La Esquina del Sabor--Humboldt Park pasteles

My work took me to Humboldt Park this morning. As I was walking back to North Ave to catch a bus after the meeting I spied a white truck in the park and realized this was my chance to try Puerto Rican food.

I have to say the truck made me a little nervous, since the picture on it looked very much like a large pink rat. But as I got closer I was reassured by the heat lamps and the food visible through the windows and eventually the rat resolved itself into a pig, stretched out as it would be on a platter.

I was a little surprised to realize that my Pilsen restaurant Spanish did me no good at all there and of course I hadn't had the foresight to anticipate lunch and do some research beforehand. There was in fact nothing on the menu that I recognized except for the jibarito. But I looked through the windows and watched other people order and finally took my turn and asked for the pork. The very kind man working the window immediately switched to English and assured me I would like the special. Big hunks of wonderful roast pork (not "the other white meat" this pork--it had some real fat on it; it tasted like real pork) some great chicharrones, rice mixed with with pigeon peas and kidney beans on the side, three slices of decent French bread, and a large pastel. It could have easily fed three people. $7.99.

He particularly emphasized the pastel, which I have to say didn't look very promising--a slimy looking mossy green slab-- assuring me that it was a special Christmas treat that took a lot of work to make. He made it clear that I was going to thank him next time I came by.

He was right of course, and now that I've checked out this website, I'm even more impressed. A lot of work indeed. And very tasty.

This is the sort of thing I never would have done without the on-going encouragement of the CH and LTH community. Thanks for helping me make a great discovery.

google cache for the geocities page, which is over its bandwidth limit right now.

-ed

Pictures

Thank you so much for adding the photo. I'd forgotten the exact wording on the truck and now I have it. "Cocineros Unidos del Humboldt Park--Chicago Park and District." The official sounding title helped contribute to my fleeting concern that maybe this was a city-sponsored rat control program, reaching out to the community. But maybe I just need new glasses.

The Humboldt Park trucks have been much written about, at least before LTH (BLTH). You found the best one right off.

BTW, while pasteles are typical Xmas treats, most PR restaurants including the Esquina have them all year.

Just an observation that the Mothership store for La Esquina del Sabor on Fullerton has been dark for the past couple of weeks with a "remodeling" sign in the window.

BLTH!

That's great!

Especially since I can never remember the name of that old site-- Scarfdog? Chewmutt?

Speaking of pasteles, La Unica has an exquisite collection of tamal-ish Xmas treats from around latin America right now. in the freezer section, you will find: Cuban tamales en hojas, humitas Colombianas, pasteles Puertoriquenos, tamales Guatemaltecos (quite similar to Oaxaquenos), hallacas Venezolanas (love that word) and your basic Mexican tamales. Perhaps they have tamales Peruanos also, though I did not notice. Why, you could have an around-the Horn sampler of steamed starch and lard for your next holiday party.

Also at La Unica right now: beautiful, fresh, and jugosas naranjas agrias/aka Seville oranges. Easily the best I've ever seen in Chicago. Get your mojo in shape this holiday. Or you can order your lechon now at the butcher counter for Xmas eve or NYE. (Also at the meat counter, Palacios chorizo from Spain is around 5 bucks for a long string-laced wurst; queso blanco on sale too.)

Last, and least, a dry Spanish table wine of no particular year, drinkable at best but very nice for cooking is available for under 2 bucks. Dos pesos Carlitos?

For a huge assortment of turon (Alicante, yema, jijona, etc.), La Unica is a good spot, but try also El Mercado, with its unmatched and quixotically complete collection of pannetone, with the big Italian brands but also brands from Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Chile (just about each S. American country, actually).

Last, as regards Christmasy "hispanic" stuff, clementines from Spain are at Costco, dirt cheap and perfect. Very sweet.

I love this time of year.

JimInLoganSquare wrote:Just an observation that the Mothership store for La Esquina del Sabor on Fullerton has been dark for the past couple of weeks with a "remodeling" sign in the window.

And they have turned it into a Mexican place. They took down my favorite sign in Chicago (the big painted steel sign showing the glorious pig and lobster; wonder who has that now?) and put up a bunch of paper and plastic signs for burritos and tacos, etc.. Well, maybe that's what sells, but it's kind of a pity to see the whole fried fish are missing from the window display and all the food is duplicated in a hundred places within a 10 minute walk.

Anyway, I had to buy a rat trap at the new Walgreen's across the street today, so I stopped in and picked up a couple of tortas while I was stopped in the neighborhood. The same guy was running the show as when it was a PR place; maybe he was just tired, or maybe I was projecting, but he seemed depressed. Anyway, got an al pastor and a chicken torta. The al pastor was "simulated," with pork that was marinated in the right spices, but as far as I could tell was steamed or just plain boiled and then griddled. The bread was actually first rate, however, and the hot sauce was smoky and just a little bit tangy, not nuclear; it made a nice complement to the al pastor in the sandwich. I have a chicken torta waiting in the fridge right now for future delectation.