Fish Tacos at Don Juan

I had the chance to stop by Don Juan's in Edison park today to try their best effort at those elusive fish tacos that I have been seeking in Chicago.

Overall, they didn't fare well with those that I have eaten in LA and San Diego. But they were good none the less.

On the west coast, your typical fish taco is deep fried in a beer batter much like good cod is at Duke of Perth. They're then overloaded on soft tortillas with some cabbage and a dressing of sour cream and chipotles in adobo. They generally run about $1.50 each at places like Rubio's and Wahoos. Though the best that I have had are at a local sit down LA restaurant chain called Siete Mares. At Siete Mares, two huge fish tacos with rice and beans cost you about $6.50. The ensuing dry cleaning for your clothes is not included in the price.

Don Juans did a pretty good job. The breading on the tacos was kind of thin, but crispy. Each taco had three small pieces of fish. The cabbage on these tacos was actually a bland cole slaw with carrots. The tortillas were fresh and excellent. Overall the produt was somewhat bland.

After a few bites, I convinced our waiter that I needed some hot sauce. He emereged from the kitchen with a small bowl of what he announced as the hot sauce used by the kitchen crew on their food.

Yowza! Did that stuff ever turn those bland fish tacos into something interesting. The combination of the creamy slaw dressing and the red hot kitchen crew hot sauce worked miracles on those tacos.

Three tacos with a small salad served on the side, refried beans and rice ran about nine bucks. Next time, I'll pass on the rice, salad and beans and go for three tacos ala cart for $2.50 each

I like Don Juan's duck tacos in addition to their fish tacos. I really like the place as they serve top quality food AND try new and creative menu items periodically.

Before my old boss left, we used to catch a train from Crystal Lake once a month to hit the Edison Park eateries. Miss those days.

Meant to mention that the new pub on Lincoln around Byron, Brownstone (nee Benz) has very good-for what they are- fish tacos. This bar is run by the Schoolyard people, but the food here is better from what I've had. Three good sized fish tacos came the way I've had then at the San Diego area spots you mention. One nice touch was that the flour tortillas were grilled after filling, making the tacos a little like deep-fried fish quesadillas. Duvel, Two Hearts, and Alpha King all on hand at popular prices, too. And good tater tots. In a way, I don't want to oversell the place, it's just another fake pub in an area that's lousy with them. On the other hand, it's a good example.

Yet another such spot "Murphy's Bistro" or some such is opening a few doors down. Looks to be a little fancier.

I've never had the fish tacos, but I've always enjoyed Don Juan's. I concur with jlawrence01 on the duck tacos. I like their blend of classic Mexican and Chef Patrick Concannon's creative nuevo Latino dishes. And Maria Concannon's margaritas are among the best in town.

A pity that their Lincoln Park place didn't last.

Don Juan's for Mexican Food Lovers
6730 N. Northwest Hwy., Chicago
773/775-6438

Great minds think alike--I was at Don Juan's on Saturday, and ordered two fish tacos and two carnitas tacos from the taqueria menu. Good stuff--I've talked up Don Juan on the other board. In my opinion, it ranks up there as one of the better upscale Mexican places in the city, but never gets the recognition it deserves--perhaps due to its more casual ambiance, or its northwest side location. One look at the menu, divided into three parts--Mexican-American standards (burritos et al), more sophisticated dinners (venison fajitas, seafood risotto), and the taqueria menu (carnitas, al pastor, sopes), should indicate that this is a different type of restaurant than most Mexican spots.

One question for YourpalWilli--Don Juan's serves two kinds of fish tacos--the Baja tacos on the Mex-American side, and the Fish of the Day tacos on the taqueria menu. I'm surmising from your post that you ordered the Baja tacos, correct? If so, do you know what kind of fish they used? On Saturday, I had the taqueria fish tacos, which used tilapia. Previously, I've also had catfish. Have you ever compared the two styles at Don Juan's? If so, what's your opinion?

