Albany Park Mexican recommendations . . .

Cardona's is a nice, clean, bustling, family-friendly place, serving breakfast (including red/green chilaquiles), lunch and dinner (the carne asada con nopales [steak with cactus] is notable), and weekend specials (pozole, menudo, carne de res [beef soup]).

I'm fond of the Torta Gigante de Cubana, a monster of a sandwich (sausage, ham, chorizo, egg, milanesa [breaded steak], and cheese).



The Cubana

Another reliable destination is 7 Mares Marisqueria, which features seafood (snapper, bass, seafood soups), cocktails (shrimp, octopus, oyster), quail, and my personal favorite, seafood tostadas (shrimp, fish, octopus, oyster, crab: $3.50@).



Shrimp and fish tostadas

Both make their own tortillas.

7 Mares
4012 W. Montrose
(between Pulaski and Elston)
773-427-4480

Cardona's
3537 W. Lawrence
773-279-8193

Cheers,
Wade

I am fond of:

Taqueria El Gallo
3532 W Montrose Ave
Chicago, IL 60618-1140
Phone:  (773) 267-1834

Especially for their gordita con papas y nopales (sublime) and also their pico de gallo salad, which is a bed of lettuce with a very generous mince of onion, fresh hot (sometimes serrano sometimes jalapeno it seems) peppers, and lots of diced avocado. Dressed with your choice of a good red or green sauce, it is a great mix of hot, cool, smooth, crunchy.

When I have been there in the past, I have seen that they have a pineapple atop their al pastor. I have not tried the al pastor.

They also have foods for Cuaresma (Lent) especially tortillas de camaron. If you like them, theirs are good.

Another neighborhood place, which I can't remember the name of, as it is our usual "pick-up" place and the phone number is written on our fridge (it used to be Los Mogotes de Michoacan--there are two locations, ours is the one opposite the end of the brown line on Kimball just south of Lawrence).

There, I do like the huarache al pastor with everything. Himself likes the steak tacos with only onion and cilantro, and the steak huaraches. I haven't had the quesadillas de flor de calabaza in awhile, but liked them well enough a year or two ago.

They also have a good guacamole, and I sometimes need an avocado in my life.

They have Mexican coke, the subject of much debate about international trade laws, which I will not get into. Himself always gets one, and personally, I am in favor of a 12 oz. coke rather than a 20 oz. coke for my beloved, so sometimes I give up my preferred (and beloved) gordita de papas con nopales for him.

But only when I'm not suffering from Potatoe Deprivation Psychosis :twisted:

. . . annieb for the suggestions. I will try them this week. I have seen both places, but have never stopped in.

That's what I love about Albany Park. I've been happily planted here (near Lawrence/Pulaski) for, oh, seven years, and I feel like I've yet to scratch the surface of the richness and variety of the neighborhood.

Hmm . . . an Albany Park walk-a-eat-a-thon, maybe?

Cheers,
Wade

There is a new place in Albany Park that I plan on trying soon. It's just west of Kedzie on the south side of Lawrence. There was a Middle Eastern place there that only lasted a few months (no big deal, it was just average).

Other than that, I enjoy the gorditas and quesadillas (among other things) on the corner of Argyle and Kedzie and the al pastor at the place on the east side of Kedzie on the south side of Lawrence. Across the street from that is another place that will go nameless (because I'm an idiot) that has great deals on soups and pretty good ceviche (it's affiliated I'm pretty sure with the grocery store).

On Kimball just across from the Brown Line stop (maybe 1/2 block south of Lawrence) there's another place that has great gorditas, especially steak.

Sorry about the names, I just can't remember a single one right now.

The one on Kimball you last referenced was formerly known as Los Mogotes de Michoacan. At one time, they had another location at about Ainslie/Argyle and Kedzie.

There is still a place with that name on Kedzie/Argyle. They are doing outside construction and the name of the place is gone but it's still the same people inside I'm pretty sure.

