Big Chile real mexican tacos & tex-mex — Restaurant in Virginia

On November 15, 2024, I entered the establishment with my service animal. I was prescribed a service animal in 2022. This has helped me live life, including workplace accommodations. My service animal is trained to complete specific tasks related to my disability.

Upon entering the establishment with my service animal, instead of asking the American Disabilities Act (ADA) prompts, "Is the animal a service animal" and "what tasks is the animal required to complete," the owner, Christian Izquierdo, assumed the dog was a pet and proceeded to ask for a "certification." Only a prescription from a medical provider and proper training is acknowledged. My dog was well behaved and sat on place.

To be allowed to sit and wait for my food (given I walked to the restaurant), I showed the owner my private medical information, the prescription from my doctor, and informed the owner that that was a HIPPA violation. Even after disclosing my private information, the owner insisted on examining a "certification" or "patch." I explained to the owner that anyone could purchase those offline and it is not a valid way to verify an animal is a service animal.

I was asked to sit in the corner of the restaurant near the door away from the customers. The owner did not take my order or ask why I was there, which was to pick up an order. He pointed to the VDH certification and said he did not want the dog's fur to get on the food and that customers complain about "pets in the restaurant" -- even though I shared my dog is a service animal. The restaurant does not have a buffet. The kitchen was located behind the counter. I also explained the dog was hypoallergenic and does not shed.

After being ignored, I showed the owner the FAQs from the ADA website on the procedure for service animals, which is to 1.) Ask if the animal is a service animal (before assuming) 2.) Ask what tasks the service animal is trained to complete. The owner wad disinterested and argumentative in front of the other customers. I was shoo'd away like a fly. He told me, "I am free to complain to the health department."ADA complaints fall under the Department of Justice and is a separate agency from the Health Department. Affiliated violations are not to be conflated with health department violations-- they are two different things.

He refused to read the information on the website I shared, refused to let me complete a sentence, argued, and became defensive. I shared I simply want other customers with disabilities to feel welcome in the future if they have a service animal. Service animals are allowed to accompany their owners, and I should have not been asked for private information, asked for a universal certification that does not exist, or banished to a corner.

I should have been appropriately serviced like every other customer. While I live in walking distance to the establishment and could have been a loyal customer, the owner treated me as if I did not matter. I have followed up with the restaurant via email to see if the owner is willing to learn more about the appropriate procedures so that others feel welcome in the future. Based off of his behavior, I question his...

"I love tacos!" is so commonly heard that it's driven too many people to proclaim, "I'm going to open a taco shop!"

Seriously, everyone and their Tio have been saturating the country with new places all the time. Some are good. Most are mediocre & lots are lousy. And with that in mind, I am always apprehensive going to one I've never been to.

But 500 miles away from home in Glen Allen, VA I hadn't been to any Mexican places that weren't Chipotle or Taco Bell. I'd had a craving all week, driving by Big Chile with a daughter who wasn't into tacos lately. When she needed to nap away an afternoon, I finally set off on my own and hit it.

Tacos de Lengua. Tongue Tacos. See that on a menu and you know the place intends to be authentic. Plenty of places wreck this one, usually by improper prepping or too short a cook time. Big Chile nailed it - like short rib with a very fine grain, it was braised to a succulent tenderness; giving just a little chew before melting away.

I had two. It was perfect, filling without stuffing.

If a taco joint kills it on the tongue you almost don't need to try anything else - they really know what they're doing...

We went during off hours and ordered the Birria tacos.

The building itself wasn't anything special. Mostly your standard small family restaurant. Everything was clean and nothing was in disrepair. (The bathroom was well kept and modern, so that's a plus.)

Service was fine. The ordering is 'seat yourself' and went without any problems. Food arrived in only a few minutes (because it was off hours.)

The tacos were delicious! $12 and $15 for a meal that leaves you stuffed. As expected of Mexican food, there's cilantro in just about everything. I'm not much of a cilantro fan, but there wasn't enough that I couldn't eat the food.

The only negative I could say of the food was that the tacos were laid on their side and half of each got a bit soggy. (Although it doesn't really matter much when you're dipping them...