I actually had the fish of the day tacos which was Tilapia. Is there a difference in the Baja fish tacos and those on the taqueria menu? I'm not a big catfish fan.

That's what I'm curious about. I almost always order ala carte at Don Juan's, and have never tried the Baja fish tacos--I was thinking they may be closer to the San Diego-style tacos you are looking for. Maybe next time.

I'm not a big fan of catfish either. However, the tacos were quite good.

Incidentally, if you have never tried the venison fajitas at Don Juan's, give 'em a shot. Ignore the fact that they are called "fajitas" (which, to me, is often a sign that where you're eating ain't really Mexican), and you'll have one of the best game preperations in Chicago. Perfectly cooked, definite venison flavour without being too gamy, an excellent dish.

i spent a wonderful july 4th afternoon drinking margaritas at the outdoor patio of El Cid #2 in Logan Square. Although I was full from my lunch at Silver Cloud (a very tasty veggie burger w/tater tots and a flirtini - absolut, champagne & splash of pineapple juice, mmm) I couldn't resist trying a fish taco. it was really good, served simply with onions and cilantro. I want to go back and try some of the other menu selections that looked quite tasty.

ciao
sharon

I certainly agree that Don Juan's is a good place offering creative and tasty Mexican. I have only sampled the baja fish tacos, and then as a leftover, so I cannot really comment on the quality.

I would not order them. As to the optimal fish taco, my preference is a more traditional fish or fish hash, sauteed, fried (without breading) or stewed with peppers and onions, served with lots of lime. I really do not get the concept of deep frying in batter, and then wrapping in a tortilla. The texture can be somewhat interesting, and I like fried fish, and tortillas, but not fried fish in tortillas. But I admit that there is a lot about Cal-Mex that I do not get.

Anyone have any recs for great, non-deep fried, fish tacos around here?

We have fish tacos at Mas which are simple and great. They contain ahi tuna, sauteed with a little lime juice, and are served with a papaya, dijon and rosemary salsa. Not spicy but very fresh. However, we will send out some house made hot sauce if you request.

Ryanj wrote:We have fish tacos at Mas which are simple and great. They contain ahi tuna, sauteed with a little lime juice, and are served with a papaya, dijon and rosemary salsa. Not spicy but very fresh. However, we will send out some house made hot sauce if you request.

A comment and a question.

Comment: I had fish tacos at the now-shuttered Otro Mas that I thought were good but not outstanding, similar to what you describe. My wife and I went just once and ordered a slew of appetizers. We enjoyed the place very much overall.

Question: How similar is Mas to Otro Mas, in terms of menu, prices, and atmosphere?

Actually, two questions. It's always fun to play the "where do chefs eat when not at their restaurant" game, and a cool advantage of having chefs on the site. Ryanj, any offers? I'm curious to hear your take on other places around town. Do you get enough of the whole Nuevo Latino thing at work, or do you like to scout out the competition?

Cheers,

Aaron

Mas is a little more South American and Spanish influenced, where as Otro Mas was a little more Mexican with lower price points and what I call "dumbed down" cuisine. Our prices are a little higher, but our food is a better quality. Most of the purveyors I use deal in specialty produce, fish and dry goods, but we also pay a little more hefty for it. However, our check average is still around the $35 range. Our room is a lot bigger than Otro's was, and we also have an open kitchen(which 4 years ago I said I would never work in a place with an open kitchen again.) The Southport stretch is kind of a hard place to have a restaurant that is not more a bar than a restaurant. For your next question, on my days off, I like Meritage, Le Bouchon, Hugo's Frog, Gibson's, West Town Tavern and Webster Wine Bar(their food is great for wine bar food.) Favorite cheap eats are Nick's Pit Stop and Bari Food's(prusciutto-mozz. sandwich.) I don't really check out the competition too much, maybe once every three months I will head to Nacional 27 or Frontera, but just to check out their new menu items and their specialty drinks.

Thanks!

What's Nick's Pit Stop?