At least I THINK that's the name. I know Michoachan is part of the name.

CMC wrote:Other than that, I enjoy the gorditas and quesadillas (among other things) on the corner of Argyle and Kedzie and the al pastor at the place on the east side of Kedzie on the south side of Lawrence. Across the street from that is another place that will go nameless (because I'm an idiot) that has great deals on soups and pretty good ceviche (it's affiliated I'm pretty sure with the grocery store).

The Argyle and Kedzie sign read Los Mogotes de Michoacan as of a couple days ago.

The taqueria on the south side of Lawrence, just east of Kedzie is Taqueria Uptown.

The grocery store/restaurant across the street is Lindo Michoacan.

I'm always eager to squeeze in a recommendation for Taqueria Santa Rita, which has recently expanded into Restaurante Santa Rita. It's just a shade east of Albany Park, but worth the extra couple of blocks if you like good tacos al pastor. If you eat in, the complimentary chips come with two kinds of salsa, one of which is always fresh and rather spicy. And I don't really know how much it says about authenticity, but my wife and I are usually the only gringos there.
I included a photo of the tacos on an earlier al pastor thread here:


http://lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=3637&highlight=


Taqueria Santa Rita
2752 W Lawrence
773-784-1522

The place that annieb mentions is now Taqueria el Rincon, with, it seems, pretty much the same menu.

Great suggestion! I picked up a burrito al pastor, a gordita con papas y chorizo, a taco de chile relleno, and two quesadillas de flor de calabaza (squash flowers). The gordita and the quesadillas are worth the stop/trip.



Potato and chorizo gordita



Squash-flower quesadilla and chile relleno taco

Taqueria el Rincon
4734 N. Kimball
773-583-3791
Mon.-Sun.: 10 a.m.-10 p.m.

Cheers,
Wade

By the looks of it, wade, all of the food items that you photographed were taken out. If I have that right, then I would ask you, is it simply a matter of preference on your part? I would think that food items like these--particularly the seafood tostadas--would suffer a great deal in transit.

Erik M.

Erik M.,

You are correct. My schedule has been hellacious lately (although it's beginning to ease up for the summer). Weekdays: work in the South Loop, errands after work, home to a demanding and spoiled Rhodesian Ridgeback-mix dog, and more work. Weekends: house, yard, dog, errands, and, yep, work at home.

This looks to change very soon, after five years, in favor of a saner life and lifestyle.

My trick to carry-out is timing, figuring what might stand the delay and what might not, and making the stop(s) the last one(s) on the way home.

In these posts, the food and the pix are all from within blocks of where I live. On the weekend, I called ahead with the order, grabbed the torta first and then the seafood tostadas (which were served cold anyway). I was home within 15 minutes of starting out, a couple of minutes after picking up the tostadas.

A few quick pix, and then chow-time.

It was the same scenario with Taqueria el Rincon.

That's one of many reasons that I am happy to call Albany Park home. It is an eater's (and a cook's) heaven.

Cheers,
Wade

P.S. Insulated coolers are helpful for longer carry-outs; they keep things either warm or cool. They are always in the trunk of my chowmobile, ready for service. In my wilder days, one was always on the back of my Norton/Triumph/BSA/Harley bikes across all 48 contiguous states/Mexico/Central America, and with my Triumph/M.G./Sunbeam/Alpha Romeo cars (ditto). Alas, now, they're in the trunk of a Toyota Camry.

wade,

Thank you for taking the time to reply, and at such length. Now, I understand.

I am fairly envious of your locale. Here in The Ukranian Village, there are not a lot of good takeaway options. And, well, there is my personal bias: I would love to have the Thai, Middle Eastern, and Korean dining and shopping outlets that you have in A.P.

As for the cooler, G Wiv taught me that trick a couple of years ago. I never leave home without it.

Regards,
Erik M.

Wade,

Thanks for starting this thread. The soon-to-be-wife and I will be moving to our new home near Montrose & Pulaski in 2 months. I'm full of anticipation about the places that'll be walking distance from my home.

