If you haven’t guessed by now, my favorite food is anything that includes beans (refried or black), avocados, corn chips and tortillas and as an added bonus – plantains. This usually makes it very easy to find a new place to eat since Chicago is full of Mexican, Spanish, and Puerto Rican themed restaurants. This weekend I had the chance to check out a few places. Unfortunately I didn’t have my camera so the pics were all taken with my Blackberry. Enjoy!!
Zocalo Restaurant and Tequila Bar - 358 W. Ontario (River North) **Thursday nights after 9PM all food is 50% OFF!!!!
By far, one of my FAVORITE spots in Chicago, this was my first time selecting from the Entrée menu. Let me just say, they did not disappoint!! The leftover made an awesome lunch the next day. My girls (who were visiting from out of town) tried the Sangria (only $5 on Thursday nights) and a guacamole sampler while we waited for our entrees. This was such a great choice for my out of town guests who still raved about it the next day!
Tacos en Cazuels – A trio of tacos served with black beans…. includes Barbacoa (Centro Mexico Style braised beef marinated with guajillo chiles), Cochinita Pibil (Yucatan style pulled pork with pickled red onions), Tinga de Pollo (Shredded chicken with chipotle peppers, tomatoes and onions).
Tinga Poblana – Chipotle marinated grilled chicken breast with poblano pepper-chorizo potato cake, cool avocado salsa, fresco cheese and pico de gallo.
Fajitas ZOCALO – Marinated grilled chicken breast and steak with onion, red and green bell peppers, Mexican Rice and whole black beans.
La Fonda Del Gusto Restaurant – 1408 N Milwaukee (Wicker Park)
The sign that drew me in…. free Mimosas and Bloody Mary drinks during brunch!!
Huevos Motuleños $8.95 --- Classic Yucatecan style fried eggs with ham on top of a tortilla basted in Kolito salsa with refried black beans, plantains and green peas. (**I substituted chicken for ham)
The special of the day, which the waiter claimed was the best hangover meal ever (not that I or Bobby needed it, LOL), was the Chilaquiles with Steak entree. It was just a tad bit too spicy for my wimpy taste buds, but the flavors were awesome!!
Add chips, salsa, guacamole, 2 mimosas and a coffee and our total came in under $25! Not bad at all!
Café Iberico - 737 N Lasalle Blvd (River North)
This is my favorite Spanish tapas place in the city! A late night trip to Japonais on Friday (one of my fav sushi spots) went wrong when they told us over the phone the sushi kitchen closed at 11:30. At 11:05 when we were seated and tried to order sushi they said there was no sushi available, “the kitchen closes when the manager feels like it”, and we could only order from the late night menu… which looked pretty “sub par” compared to the dining menu. We grabbed a $7 appetizer each, which to a hungry person felt like eating a mint since the lobster rolls were the size of a Twix bar, and ditched the place.
The girls and I headed to Café Iberico where the kitchen is open until 1:30 AM and the full menu is available! The sangria pitchers for only $14 were definitely a plus! I LOVE the Jimon Iberico (a cool take on “ham and cheese”) and the Paella Croquettas, which were pretty tasty. I normally go for the baked goat cheese, but since it was late I passed on that dish. This turned out to be another great choice among the out-of towners!
Chicago (A.K.A. Cherish)
