Taco Places

Eva's is on the outskirts of my subdivision. I thought I'd try it. I walked in and it didn't smell ... bad ... but it didn't smell entirely inviting. I also noticed their cooler was full of Modelo but not any fruit juice. They had a lot of things on their menu but when I tried to order an arracherras (grilled skirt steak) taco, she said they were out. So I ordered a chicken taco, a regular steak taco and a chorizo taco to go. I went home and had the chicken taco. There was plenty of chicken but it wasn't seasoned. The chicken was pretty plain. Next I tried the steak taco. On first bite, the steak was very rubbery but I continued to eat it. Then I bit into gross parts that made me gag and spit it out. I couldn't finish eating it. The chorizo taco was underwhelming. The next day I thought about the food and started retching and almost threw up again. I'm sorry to say, these were the worst tacos I've had since I've started this project. 3 tacos $10.20 1...

Whenever I Google "tacos" near my house, Azada Grill comes up. I wasn't sure I wanted to review a taco place in a gas station so I always skipped it. Recently, the maintenance man was by, we got to talking and he said it was good. Granted, he is white, but I thought maybe I'd give it a try. I ran out in a hurry to the bank yesterday, then it was lunchtime so I headed over. There was a colorful handwritten sign in the window that they had chilaquiles, so my interest was piqued. I went in, it was clean, they had the usual on the menu (and a lot of breakfast all day choices) and they were super friendly; very happy to have a customer, though I'm sure they get their share of delivery driver types, one was there while I was. I wasn't sure want to get. She suggested the green chilaquiles so I said OK. She asked if I wanted steak. I said that sounded like a lot of food, I usually just have chips and egg. She mentioned cecina, which is thin seasoned steak that I love ...

I use to work across the street from Cilantro and enjoyed going there for lunch on Fridays. While I was running errands today, I decided to head up the road and see if I still liked it. My friend I used to work with is vegetarian and liked the vegetarian nachos. While driving over, I thought maybe I'd get the vegetarian nachos too. When I got there, I was surprised it had moved across the street. It looked small from the outside but the restaurant was spacious inside and well-laid out. It was very clean and modern looking. There were plenty of Mexican customers, which is always a good sign that the food is good in a Mexican restaurant. I thought about getting tacos, they had so many kinds, but went with the vegetarian nachos anyways. The cashier told me he had 3 options of vegetarian nachos. One had a bunch of things, including rice and beans, the second one had a cut up chile relleno on it and I forget what the third option was but it seemed crazier. I went ahead with the one with...

I was on vacation to Mackinac Island, Michigan recently and we stopped at Verde's Taqueria for some lunch. It's right where the ferry comes into the island. We sat on their cute patio on the water. We had chips and salsa with queso. The queso was on fire. It always is. Then I had shrimp and bacon tacos. They were pretty good. I liked that they were trying to do different things on the menu. 4/5 Stars

 La Haciena de los Fernandez is not a taqueria. It's a sit down Mexican restaurant but I decided to rate it none the less. It's located in back of Deer Park shopping strip mall in Deer Park, IL. It's always a good standard Mexican restaurant. This night, I had chicken tacos with rice and beans, they were great. They also give you a cup of chicken soup with shells to start. 4/5 Stars La Hacienda de los Fernandez, Kildeer

I wasn’t sure I wanted to review El Famous Burrito. Nestled in a strip mall, it looked like a chain restaurant. And whenever I went to Walmart or Menards or the bank El Famous wasn’t open yet, it opens at 11a. I was shopping for cosmetic bathroom updates today and boy does looking at stick and peel vinyl tile and paint make me hungry so I wandered in at late lunchtime. The place smelled good. I’ve never had a torta before. I know that’s a weird thing to say. My Mexican mom just never made me one. We never went out for one. When I went to college and my friends lived above what was my first taqueria, I asked what a torta was. They told me it was a sandwich. I wondered why I’d want a sandwich when I could order a taco or a tostada or a quesadilla and I continued to live my life ignoring the torta. I figured it was a gringo thing. But I noticed that El Famous Burrito had tortas on the menu and I decided, despite that they also had sopes on the menu, today was the day I’d try a torta. They...

I checked out this Fire Burrito place one day. It was a pretty standard taco restaurant. I ordered a steak burrito and had sit-down service with chips. The burrito was good/OK. It didn't have the kind of slightly greasy, overflowing with ingredients type of feel that I was looking for. 3/5 Stars Fire Burrito, 342 Irving Park Rd., Roselle, IL, 60172 Steak burrito & a diet Coke $15.00 with tip.