Oh yeah, and I'll third the cooler rec. I've got two in my trunk at all times. When you buy your food at so many different stores that are so far apart, it helps to have a way to keep them out of the elements.

Best,
Michael / EC

Just to clarify,

I call ahead to el Rincon (thanks for the reminder on the name) and el Gallo.

It is timed with Himself's picking up his car at the Y.

It is only 5 (el Rincon) to 7 (el Gallo) minutes away.

It doesn't suffer much in transit.

waderoberts wrote:I'm fond of the Torta Gigante de Cubana, a monster of a sandwich (sausage, ham, chorizo, egg, milanesa [breaded steak], and cheese).

Wade — You seem to have quite an affinity for the larger sandwiches (see his photographs of the Double Burger and Whammy Burger from That’s-A-Burger). Thanks for the recommendation of Cardona’s, somewhere I hadn’t stopped before. By the way, does anyone know how long it’s been open? I tried a Torta Cubana the other day and it sure was a gigante (and not a bad deal at $7.50). I happened to see the cook assembling the thing and it was amusing watching him trying to pile everything on without it tipping over. I really enjoyed the first half but the combined saltiness of several ingredients—ham, chorizo, and sausage (really a sliced and griddled hot dog)—started to overwhelm me toward the end. They have some nice sounding torta combinations and I’ll certainly be trying others in the future. Next up may be a Chilanga: milanesa, queso Oaxaca, chiles poblanos. Cardona’s seems like a nice all-around place and as a bonus it’s open fairly late and is near the El.

Cardona’s
3537 W Lawrence Av
a few blocks west of Kimball stop of Brown Line
Chicago
Mon-Thu 9am-11pm, Fri-Sun 9am-midnight

I stopped by and got a couple of delightful tostadas de vuelve a la vida (seafood medley, rich in octopus, clams, squid, etc.



And: yes, Rene G, I do have an affinity for the larger sandwiches, such as these monster cheeseburgers grilled at home a couple of days ago:



Overall height: 4-1/2", and I stopped shy of topping the burgers with chili and fried eggs.

Maybe it's my Texas heritage . . . .

I'm lucky to be blessed with a miraculous metabolism (6'1" and 160 lbs.) Every year at my annual physical, my doctor informs me happily that my cholesterol levels are great, and then instructs me to keep doing whatever I'm doing. Go figure.

Cheers,
Wade

I've tried the new place on Lawrence twice last week and I'm pretty happy. The first time my girlfriend and I both had chilaquiles--one chicken the other with egg. Outfreakinstanding. The chicken was perfectly grilled and extremely tasty and the eggs, well, what can I say they were eggs but done perfectly as well. The tortillas were soft but still had plenty of chew and the flavor overall was great. And portion? My Lord. Make sure you are hungry. The second time I went back I tried a chicken, steak and pastor taco. The chicken and pastor were the best but the steak was decent too. They have many varieties of meat available for tacos and other dishes. The table salsa is unique (at least to me) in that it's pureed and creamy (not watery like the salsas that come in squeeze bottles). There is a green and orange-ish salsa. Both are fairly spicy and have many layers of flavor and heat.

The interior of the place is pretty much exactly like it's Middle-Eastern predecessor--down to the poker machines and big screen television. The paintings on the wall are pretty much the only difference.

Los Pinos 2 (I'm pretty sure #1 is part of a grocery store in Gage Park)
3209 W Lawrence
773.463.2222

Rene G:

Here it is, in all its glory (milanesa [fried steak], Oaxacan cheese, and poblano peppers:



It tastes just as good as it looks.

Cheers,
Wade

CMC wrote:
Los Pinos 2 (I'm pretty sure #1 is part of a grocery store in Gage Park)
3209 W Lawrence
773.463.2222

Don't know if they're related, but there is a los pinos 'bout 1/2 block south of devon on western, east side of the street

That would make more sense than Gage Park...