Monthly Archives: April 2009

April 30th, 2009
post by tamalechica | | 4

La Encantada, a second visit

With so many good Mexican Restaurants in Chicago, it is a challenge to be revisit them if they aren’t walking distance from where I live. Back in March, Roseann and I tried La Encantada, and we were blown away by the quality and level of food that this Humbolt Park restaurant provided. The day after we dined there, I received an email from Sean and he said, ” La Encantada is a true hidden gem in fine Mexican cuisine.” I agree!

For a month, my grad school friend Sean and I had wanted to have dinner here, and last night this is what we did. Sean had a beer, and I had a virgin Pina Colada. It was good, but it filled me up more than I had hoped. Since I do not drink alcohol, it was still fun to have a bar beverage.

We started off ordering three appetizers. One of the great things about having a meal with a fellow foodie is that appetizers are an attractive component of a meal, and Sean is definitely a foodie. We started off with their guacamole, which was generous in portion and very, very good.


We also ordered the picaditos, which are crispy small masa patties. There were four — hunger trumped photo taking in this case.
We also ordered Queso Fundido with chorizo. The cheese was not as stretchy as usual and was a bit more solid. While I prefer the stretchier texture, being able to cut it and slide it onto a tortilla did make it easier to eat.

Sean somehow rallied and ordered chile rellenos. He gave it a rating of 3 tamales up and said the peppers were done to perfection. When I make a third trip here, I will definitely order those!

Already feeling like quite the beached whale, I ordered the Sopa De Elote, which is creamy corn soup topped with poblano peppers and queso fresco. I also ordered a side dish of ensalada de nopalitos, which is sliced cactus mixed with onions, tomato, cilantro, oregano and queso fresco. I was so full from the wonderful appetizers that I could barely finish the salad!
We split an order of their Sopapillas, which are fried tortillas dipped in cinnamon and sugar. I love these, because they are light, have a subtle flavor and provide a bit of sweetness and a nice way to end a great meal.
_
La Encantada is the place to go if you want fine Mexican dining, and love home quality cooking. A family owned restaurant, the service is consistently friendly and helpful. The restaurant can accommodate a large party as well as more intimate groups of 1 or 2 persons. If this restaurant were in Lincoln Square, it would probably be my second kitchen!

What’s not to like here? Besides great food, excellent service, a lovely atmosphere which is definitely well suited for people who like to talk and actually hear what the other person is saying, they have fabulous artwork that fills their walls. Check those out and look for more photos on an earlier post done on La Encantada in Humbolt Park.

_
La Encantada
3437 W. North Avenue (at Louis Avenue)
779 489-5026

http://feeds.feedburner.com/TamaleChicaChronicles
Share
humbolt park, La Encantada, Mexican Restaurant
April 28th, 2009
post by tamalechica | | Closed

WGN and Randy Miller


Chicago’s WGN News Talk 720′s tag line may be “The Voice of Chicago,” but they have been showcasing something not always associated with the media: a little inspiration, a little fun, and something else.

For most of my adult life, I considered myself a die hard NPR and WBEZ listener. After my dad passed away, I’d find myself oddly drawn to his radio station, WGN. Until then, my tuning in had been only from hearing the station broadcast at my parent’s place. Occasionally listening to WGN and hearing Paul Harvey, Orion Samuelson, Max Armstrong, Dean Richards and Spike O’Dell made me feel like I was “home” with my pops again.

Perhaps the final conversion toward actively wanting to listen to WGN occurred a few years ago when there was a flood due to a burst water main pipe by Montrose and Wolcott. Trying to get relevant coverage from WBEZ when I needed it and with updates made me feel like a tourist. They were replaying some of their hallmark, wonderful, high quality feature stories but I could not get the information I needed when I needed it about something going on in my city, in my neighborhood. My Alderman provided better updates via email. Out of frustration, I tuned to WGN. My listening habits have now switched. I’m still a WBEZ listener, but it no longer has the majority of my listening time.

With the constant media barrage putting fear into people about Swine Flu and “how bad” things are in Mexico, the last thing I wanted to hear was more fear mongering. Yesterday I heard DJ Randy Miller for the first time while he was filling in for the Kathy and Judy show. We were clearly on the same page.

Due to needing to spend time in the kitchen this morning, I turned the radio on while I worked on some kitchen projects. During this time, he featured three topics that I’ve not heard on morning radio, and I loved it. Psychic John Edwards did some readings for people who called in. It was refreshing hear him in prime radio time, and to have a controversial guest with a host who is clearly open minded.

During another segment, the focus was to have the audience call in to share how they have been the recipient of unusual kindness and/or generosity. What a great switch from the common harangue of negativity. Then Mike Regan was on. For anyone who isn’t familiar with Mike Reagan, he is an artist who not only paints portraits but who has headed up the Fallen Heroes Project.

Right now he’s featuring a “rat on your neighbors” segment, but the segment is funny and light, while also giving the callers some suggestions. This type of call in segment could be done either on the low side or the high side, and Miller is taking it on the high side. He’s been doing double shifts (does the guy ever sleep?) and it would be great to see him brought in as a full time addition.

Props to WGN for also bringing in Gary Meier. After the way WLS treated him, WGN must feel like Heaven. Unlike WLS, I’ve noticed that when WGN hosts leave, their fans and listeners are given a chance to say good-bye. That shows some respect not only for the DJ but the listening audience, as well.

I didn’t look around to see who their demographic target markets are, but with long time television personalties such as Bob Sirott and Marianne Marciano, and some of the solid anchors like Steve Bertrand, they are clearly positioning themselves for the Boomers, as well as segments of Gen X and Gen Y’ers. The classier way that they treat their staff should say a lot about their values and their view of the world that they share with listeners.

http://feeds.feedburner.com/TamaleChicaChronicles
Share
gary meier, randy miller, steve betrand, wgn
April 24th, 2009
post by tamalechica | | Closed

Bulldog Bakery in Avondale

During Thursday’s Run of the Chicas, we spotted this sign and well, we had to go check it out! And yes, all we got was that it was “OP.”

Aren’t these cupcakes a trip? For those of you who have been deprived, yes, they look like Hostess Cup Cakes, and owner Patrick said they had a creamy center. Based on the goodies in the bakery, I doubt Hostess can hold a candle to these! I left with one carrot and one chocolate cupcake, yum!

Aren’t these fun?

In a way, I am so glad that I don’t have room for another cookie jar, because these cuties were hard to resist!


One of the benefits of having eaten lunch before we visited the Bulldog Bakery in Avondale is that I had no compunction to buy up all the chocolate croissants, although I am still thinking of it. Maybe next time we go to Taqueria La Oaxaquena…
Owner Patrick took the cookies out from the counter so I could get a better photo of them, which is why they appear larger than one could imagine. I bought one with cranberries in it, and it’s very good!

The bakery has some interesting speciality items worth noting. Bulldog Bakery also carries gluten free and vegan goods, uses Certified Kosher Dairy Process, and also produces baked goods that are also sugar free.
_
Among the goodies listed in their brochure are flourless chocolate cake, tortes, chocolate raspberry and lemon coconut cake, strawberry mousse torte (OMG does that sound like Heaven or what!!), cookies, cheesecakes, pies (yes, pies!!), custom cakes and they deliver!
_
Also, for any of you who read the previous day’s post and wonder… no, Patrick is definitely NOT a Mr. Cranky Cupcakes type. He’s affable, helpful, friendly and we enjoyed speaking with him (Patrick, have I said enough good things???).
_
Bulldog Bakery has been in business for about 8 years, 2.5 at the present Avondale location and prior to that, the bakery was in West Lakeview.
_
3207 N. Elston
773 / 539-9781
http://feeds.feedburner.com/TamaleChicaChronicles
Share
Avondale, banana oatmeal cookies, bars, Bulldog Bakery, Certified Kosher Bakery, cusom cakes, delivery, Gluten Free, lemon coconut cake, no sugar added, strawberry mousse torte, tortes
April 24th, 2009
post by tamalechica | | 2

Avondale and the Run of the Chicas (to La Oaxaquena on Milwaukee Ave)

Today was errand day, thanks to Rosa Anna’s help. For lunch we ventured to La Oaxaquena, in Avondale.