I know that Frontera Grill pulled their taco joint out of Macy's at Old Orchard but I had just gotten a haircut at the mall and needed to eat so I went to check out the new taqueria in the spot: State of Taco. I noticed a chicken chili on the menu, which sounded good but it said it was "Macy's Chicken Chili", so I immediately knew it was "food service". I ordered 2 chicken tacos anyways. When I grabbed my drink from the cooler, I noticed carrot cake with Macy's stickers. Carrot cake?? In a taco place? I mean, I guess. But it still seemed like some food service cafeteria where they were throwing things together. My food came and it was ... OK. There was plenty of chicken in the taco but the whole thing was bland. Pedestrian. It did the job. But it was no Fronter Grill place. The cashier, by the way, could not have been nicer. I forgot to take a picture of the tacos, sorry. 3/5 Stars 2 chicken tacos & a diet Coke $14.74

This taqueria is near my home, behind the grocery store, so I wanted to check it out. It's in a Carniceria or grocery store. I ordered a couple of chorizo tacos. They were just OK. My stomach was upset afterwards. Now, I have a very bad stomach so it may not have been their fault but it was upset for hours. Probably will never go back. 3/5 Stars 2 chorizo tacos $I forget how much

A Hispanic man at work told me there is a good taco place nearby so I thought I’d check it out. Burrito Parrilla Mexicana is in an old fast food place but nicely built out. I noticed Tacos Dorado on the menu. I didn’t know what they were so I asked the cashier. She really seemed to be wanting to do anything but explain anything and took a prolonged look at her phone while helping me. lol I ordered them anyways and had a seat. The waitress brought chips. They were rolled up and fried. My mom makes these and calls them taquitos. The chicken could have been seasoned better. They were nice but my mom’s are better. 4/5 Stars Burrito Parrilla Mexicana, 2101 Plum Grove Road, Rolling Meadows Tacos Dorado + a Diet Coke $17.90

La Rosita is my mom’s grocery store. She used to drag us there when we were kids. I realized they have a taqueria there so I thought I’d check it out. The taqueria has its own entrance. You order and sit and there is a waitress. I ordered a chorizo taco and a lomo taco. Lpmo is rib-eye. I’ve never had a ribeye taco before but I like ribeye in general. After several minutes, the food comes. It’s piping hot. The chorizo taco is … ok. The lomo taco is disappointing. Like boiled meat without any seasoning. They spoke zero English here btw.  3/5 stars Taqueria la Rosita, 1190 E. Dundee Rd., Palatine 2 tacos & a Diet Coke $11.21

Some  weeks ago I checked out Tacos el Norte, Palatine. I wondered if it’s the same as the wildly popular restaurant of the same name in Lake Zurich. I was told that it is, they are each owned by brothers. I ordered a chorizo taco. They also had a few tacos on the menu with special names and no description. I asked about the Taco Chingon and was told it is shrimp and bacon. I got one of those too. I was very hungry and she said the quesadilla is small so I asked for one as well. The food was very good, the Chingon was a nice departure from the usually and the quesadilla was perfect. Friendly service. Tacos el Norte, 210 E. Rand Road, Palatine 4/5 stars

I was heading to Walmart and I decided to eat at the Mexican place in the old Arby's, Casa Chapala's Grill. I wasn't expecting much from the Mexican place in the old Arby's but boy did they show me. I walk in and there are a lot of men. There were 2 women but they finished with their family and left soon thereafter. And the restaurant was ba-lasting Mexican music. I could barely hear myself think. The cashier asked if it's going to be dine-in and I say to go. I figure I can eat in the peace and tranquility of my car. I notice a ceviche tostada on the menu and my interest was piqued. I then notice he has an extensive seafood section on his menu. I decided to try the ceviche tostada and a chorizo taco. I then think it may messy to eat a shrimp tostada in my car so I change my order dine-in and figure I'll eat really quick. The chorizo taco was spot-on. The ceviche tostada was brimming with shrimp. The mixture was more shrimp than onions and it came with fresh avoc...

I was discussing good taquerias with a (Mexican) coworker and she said I had to try Los Cómales in Niles. It’s the same as the one in Pilsen/Little Village.  Though Niles is close, I don’t generally go in that direction much. But Friday I had a haircut in the vicinity so I hit up Los Comales on the way home. It was pretty busy, mostly with dine-in customers and a couple waiting for takeout. As I took a seat, I noticed the Mexican giardiniera in clear plastic containers and instantly recognized that to the city location. They brought chips and salsa. The salsa was very fresh, tasty, spicy and the right garden consistency. It’s the best salsa I’ve had yet. I could have eaten by the spoonful. I ordered a chorizo taco, a cecina taco and a suadero taco, some kind of flank steak taco I never heard of. Otherwise known as the cholesterol sampler.  The tortillas were slightly thicker than regular corn tortillas, like a thin sope. The chorizo hit-greasy and spicy and good. The suad...

