CHILInn — Restaurant in Cudahy

I used to dine at Samano's at least once a year for their delicious food and to catch up with Wendy Helgeson, who was the parent of one of my best friend's from grade school. I moved to Texas seven years ago and tried to stop in if I was in town, but was heartbroken to hear it closed permanently during the COVID pandemic. It was always a hometown landmark to me and driving passed it this week and seeing a new business' name across it... felt foreign to me. I was excited to try out Wendy's new restaurant, CHILInn, and planned to eat there while I was in town a few times. My mom and I went there for what I like to call "lupper/linner" yesterday. I spotted the woman I used to think was Ariel from "The Little Mermaid" growing up, and she greeted me with her usual warm smile, and I waved excitedly like I was still a 5-year-old, which was how old I was when I met her. We washed our hands in their clean and well-stocked bathroom, then sat at the booth to the right of the bar and it was comfortable with enough room for my mom to sit without the table bumping her belly, which is a complaint she has with booths. Forever indecisive when it comes to ordering off menus, Wendy helped us narrow down what we wanted to order and we decided to share a beef taco dinner, which had hard tortilla shells for my gluten sensitivity, with sweet potatoes and Mexican corn, a shrimp quesadilla and sour cream to mix with the salsa for our chips, because it was too spicy for my sjogrens syndrome. The portions were appropriate size for the price we paid and we even had leftovers. We never ran low on water and she checked on us several times to make sure we were enjoying our meal and didn't need anything else. The only complaint is that they didn't have any ketchup for my mom's sweet potatoes, but Wendy asked her to try it with the seasoning first to see if she still wanted ketchup afterward. My mom loved the seasoning and didn't want ketchup after she tried it. Thanks for catching up with us, providing us with genuine customer service and a delicious and reasonably priced meal. We will definitely be back to see the progress on your landscaping and any new changes you make to the interior of the restaurant. I hope your business is just as successful as Samano's was! Fun Fact: When we pulled up, my mom got nostalgic because the restaurant building used to be a hall her family had rented for her baby shower with me and her 40th birthday party, where I remember singing to Backstreet Boys on a stage...

Owner operated local business. Margarita specials and the menu offers some Mexican flare, grilled cheese, "Love in a Bowl"... Homeade cheesecake of the month for dessert. Both Monthly and Daily drink specials and they make a...

Wonderful food served by some of the folks from Samano's.

New menu, new drinks, in new diggs.

The menu is small for now, but should expand when the...