people their entire life, what can they possibly give you that you don't already have?