Saucy Chick Indi-Mex Eatery Combines the Warmth of Indian and Mexican Cooking

Saucy Chick Indi-Mex Eatery began as a pop-up at Smorgasburg ; it originally teamed up with fellow pop-up Goat Mafia to run a bright shared restaurant in Pasadena (a previous co-residency in the Fairfax district ended in August 2023). The restaurant, which has since parted ways with Goat Mafia, offers Mexican and Indian riffs that never feel forced. The result? A menu that effortlessly blends Indian spices and sauces with Mexican American classics. Think Chicken tinga masala tacos and lamb tamales. If you’re eating with the whole family, Saucy Chick has what might be one of the last affordable family dinner options : a whole chicken, two sides, and tortillas to feed 4 to 6 for $51.

• Saucy Chick’s 24-hour brined rotisserie chicken is a must in any form, but it’s especially good on the pibil chick nachos, which come piled with hand-pulled rotisserie, Mom’s Beans (made with pork chorizo), crema, lime pickled onions, and cilantro. The textural mix is spot on. 
• The masala birria de chivo bowl combines cumin (jeera) rice with Peruvian Mayocoba beans and comes with supple homemade corn tortillas.
• Don’t sleep on the sides: esquites are made even more flavorful with fenugreek and turmeric; turmeric roasted cauliflower get sprinkled with red chile flakes, mint, cilantro, and pistachio; and crunchy cucumbers come tossed with roasted peanuts, coconut, mint, and a lime vinaigrette.

This is a casual taqueria where you’re welcome to bring the whole family. Order at the counter, then choose from a few tables inside or the colorful tables on the sunny patio in the front.   

Timing is everything: The limited-quantity tamales (kashmiri lamb, saag and cheese, and chicken tinga masala) sell out every day, so order ahead to make sure you get one. Same goes for the breakfast burritos (amchur and asada), which are only sold on weekend mornings. I have yet to snag a cucumber-lime-mint agua fresca or an chai horchata (both routinely sell out) but the ginger jamaica more than satisfies.  

Editor’s note: This report has been updated to clarify that Goat Mafia is no longer operating at the Pasadena location.