I liked their chairs:
We liked their food even more! We were brought chips and three types of salsa. The tomatillo salsa was very good and for me, it was in stiff competition with the lighter colored salsa, which had a bit of punch and smokiness to it. Rosa Anna favored the darker one, which tasted like it had a bit of mushroom in it. They were all good.
Rosa Anna ordered the enchiladas, which she said were very good.
I ordered the chile relleno. I ordered one beef and one cheese. One of the things we both noticed is that the wait for the food was a bit longer then what we are accustomed to; it was well worth it, and seemed more freshly prepared than many restaurant dishes. We both concurred the our meal was very, very good and we’d easily go back there again. My dish comes with beans but I prefer not to have them.
On our way to El Targeto, we saw a bakery called Bulldog Bakery, which I’ll talk about in another post. Well, as two girls freshly energized with good food, we were ready to rock and roll, so the parking fairies helped us out and we found a NON-metered spot, and walked over to the bakery. On the way to the bakery we saw this lovely old building:
I loved the gold door!

This of course was in sharp contrast to this house, with doors that Rosa Anna noticed “go no where!” Hmmm, I remember seeing houses like that where I grew up!

Like many Chicago neighborhoods, what was once one group’s ethnic enclave often transforms into another ethnic enclave. It isn’t difficult to discern that Avondale is less Polish and more Latino and Mexican in terms of its’ population. There were many, many Mexican restaurants and taquerias in the area, and a few decent sized grocery stores as well.

It was obvious that there was a church that no longer existed in the immediate vicinity of where Rosa Anna parked her car. On one side of the street was a sign, half covered with caked on soot and dirt:

And across the street:
We did a “small” run of purchases at El Targeto, and decided to stop off for a beverage and dessert, and we ended up at Julius Meinl on Lincoln Avenue. They do a lovely job of presentation, as you can see by Chica Rosa Anna’s Iced Latte.

Check out this red velvet cupcake! I understand the icing was quite wonderful.


I chose to have a piece of flourless chocolate cake, which also had apricot jam inside. It was very good, and I still have half of it in my refrigerator.
I did want to say that we started our Run of the Chicas with a cupcake run to Phoebe’s Cupcakes, but the bakery that the Chicago Tribune featured as just opened was obviously not ready for customers just quite yet. Apparently that is what happens when you lay off 53 employees and undoubtedly the person who should have verified the place was open was unable to followup.
_
I was curious as to how they obtained investment funds when I knew there was another gourmet cupcake shop in the neighborhood. We went there after the unsuccessful attempt at cupcakes at Phoebe’s, only to see that Cupcakes on Briar had closed. I know that I was not the only person to have experienced the owner’s frequently poker-faced, personality challenged manners, but his cupcakes were sublime!
_
I am always saddened to see any small business close, especially one that offered a high quality product. I will miss those cupcakes and I will certainly be looking forward to a more successful run at Phoebe’s! Because the owner at Cupcakes had an unusual way of interacting for someone who deals with the public and sells a pleasure food, the name Cranky Cupcakes came to mind. Perhaps that would have been a better name — there would have been less expectation in the consumer interaction aspect. No matter what, I will miss the high quality product that his bakery provided.
_
For those of you who might have wondered, “What does Rosa Anna’s car trunk look like when the Run of the Chicas occurs?” Here’s a little hint:
Okay, to be fair, the cat litter and item in the back right part of the trunk was not mine, however, I did pick up some roasts which we already dropped off at my place so we wouldn’t have perishables while we were “on the run.” Aren’t roomy trunks the best??

_
Taqueria La Oaxaquena
3382 N. Milwaukee Ave
773 545-8585
http://feeds.feedburner.com/TamaleChicaChronicles
Share
Avondale, Crabby Cupcakes, Cupcakes on Briar, julius meinl, La Oaxaquena, Phoebe's Cupcakes, Taqueria
April 20th, 2009
post by tamalechica | | Closed

Real Azteca Restaurant in Andersonville

One of the great things about living in Chicago is that we not only have an incredible diversity of types of food, but there’s also almost always something for everyone in almost any price range. While I love Mixteco, and look forward to the yumilicous dining experience the next time I go to La Encantada, I also enjoy the “dive” and “diner” eats as well. Enter Real Azteca in the Edgewater/Andersonville neighborhood in Chicago.

