Taco Pockets: 106th Street

-Eating like a Mayan King in the Windy City

106th Street Taco Trail

In case you didn't know, I've been eating lots of tacos lately. With it I want to present yet another new series of posts coming to S'C'&C. Introducing 'Taco Pockets' - stretches of a block or two in the cityscape with more than a few good taco options. Today we head to a part of Chicago rarely seen by those not from here. Actually the same goes for many who do reside in the city. The East Side of Chicago sits in it's own little part of the cities landscape. Most people see it driving over 106th street while taking the Chicago Skyway in or out of the city. What you also see when taking that route is the last of the industrial areas which goes by "Da Region" amongst locals. You can check out a taco report I did on the old school Mexican-American restaurants of Northwest Indiana HERE. But today we're going to stay on the Chicago side of the border and check out the taco trail along 106th street which is basically the last line between the city and the state of Indiana.

East Side Chicago 

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Birrieria Ocotlan

One of a couple locations

We'll start off by going West down 106th. The first stop is Birrieria Ocotlan on the 4000 block. This place specializes in you guessed it...goat. We're lucky to have as many places in the city serving birrieria as it makes for a really nice snack on a cold winter day. The menu here here is pretty damn simple - tacos and soup. Unfortunately they don't make their own tortillas, which can result in the tacos falling apart as you near finish. But they make up for that with properly spiced shredded goat topped with an excellent homemade hot green salsa. A couple of these after a day of working outside at the refinery factories is a good way to get warm again.

Birrieria Taco with the Houses' Warm Green Salsa

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Taqueria Don Robe

Opened within the last year or so

Continuing West on our stroll we'll pass Taqueria Don Robe on the Northside of the street a few blocks down. This place opened within the last year and caught my eye with their handwritten signs advertising "Tacos Don Robe" for $1. So I stopped in one day and decided to try a couple of those as well as a fish taco. The friendly folks got to work on them and I was good to go. The fish taco was pretty good, nothing special but something I'd eat if it we're my neighborhood taqueria. The 'tacos don robe' we're pretty damn tasty. Chunks of adobado are sauteed with grilled onions and topped with cabbage slaw and cilantro. The spicy pork was cooled down with the fresh topping options. I'd eat them often if were closer to me. No need for a McDouble and fries when you got these little guys.

Taco Don Robe

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Chapala Restaurant

Family Sitdown Spot

Next up is a place that caught my eye with the hand written advertisement of regular or crispy tacos for $1.25 each. As mentioned we're not far from NW Indiana here which is where the deep fried taco continues to live on. Research and stories told tell me crispy fried tacos have been big around the Region for a while now, at least back to the early 60's. It makes sense because what was said to be Chicago's oldest Mexican restaurant (RIP) featured this style of taco and was located around this way. The meat goes into the tortilla which is held together with toothpicks while they take a trip to the deep fryer. Toppings go on after. Usually you'll see ground beef and maybe chicken on offer for this style  but they'll do whatever taco fillings they offer here. That said, steak gets too tough when fried so ground beef will always be the best way to go when it comes to making them this way. These pretty ladies were as good as they look, even with the bottled red cholula sauce on top.

Crispy Tacos

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Tacos Nietos

2nd location of a popular stop

Walking further west we'll come across a newer spot housed in an old fast food joint. However the name is not new. Tacos Nietos has an original location attached to a gas station on 95th street. Al Pastor spit was in motion at this ocation upon entry and we were greeted with freshly fried chips and a few salsa options with it. I decided to try an al pastor as well as a lomo (ribeye). There's certain little things done by taqueria that can take their tacos from the middle of the pack to front runners and they like to do those things here. Tortillas were properly warmed and plates came with grilled onions and jalapenos too. The al pastor was tasty and above average on this visit but my go to taco from here from now on will be the lomo. The thinly pounded ribeye steak was as tender of a piece as I've had from a taco shop, no resistance whatsoever. Topped with chopped potent cilantro as well as freshly diced onions this was a very satisfying lunch plate. In a city with as many taco options as Chicago it says alot when you stop back at a place that has nothing to do with convenience and that's what I plan to do.

Taco Al Pastor (L) Lomo (R)

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El Taconcito Taqueria

Popular Locals Stop

Once you hit the end of 106th street, if you take a right on Torrence, El Taconcito will shortly appear. I've passed it by many times and decided to stop in and make it the final stop on this tour after being turned off by another spot I was planning on featuring. I went in not expecting to find a trompo in motion but there it was so I had no choice but to try one. In Chicago many spots cut the cooked meat off the spit and finish crisping it on a flattop. Not something I'm a fan of but I don't think doing so guarantees a bad taco. I'd use these here as an example of why. If you're going to finish the meat this way you might as well throw some sliced onion on there with it which is what they do here. The cone is heavily spiced and the meat used definitely isn't lean so eat these carefully. As long as you don't ruin a newly bought shirt with red drippings you should enjoy them as much I did.

Taco Al Pastor

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See ya next time on the Chicago Taco Tour.
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Birrieria Ocotlan
4001 106th St
Chicago, IL 60617
(773) 374-0384

Taqueria Don Robe
3614 E 106th St
Chicago, IL 60617
(773) 731-8131

Chapala Restaurant
3537 E 106th St
Chicago, IL 60617
(773) 978-3821

Tacos Nietos
3335 E 106th St
Chicago, IL 60617
(773) 221-5000

Taqueria El Taconcito
10536 S Torrence Ave
Chicago, IL 60617
(773) 734-2901

Joseph's Finest Meats

- The Midwest: Butchers + Bakers + Sausage and Cheese Makers

I'd like to take today's post to lead you to one of my favorite write-up's after all these years talking food and also introduce the newest series of posts at S'C'&C. As Spring and Summer approach we will be exploring some of the old school butchers and bakeries throughout the Midwest region. We have tons of spots ready to go so be on the look out for those as well as all the other classic series we've been putting out over here. In the meantime lets start this off with my go-to butcher shop in Chicago. