Chicken Palace Fiesta Garibaldi
The bright signage of Chicken Palace Fiesta Garibaldi 2 (3433 W. National Ave.; 763-5775) beckons from the corner of South 35th Street and West National Avenue, a straight shot over the bridge several blocks north, easy to navigate from the 35th Street exit from the highway.
The chicken at this popular Mexican restaurant is worth the trip. The party at the table behind me were noshing on chicken, and it looked tempting as ever: blackened skin surrounding an oasis of juicy, white breast meat set on aluminum foil in a Styrofoam tray, garnished with Garibaldi's signature whole fried scallions, their heads nearly white as the chicken, with long and invitingly greasy greens atop.
But for those not in a mood for chicken, Palace 2 has plenty of other choices. Among the animal protein options for offerings such as tacos and burritos was tripa, or tripe.
I’ve long enjoyed beef tripe (made from cow’s stomach) in menudo soup, so I chose it as the filling for a tlyuda. The tlayuda, sometimes known as Oaxaca pizza, is something akin to a tostada, but, in its Garibaldian iteration, floppier. The tripe-filled one I ordered was on a folded over flour tortilla so large that it was sliced into thirds, and placed into the same sort of box that housed the chicken of the lunchtime patrons sitting behind me.
Mixed with the small pieces of tripe (no walloping, honeycombed chunks of it as might be found in a bowl of menudo) were shredded lettuce, tiny tomato chunks, white Oaxacan cheese and avocado bits. The latter two fillings effectively melted amidst the heat of the meat and the grilling of the full tlayuda; its marks were so deep and dark that its taste was readily evident.
The tripe itself was smoky, flavorful and chewy, something like escargot in texture. The variety of salsas, picos and pickled vegetables available as garnish include at least one made with cactus and a slightly saucy coleslaw.
A non-alcoholic pina colada slush, served in a little plastic barrel, complimented the tlyuda with sufficient sweet fruitiness to not overpower the entree. So filling was the latter that ordering anything for dessert from the Mexican ice cream, paleta and mangonada franchise housed in the same building wasn't especially tempting. But a return trip is probably in order!
