Mi Casa, 700 Santa Rosa Ave.

You had me at pork chop, Mi Casa.

This Mexican restaurant is located downtown, technically. It’s on the outskirts, in that weird retail strip along Santa Rosa Avenue. A buddy of mine raved about this place years ago, and it’s been in the back of my mind since.

I can see why. There’s a quality to all the tacos that I had at Mi Casa — the fillings, the tortillas, the hot sauce — I could tell instantly there was some talent behind the kitchen door.

The pork chop taco was a surprise. I was expecting an actual bone-in chop but what was delivered was the chop cut into strips. It had some kind of delicious rub and it was charred just right. Delicious as is, but then the green sauce sends this taco into another level. The strips were tucked into a good flour tortilla — soft and chewy.

The bean and cheese was near perfect. The beans were excellent, and they were joined by moments of bite from the sharp cheddar. I ordered this one on corn (I’ve been ordering my bean tacos on corn for some reason, lately) and it was really good — handmade thick tortillas with really good corn flavor.

The carne guisada was very good. A strong chili powder flavor hit immediately. And this is one of those carne guisadas that has the jalapenos and onions and bell pepper mixed in adding more layers of flavor. The whole thing was well seasoned, and the meat was tender enough.

What I loved about the chilaquiles was their cheesiness. They must be using Tillamook or something because that was high quality cheese. Loved the crispy chips, but this taco needed more moisture so I doused it with green sauce.

Mi Casa is one of those places I’ll keep on my radar, and return to at some point.