A Toda Madre Mexican Kitchen

Unfortunate circumstances brought us together in Raleigh for our buddy Daryl's mom's memorial service. It was an amazing tribute service, btw. Carol Fothergill was an awesome mom! After the service and before meeting back up with Daryl we took a trek out to North Raleigh.

The guys basically knew they were getting tacos for lunch. They mocked TacoMatt a little but they also participated in the experience! It was great having them join in.

So searching the TacoMatt directory this restaurant's name caught my eye. And I googled it just now while writing this and yeah, I can see how this is probably a bit of an inside joke with Spanish-speaking people who know what it means haha!

It lived up to its name, I'd say. It was a toda madre if I'm being honest. Even for a random Saturday lunch there was quite the crowd. I know I grade the tacos and only the tacos but the atmosphere and experience will always play a part in helping the score or hindering it. And for this place it helped. I guarantee the night time vibe there probably rivals some places we've been in the past. You could just sense it.

After looking over the tacos on the menu I landed on the Tacos Sampler: a chicken, a birria, and a taco supreme (like you'd get at Taco Bell!).

It also came with French Fries which I thought was a bold move but the strategy paid off. They were pretty good haha!

I've said in past reviews I'm finding my enjoyment mostly in tacos that combine a lot of ingredients so bites are packed with a variety of flavors and textures. And that's why I'm giving these tacos a solid 4.0!

The birria was actually probably my least favorite here. It didn't pack as much flavor as the ones I've had elsewhere and it didn't come with broth. I asked our server for broth and bless her heart she brought us two cups of it (like soup cups) and then told me it doesn't come with broth for the Sampler but she brought it anyway. She was awesome. She checked on us no less than 9 times! Great service!

The chicken taco was delicious. Lots of good flavored meat, some fried cheese and sauteed onions on a bit of a toasted tortilla. I liked it.

Then their take on the ground beef taco supreme. The classic hard shell and all. Dang it was good... and the shell was so light and had a great crunch to it. I enjoy a Taco Bell taco supreme and this was next level. Good stuff.

Overall we all really enjoyed our food. Downie got the Sampler too and who knows what Grabiner got. Some corn, probably soup, and a couple street tacos I think.

I definitely recommend you give this place a try. It's a toda madre (aka, it's the $4@t!)