I was passing by a taqueria that I’ve already rated 5/5. If I were to rate one taqueria 6/5 as the winner, it would be a strong contender as the best. Since it’s so good I was tempted to eat there again but the point of this blog is to try different taquerias. The last time I had noticed Super Mercado a couple of doors down and wondered if they make tacos there as well. I rolled by Super Mercado. It had a sign in the window for quesadillas and beans with a price. My feelings were confirmed: they are running a butcher/taco stand in back. I decided to check it out. The store’s like a cramped New York bodega and the carnicería is in the back. 2 cashiers and the taco maker do not speak any English. I got by with my rudimentary Spanish but be forewarned if you don’t speak enough. They had a chalkboard menu with a few things offered on weekends, like barbacoa (do I have to buy by the pound? How would I explain in my limited Spanish how I want it prepared?) and tamales (too much masa for my l...

La Taquiza y Mas is on the way home from my gym. I stopped by once before but they are closed on Sundays. The place was uber-cute inside so I was hopeful it would be good. I ordered a chicken tinga taco and a chorizo taco. $3/ea. While waiting I noticed they have Thaco Thursday when basic tacos are $1.50. I took my seat. No chips, but there was no server so that was OK. My tacos came up and it was time to eat.  The chicken tinga taco was tasty but it was a different taste then the tinga I recently had at a 5/5 taqueria. Not as tinga-y and the chicken was clumpy and dry. La Preferida tortillas. In one bite I felt something in my mouth and for a split second my mind thought it was a bad part of chicken that got chopped in but then I realized it was the stems from the cilantro, which they chopped in instead of out. Seemed like a messy prep. I just never had stems with cilantro in another restaurant before. Nit picky, I know. It was just something I noticed. Then I tried the chorizo ta...

I was running errands between my parents’ and my sister’s houses when hunger struck. I whipped out my phone to check for nearby taquerias and picked Original Taco. I’ve passed by it a million times but it’s off a busy intersection with 0 visibility from one direction and not much more from the other direction so I never noticed it. It looked pretty authentic outside and inside. The menu was thorough and though I haven’t been paying too much attention to prices at each place, $2.50 for a standard taco (anything under $3) seemed like a good deal. I wanted to like it. I ordered a chorizo and a carnitas (pork) taco and and tamarind water, paid and they said I could have a seat. They didn’t bring any chips. (!) A waiter/busboy brought my food. He was busy serving tables of other hungry customers (Mexican families) too. A white couple even walked in, walked out, then came back in to eat. The workers speak English. They don’t seem like they do and they have heavy accents but they do. My chori...

Low visibility location ✅ Small storefront ✅ Signs in window that they change money ✅ Mexican families enjoying posale ✅ I usually check Google maps for taquerias to go to. Los Huaraches is around the corner from me but on busy Milwaukee Avenue on a stretch I don’t drive down often. And even if I did, I’d never notice it. I walked in and there were pictures of the specials-plates-on the wall. It looked like too much food; I wasn't sure I wanted any of this. There were no single tacos pictured. But the man finished with a customer and asked if I wanted a folded paper menu. Good thing because the tacos and a large variety of other options were on the paper menu. I ordered a chicken tinga tostada and a picadillo taco. I like to dine in to get the full experience so I had a seat. The waitress brought some warm chips and spicy salsa that were delightful. I only had 4 chips before my food came. Now if you have been reading my blog, you know I like my food saucy, seasoned and spicy. I lik...

On the way to Rosemont, where River and Rand/Route 12 meet, is Las Asadas. I’ve driven by it a million times. First time in. I contemplated the menu, saying I usually get chorizo but I see they have barbacoa. The guy’s super friendly. He suggests al pastor (pork) and we chat awhile and also go with a chicken tostada (just guac? he asks when I first try to select one) and mango juice (his favorite other than horchata). I usually don’t get al pastor so I don’t have anything to compare it to but it was just cubes of meat. It didn’t pack a real flavor punch. The chicken on the tostada was plain chunks. The whole tostada felt pretty Americanized. The mango juice was as ok but I probably should have gone with one of my favs: Jamaica. Overall ok. 3/5 Stars Las Asadas, 782 W. Oakton St., Des Plaines Taco, tostada, med juice $12.10