Real Azteca is a small mom and pop operation near Bryn Mawr on Clark street. Their menu consists of American breakfast specialities like pancakes, cinnamon french toast (with pure maple syrup), and even Eggs Benedict. They also have BBQ chicken salad, hamburgers, pizza puffs and chicken Caesar salad, if this is what you have a hankering for.

When we first sat down, we were given a bowl of chips and instead of the open bowl of salsa, we received three cold squirt bottles of salsa. I liked the idea that the salsa wasn’t uncovered and that it was obviously well chilled, and it was a novel, economical way to prevent food waste. We received a smaller glass bowl so we could put whatever salsa we wanted in it. I was partial to the red smokey one.

Rosa Anna ordered the enchiladas, which she said were good.

I ordered the chilaquiles. Okay, so I’m in a bit of a rut, but I’m so used to getting them in Pilsen that I thought it was time to branch out and try them in El Norte side of Chicago. Because the food here was home style, and almost like eating in someone’s kitchen, the chilaquiles were also reflective of this. They were not as soaked in salsa as I am used to, but wet enough to break down the tortilla chips.

Usually in Pilsen or Little Village, one doesn’t need to ask for extra lime, but on the north side I generally do. The owner obliged with not only limes but extra cilantro and onions. Squeezing fresh lime juice on beef helps break down that “I’ll be sitting in your digestive system for the next 3 days” feeling, and seems to break down any residue of fat that one might ingest as well.

I also ate the raw onions. I love the taste of raw onions, which unfortunately don’t love me back and they continued to say “hi there, remember me?” for the rest of the day and through the evening.

Here’s what was left of the bowl of limes and other condiments the owner brought me.

There were also a few items of art to brighten up the place, including the next two prints:



They also serve tacos (including lomo and pastor), chile relleno, vegetariano, lengua, tortas, burritos, and tostados as well as dinner plates. Somehow I missed that they also have sorbets and flan, no doubt a function of having been so full from lunch.
_

Real Azteca
5661 N. Clark Street
773 / 516-4913

http://feeds.feedburner.com/TamaleChicaChronicles
Share
Andersonville, Edgewater, Mexican Food, Real Azteca Restaurant
April 16th, 2009
post by tamalechica | | 2

Mixteco Grill Revisited

A little while ago (or more) Miss Cindy T and I went to Mixteco. It was her first time, my second, and the food is still marvelous and does not disappoint. As much as I love Frontera, Topolobambo and Mixteco (from my first visit), frequent trips and my food budget have not seemed to be moving in the same direction. I wanted to go back to Mixteco because I found the food to be excellent, and I had hoped that by changing my ordering choices, the bill wouldn’t be as painful, and this turned out to indeed be a success.

The first time I ate at Mixteco I was in the front room; on this occasion we ended up in the back room, so of course I have different photos. This was my favorite — how can one not like a giraffe?



We were both very hungry and when often when I feel ravenous, I take my camera out and forget to take a photo. Here’s a slow recovery with half of the salsa already consumed.


Last time I was here, Sean and I ordered their Queso Fundido, and it was as consistently delicious as it was before. They add just the right amount of chorizo and problano, and it is served with their home made tortillas.


This was my choice for the evening, which was the Chuleta en Manchamanteles, a wood grilled pork chop with Oaxacan sweet mole, sweet mashed potatoes, fried plantains, grilled pineapple and chorizo. It was incredible, and I normally do not enjoy pork. The mole was heavenly.


Cindy ordered the Tortitas de Lentejas, which were two huge lentil cakes with cheese, roasted onions and peppers, and served with a tomatillo-cascabel sauce, sauteed spinach and potatoes. The lentils were incredible, and if this is on the menu the next time I go there, I will be sure to order this.


For desert we split dessert, which was dark chocolate cake and home made ice cream. Everything was incredibly delicious and fresh, and consistent with my first visit there. Amazingly, we both felt like beached whales as we left, or in my case, waddled out the door. Our bill, with tip, was $30 each, down from the $50 per person from my earlier trip to Mexteco with Sean.

