Hacienda del Sol

Earlier in my undergraduate career, some upperclassmen introduced me to a diner due west of our Hyde Park that was open 24 hours a day. This place, the Green Light, was our pick for 3 am omeletes, mainly because no one knew of anything better. Looking back, I wish I had found the White Palace Grill sooner, because the Green Light was not that good. I must not have been the only person to think so, because it closed about a year ago.
Today, while driving a friend to Midway, we decided to check out the Green Light and see what was happening with the space. I am glad we did, because the lunch we had at Hacienda del Sol was quite tasty. To start, we were brought small dishes of a red bean and sausage soup with cilantro. The sausage was very interesting, not spicy like chorizo, it tasted of cinnamon and nutmeg. (I'm probably wrong about 1 or both of those guesses, maybe someone with more knoweledge of Mexican food can chime in with probable spices) There were also fresh nachos and a red and green salsa, both of which were fresh and delicious. The red salsa had bits of roasted pepper and was not too spicy, while the green was a bit hotter, but with a depth of flavor that can be lacking in things that take the capsicum to the max.
I had the sopes al pastor lunch special which came with sides of rice and beans, although I could've had nopalitos in place of one of the sides. The lunch special was a pretty good deal, 2 big sopes and a lemonade for 6 bucks. My dining companion had the chicken taco lunch special, which she enjoyed, but did say that next time she would get the pastor because it was tastier than the chicken. Along with the burritos, gorditas and tostadas on the lunch special menu were several different guisados, de res, de puerco, de pollo, de chicharron, de picadillo and de nopales. I am interested in returning to try the guisado, maybe on a day that isn't so warm. There are also a wide range of fish dishes, had we not been rushing to the airport, I would've made more of an effort to try one of the ceviches. The dinner menu is a bit pricier, culminating in the Parrilladas del Mar, for 2 or 4, at $28 and $60, respectively. That includes camarones, mejillones, langostinos, pulpo and jaiva y queso fundido con camarones. My spanish is pretty lousy, I only recognize the lobster and octopus, but I would like to go back and try their fish because everything I had today was so fresh and tasty.

Hacienda del Sol - carnes y mariscos
Carry Out and Dine in
773.585.9700
Sunday-Friday 9am-10pm
Saturday 9am-11pm
5315 South Pulaski, parking in the lot just south of the building.

When I make chorizo, I use the excellent Chorizo Toluqueño recipe in Rick Bayless' first cookbook. In addition to the chiles, salt, pepper, garlic, vinegar, and Mexican oregano, it calls for:

ground cinnamon
ground cloves
ground coriander seed
ground ginger
grated nutmeg

So what you tasted was probably exactly what you thought you tasted.

¡Buen provecho!

camarones, mejillones, langostinos, pulpo and jaiva y queso fundido con camarones.

Shrimp, clams, prawns/scampi, octopus, (sic) crab, cheese fondue with shrimp.

[quote="sundevilpeg"]When I make chorizo, I use the excellent Chorizo Toluqueño recipe in Rick Bayless' first cookbook. In addition to the chiles, salt, pepper, garlic, vinegar, and Mexican oregano, it calls for:

ground cinnamon
ground cloves
ground coriander seed
ground ginger
grated nutmeg

So what you tasted was probably exactly what you thought you tasted.

¡Buen provecho!


Yeah, some chorizo has distinct "pie spice" taste to it. For example the chorizo de casera at supermercado roman in Rogers Park is much more redolent of the stuff than any of the other chorizo I've had.