Tienda Choris is like a  Mexico border-town gift shop crossed with a supermercado. Every kind of saint or spell candle imaginable, cheapo soccer jerseys, rosaries and Mexican pulp novels line up alongside laundry detergent, cans of Goya beans and beer coolers.

At the back of the store is a taquería, a taco shop amid dozens of taco shops in North Oak Cliff, or so I thought.

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This taquería is more like a full-service restaurant. Have a seat at one of the booths, and a server will bring you these wonderful chips with salsa verde:

The chips and salsa are so good.

I ordered a torta, since that is my new obsession. The fajita torta came with lots of beef, plus the usual fixins: lettuce, tomato, avocado, onion and mayo. There is a whole menu of tortas, plus tacos and soups.

The taquería serves aguas frescas, but they are from powder mixes, and I would recommend grabbing a drink from the coolers instead.

When you finish your meal, the server hands you a ticket, and you pay at the counter near the front of the store, so don’t forget to bring cash for tipping. The servers are really nice.

This restaurant-within-a-grocery-store setting might seem strange to some, if they don’t like looking at the mops and soap for sale while they eat. But I found it rather homey, and it reminded me a little of the bygone Las Manitas Avenue Cafe in Austin. Tienda Choris opens for breakfast at 7 a.m., and the store closes at 10 p.m.