PHXfoodnerds

This outpost of a Mexican brewery by the same name just recently opened on the SE corner of 1st Ave and Van Buren, and I decided to pop in today for a quick lunch and to start to get the lay of the land.*

Initial observations and impressions:

The space definitely offers room to spread out with several hightops, standard dining tables, and a few banquettes along with some patio seating and a 15-ish-seat bar. The food and beer menus you see on the website (https://buquibichiarizona.com/menu/buqu ... w-vanburen, https://buquibichiarizona.com/beer-menu-downtown-pax-2) hew pretty closely those you see at the restaurant. One thing that I didn't pick up from the website was that they also serve wine and spirits.

I don't usually drink at lunch, but I thought it would be irresponsible of me to eat at a brewery's taproom and not order a beer. After tasting the Schwarzbier and the Fogata (a light and malty smoked red ale), I opted for 10 oz pour of the latter. OK, onto the food...

I see at least two posts a day from El Horseshoe in my FB feed, which invariably reminds me of the delicious chicharrón special they used to serve, which in turn means that chicharrón is almost always on my mind. So, naturally I wanted to see if Buqui Bichi's chicharrón tacos would scratch that itch and ordered accordingly.

The food comes out without much delay, and I'm given the rundown of salsa options (red, green, and a couple that incorporate Buqui Bichi's own beers). I opted for the green (a thick and mild tomatillo number).

I'm gonna pause here to let you know what the deal is with the tacos: (a) you get 3 street tacos, salsa, and lime, nothing else; (b) there is no a la carte or mix and match option--each order is 3 tacos with the same filling**; (c) the price tag (e.g., $13.50 for the 3 chicharrón tacos) is guaranteed to piss off anyone who thinks Mexican food should be inexpensive.

All that said, the itch was definitely scratched by the tacos filled with crispy, salty, finely chopped/shredded pork belly (and topped with chopped pickled onion plus a little squiggle of crema). I just wish I could have had a taste of a couple of other things without having to drop another 12 or 15 bucks.

My conversation with the bartender sparked some hope about the cocktail offerings there, so depending on how long this place survives on what seems like a cursed corner, I may take a run at that next time.


Buqui Bichi
21 W Van Buren St, Suite 61
Phoenix, AZ 85003

https://buquibichiarizona.com/
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* Sorry, no pics to share. Given that there were three times as many FOH staff as patrons (me), I felt a little self-conscious about snapping away.

** One can order a single bean taco. Also, an order of the carne asada tacos might come with a bean taco sidecar comes (don't quote me on that).

My family and I just visited the Chandler location last Friday night, not so much for the food (although I was intrigued by the menu), but because I saw they had live music and wanted to try their beer.

As you might expect for a Friday night in downtown Chandler, the place was hopping. I didn't get the name of the Latin band who was playing, but they were great and the whole bar had a good vibe, with people dancing between tables and really enjoying themselves. The manager apologized to us when we arrived that two servers called out sick, so service was going to be slower than usual. After a fifteen minute wait for a table though, our server did as good of a job as possible for a guy who was basically working the whole restaurant. He was a having fun the whole time, dancing through the crowd from table to table.

We started with the Tiradito de Atun and the Aguachile de Camaron. Both were quite good, although the aguachile sauce in both were not quite as different as expected. We then ordered Tacos Volteados, Tacos de puerco, Tacos al Pastor, Tacos de Chicharon and a Pizza al Pastor.

Chowhokam is correct that the tacos are a bit on the small side for the price, and there's not really any side dishes on the menu to bolster the meal. However, they were all good, although the single corn tortillas did tend to fall apart. The grilled pork in the Puerco tacos was surprisingly crispy and flavorful, which I expected from the chicharron, but wasn't sure from the menu description. I though the al Pastor tacos could use more pineapple, but the shrimp Volteados tacos were probably the best. Unlike the above post, we weren't offered a range of salsas at all, but just a squeeze bottle of a pretty good red hot sauce.

The surprise was the Pizza al Pastor. Basically a cheese pizza topped with al pastor pork and pineapple (which they did not skimp on in this case) and a slightly spicy chipotle sauce base. Very thin, crispy crust which made the pie fairly light for all of the toppings. Definitely a nice Mexican-style pizza. Will absolutely get again.

The beer was good, nothing amazing, but very clean flavors and seemed to be brewed with some skill. I had a smoked red ale and a west coast IPA, wife had a Kolsch. Enjoyed them a lot.

So, all in all a good experience and was a bit surprised at the quality of the food. Hopefully the Phoenix location does as well as Chandler's seems to be doing.

JimBoyle wrote: Sun Jan 14, 2024 1:59 pm The surprise was the Pizza al Pastor. Basically a cheese pizza topped with al pastor pork and pineapple (which they did not skimp on in this case) and a slightly spicy chipotle sauce base. Very thin, crispy crust which made the pie fairly light for all of the toppings. Definitely a nice Mexican-style pizza. Will absolutely get again.

I'm in the #pineapplebelongsonpizza camp... That sounds amazing. I'm going for this alone...

I recently tried the downtown location and ordered the carne asada tacos. Interestingly, I received not only the three meat tacos advertised but also a bonus taco full of refried beans. I'd say the tacos were good but not great. The tortillas were somewhat flaccid, but the meat was tender and flavorful, and the shredded cabbage was a nice touch. There were sides of fiery salsa, guacamole, lime, and grilled onions unceremoniously presented in a ball of foil. To drink, I had a small glass of the Ultra Bichi, which was not bad for a light lager.