Mixteco Grill
1601 W. Montrose Avenue
773/ 868-1601
http://feeds.feedburner.com/TamaleChicaChronicles
Share
Mexican Restaurant, Mixteco Grill, ravenswood
April 15th, 2009
post by tamalechica | | Closed

Spanish Language Books in Chicago

I finally visited Libreria Giron, a bookstore on 18th Street in Pilsen. Because I must take public transportation unless someone drives me down there and back home, I am limited to what I can carry home. As always, a few weeks ago I was going to look at their books but I just had too many heavy items already, including six dozen tamales. If I bought a book there, it would have been necessary for me to leave my tamales with the store!


Last Wednesday Jane drove me down to Pilsen for lunch and walking around. Because of the Easter holiday, I could not buy too many tamales this time, since a roast is sitting currently occupying valuable real estate in my refrigerator. This was fortuitous, as was having access to wheels.
I was hardly even in the store when I saw the magazine section. There were so many to choose from, but I stayed focused and purchased three cooking magazines, which I like to read for the recipes and to expand my functional vocabulary.
I found a cute little book called, “El estupido principe azul y otros mitos sobre el amor,” (Stupid Price Charming and other myths about love) which looked like it would be very humorous. The lady who rang up my items giggled a little when she saw the book description, too.


My happiest purchase was also my most expensive, “Diccionario de la lengua Espanola” published by trillas.com.mx. With over 34,000 entries and photos, this is a vast improvement over my smaller Spanish only dictionary which only had 18,000 entries. It is a paperback, which I prefer, and it has pictures!


Libreria Giron has four locations, including this one on 18th Street.

Libreria Giron
1443 W. 18th Street
312 / 226-2086

Leer en Espanol:

http://feeds.feedburner.com/TamaleChicaChronicles
Share
books in spanish, bookstores, libreria giron, pilsen
April 14th, 2009
post by tamalechica | | 4

The CTA Lost and Found Can Work

Lost Pictures, Images and Photos

This afternoon I returned from class. Just as I walked in the door I realized that the bag I normally take off my shoulder wasn’t there. Where was it? The bag was riding northbound on the Brown Line.

I immediately called the CTA Lost and Found number, only to be disconnected twice. On the third attempt, I held the numeric option button on my phone keypad down much longer. Who knew why, but that seemed to do the trick.

The person I spoke to said nothing yet had been turned in. He told me to call in an hour to check back, and he also took my name and number. In the meanwhile, I texted a buddy of mine who works for the CTA in the operations area, and he told me to call the Kimball Station, which turns out to be the number that the CTA connected me to via their auto prompter.

About 45″ after my initial call, I received a phone call from the Kimball Brown Line clerk with whom I spoken to earlier. He said a bag was turned in, would I describe it more. I told him what was in it, and fortunately a lot of verb conjugations were easily viewable when the bag is opened, plus a knife (which I was bringing home after a birthday cake cutting), and workbook.

By 4:30 I was already home with my bag and all the items intact, including my Yerba Mate tea bags and my fun, funky little pencil case! I thank the anonymous person who turned in my bag to the CTA and the fast turnaround time I received from the Kimball Station. So many of us figure that if we leave something on a CTA bus or train, it is forever lost. It is great to know that lost items on the CTA can be recovered.

http://feeds.feedburner.com/TamaleChicaChronicles
Share
cta, Kimball Station, Lost and Found
April 10th, 2009
post by tamalechica | | Closed

OMD Clothing Boutique in Pilsen

OMD is not your typical Yupinista clothing boutique; it is an interesting shop that I’ve been trying to get to for over a year. Last year I was often in Pilsen early, and by 11:00 AM I was already on my way back north, and the days I was in the area until mid afternoon were usually the days the store was closed. Wednesday I was in the vicinity AND they were open!
_
Being a bag aficionado, I controlled my impulse to liberate Frida and bring her to el norte.

There were also some cute dresses but I wasn’t in the dress buying mood so I didn’t even look.

If you have musician and jazz friends, these are fun:


The real reason I’ve been wanting to go into this store is for their Tee shirts. The one on the left is an elemental, with F representing Frijoles. The green one on the right says, “Mow Your Own Lawn.”

