Journal photo / Sandor Bodo
COLORS ARE BRIGHT at Chilangos, where hand-carved furniture was painted by children, the sauces come in red and green, and the meals are flavor fiestas. The dish at left is flautas garnished with avocado, and at right is a chicken huarache. In front is a bowl of chips. The sunflower chairs were carved by owner Juan Carlos Fierros, his father and his uncle, Raphael Anastacio, who owns a carving business in Mexico. Anastacio visited from March to June 2001 to carve 11 tables and chairs.

Great Mexican street food, served family-style

By MERIDITH FORD
Journal Restaurant Critic

• See the menu.

PROVIDENCE -- The backs of the chairs and tops of the tables are roughly carved wood, boldly painted into sunflowers. Brown-tiled floors shine beneath unforgiving fluorescent lights. From a tiny kitchen to the left of the entrance, the smell of onion and corn wafts through the air. It is comfortable here.

The sign outside says "Chilangos."

In Mexico, a Chilango is someone from Mexico City. But to owner Juan Carlos Fierros, it means something more. The name, which he says derives from the Aztec, suggests a people looking for opportunity and ready for anything.

Fierro's family is from Mexico City, and the restaurant is a family affair: His father, Carlos, works as head cook alongside his brothers, Javier and Julio. A bevy of nephews serve as waiters.

Chilangos is really nothing more than a sandwich shop -- a taqueria. An urban version of the roadside stand with quick bites -- Mexican street food, served family style, called comida familiar.

Most of the food Chilangos offers, consequently, is straightforward and simple -- easily eaten one-handed while reading a newspaper, or taken home to eat in front of the television.

But eating at Chilangos is fun, partly because of the colorful tables and chairs, but mostly because of the Latin music that begs you to dance. And even if you are not from Mexico City, you'll recognize dishes such as tacos, enchiladas, tamales and quesadillas.

Stuffed with goodies

It's hard to narrow down what tastes best, because almost everything is very good. But if I had to pick a favorite, it would be Chilangos' version of pambazos -- a sandwich similar to a north-of-the-border sub or grinder, stuffed with Mexican goodies such as chicken, potatoes or refried beans. It is quintessential Mexican street food, and a Chilangos' specialty.

The bread is airy, and fried lightly on the outside to give it a delightfully strange, doughnut-like crust. Split horizontally, it's spread with creamy, salty refried beans and a healthy dose of queso crema -- a tangy, creamy Mexican sour cream. Shredded iceberg lettuce gives a nice crunch.

A huarache is a sandal. On a Mexican menu, though, it's a little different: it's a corn tortilla shaped like a sandal -- in a long oval -- and topped with meats and cheese, beans and lettuce or pico de gallo.

Chilangos' version is particularly tasty because the tortilla is thick -- about a quarter of an inch -- and full of sweet, musky corn flavor. It's spread with beans, but then dotted with generous shreds of spicy, red chorizo. The two square off nicely, especially when topped with sprinklings of tart queso fresco and drizzlings of queso crema. It can also be topped with steak or chicken.

Many Mexican dishes use corn tortillas as a base for varied toppings, and they may seem similar to the uninitiated. The reality, though, is that they not only have regional differences, but each is usually of a different size or thickness, too. The sope is no exception.

The shape of sopes is widely interpreted throughout the various culinary regions of Mexico -- from small ovals to rounds -- but everyone makes these corn "boats" with a little lip around the edge to keep in all the toppings. Diced potatoes, as well as onions, beans and cheese are what make Chilangos' tiny sopes so good.

Chufa-nut drink

Horchata -- a steeped, chufa-nut drink flavored with rice and cinnamon that tastes like spiced milk -- goes surprisingly well with food, although it is sweet enough for dessert. A chufa, incidentally, is a tiny tuber native to Africa that is popular in some Latin cooking.

Most traditional Mexican desserts, though, are not very sweet. Only the ubiquitous flan resembles anything typically North American in richness. Chilangos has a flan, but it tastes as if it were made from one of the many mixes from Goya or Gonsalves so easily found in supermarkets -- very jelly-like, and without much caramel.

Instead, a not-so-sweet tamale, stuffed with chewy raisins, was a good ending to an equally good meal.

Though there are many taquerias now in Rhode Island, there is still plenty of room for one more -- especially when the bites are as good as those at Chilangos.

Chilangos, 447 Manton Ave., Providence, 383-4877. Very casual. Not wheelchair accessible. No smoking. Open Sun-Tue, Thu for lunch and dinner from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Fri-Sat 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. No credit cards. Highchairs available. On-street parking.

Everything on the menu is less than $10; many dishes are less than $5.