Nick's Pit Stop is on Damen just north of Armitage on the east side of the street across from the 7/11. All they have is fresh chicken, cooked on a grill, and served in a pita with mayo, lettuce and tomatoes. Get the barbq and the salsa on the side and choose a side(recommend mash or mac'n'cheese. $6 with a drink.

Okay, Ryan, I am convinced to include Mas on my list of haute latino spots to try. So much to eat, so little time.

We finally made it to Don Juan this weekend after having it on our list for the better part of a year. It's definitely a comfortable, friendly place that's even more lively after a couple hand-shaken margaritas. I was pleased that the more expensive margaritas on the list taste more like tequila than sugar.

Our appetizer round consisted of a taco, a sope, and one larger plated item. The sope al pastor was the least enjoyable with little flavor and masa that tasted fresh from the fridge. Now, I know that many places are going to keep their tortillas and other masa products in the fridge, but it takes a little attention to make it taste like that ain't the case. Our poblano and wild mushroom taco also tasted like a refrigerated tortilla wrapped around a tasteless, mushy filling.

I was more impressed with the "Chipotle BBQ Duck Taquitos with Sweet Corn Pudding and Green Onion Coulis". The nicest thing about this dish was that I could taste everything: the onion, corn, duck, and chipotle all came through. There was a slightly heavy hand with the sweet BBQ sauce, but the dish worked for me. Petit pois was unhappy with it, describing it as a better version of "TGI Friday's junk-food appetizers" (I wouldn't know). She said all she tasted was fried tortilla and sweet BBQ sauce: "a BBQ sauce egg roll".

Our entrees were a little more pleasing, but only for the meats. Petit pois' roasted pork loin with adobo-guajillo sauce was tender and smoky. Unfortunately the vegetables that were served with it were salted beyond the point of edibility.

My venison fajitas were made from an excellent quality piece of meat, cooked perfectly and served in pan jus. The meat had a slight bit of gamey flavor at the finish that I look for in venison. Unfortunately the flour tortillas were again a major disappointment in texture and taste. We also both found the sides of rice and refried beans to be barely edible: overcooked and pasty.

My final analysis of the place is that they know how to cook meat, but little else. There was a lack of attention to detail that really disappointed me. I didn't get the tastes that I anticipated: tastes of quality ingredients constructed by a talented chef. There were moments where I could glean a lot of potential (the duck taquitos, the venison meat, and pork loin), but the rest of the meal came off as lazily constructed from cheap ingredients.

I am pleased that they do try and do something different. Don Juan could easily serve up burritos, steak fajitas on skillets, and enchiladas like Chi-Chi's and probably pack 'em in. It's nice that they do take the opportunity to try something different. Nevertheless, Don Juan was inconsistent and unbalanced for us, and we'll have a hard time being convinced to return.

Best,
Michael / EC

Michael

Sorry that you had such a hit or miss meal at Don Juan's the other night. I have had many meals there that have been excellent but when somethings are off, I always make it a point to alert Maria (the owner) about it. She always wants to know when her kichen is underperforming so she can take corrective measures and is always very gracious about it.

Perhaps you should give it another try sometime.

hey, just to be really tardy to an initial comment in the thread, I would like to point out that real Baqja fish tacos do not ever have any kind of Adobo sauce. It is in the KISS bliss recipe mode (Keep It Simple Stupid) and it always includes the battered fish, the rough chopped cabbage, the secret thin white sauce (which is crema but in Baja is always thin and watery) and then either a Pico de Gallo or just chopped onions and cilantro. And you put it in two corn tortillas. But you never get a fish taco with a red sauce on it. It might be an option to test your machismo but it isn't how they are served when you're at a roadside fish taco stand. And even Rubio's (started by two Anglo SDSU grads who spent a considerable amount of time snarfing on fish tacos in Baja and wanting to bring that item norh of the border) you'd never have a red sauce on your tacos.

I understand we are now in Chicago and there are certain creative interpretations but that's not how we eat them in Baja.

bjt