I liked the Pilsen 18th Street Tee…


… but the tee shirt that turned this into a destination for me is this one (Kiss Me, I’m Mexican), with the cactus on it:
I have plans for that tee shirt, big plans! I also bought one for Mr. Novio. I expect there to be a lot of kissing, or a lot of cactus exchange.
_
You can find OMD either on the street or online:
_
1419 W. 18th Street
312 / 563-9663
http://feeds.feedburner.com/TamaleChicaChronicles
Share
18th street, boutique, manche tee shirts, omd, pilsen
April 9th, 2009
post by tamalechica | | 2

Pilsen Walk 2009 – murals and the street

Wednesday Jane and I got together for lunch in Pilsen. She had wanted to go to Azteca Tacos, on Blue Island, where she loves the tacos. Because my errands involved going east as well as west of Ashland, we parked east of Blue Island on Cullerton. This was the first mural that we saw. Check out our earlier post to see a photo of this Pilsen Mural when it was just beginning to be painted.

Here are some close ups:

We arrived at the restaurant based on geography more than anything else. We walked in, sat down, and got confused. It looked similar but not quite the same, yet the front grill area still existed as did the kitchen in the back. The restaurant is now El Aconaz. There is an El Aconaz on south Kedzie which and they both use the same logo, so one may infer that they are owned by the same people.
The waitress brought chips and many salsas. For some reason or other I didn’t get much of a chance to partake in the salsas but they were all good, and we especially liked the bright green one on the far right, which had avocado in it.

I ordered chilaquiles, but after taking a picture of Jane’s tacos, I completely forgot about photographing my food and just delved in.

I always appreciate it when my food automatically comes with many lime wedges, as my chilaquiles had two small pieces of carne asada and without the lime juice, the meat tends to sit on one’s stomach for much longer than it should. I really enjoyed my meal there, and that’s all I can share about it.
_
The restaurant also had some interesting art. The first two are prints.

And for any other Jesus Helguerra aficionados there is this piece (below), of which we had some discussion. I asked the waitress if it was an original because it looked like it (on canvas), but Jane thought it was a print. Because of his appeal, it would never surprise me that a restaurant and taqueria in Pilsen could also have an original who’s most famous piece is also in the Mexican Museum of Fine Arts on 19th Street. (Now called the National Museum of Mexican Art).
After lunch we walked east to Del Rey Tortilleria, where I picked up a package of tortillas and two packages of Bunuelitos, which are fried tortilla chips dipped in cinnamon and sugar. Total cost: $2
We saw this beauty shop on Throop, and the artwork on top is what made us stop to take photos:

This old building had an interesting detail:
I loved this bright blue porch!
And another mural
On top of a church building on 18th going towards Allport, which made me wish I brought my other camera with a better zoom:

I’ve taken photos of this before, but there’s something so fun about Betty Boop and Mickey, so here they are again…


From a window of curios…

Detail of a building adornment:

As we were walking back to Jane’s car, we came upon this very happily painted tin siding. Without the paint, it would have just been this drab thing, but the colors and details just made us feel “up” and cheery.

Back at home, I unpacked some of my goodies. We also made a trip to a clothing shop and a bookstore, which I will post blogs about later within the next 7 days or so.
No trip to Pilsen is complete without going to Casa Del Pueblo, both the grocery store and the restaurant. I picked up this mix at the store, which isn’t exactly home made champurrado but it’s also a lot faster.
And some spices! Mexican Cinnamon and some epazote.


And yes, tamales. I particularly like the chicken tamales and the cheese and problano tamales. Yum! These aren’t in the grocery store, but you can purchase them at the restaurant on the south side of the parking lot. You can also get sopes, tosadas, asado de puerco and other dishes there. If you’re going for the tamales, make sure to get a ticket if it is busy, or you’ll end up just standing there while they call numbers out for people to be waited on.
_
Del Rey Tortilleria
1023 W 18th St (between Carpenter St & Miller St)
312 / 829-3725
_
El Arconaz Restaurant and Taqueria
1518 W. 18th Street
312 / 733-0219
_
Casa Del Pueblo
1810 S. Blue Island
312 / 421-4640
_
La Casa del Pueblo Restaurant
1834 S. Blue Island
312 / 421-4664
http://feeds.feedburner.com/TamaleChicaChronicles
Share
murals, omd, pilsen, tamales
Older Entries

© 2009-2013 Tamale Chica Chronicles All Rights Reserved -- Copyright notice by Blog Copyright

Switch to our mobile site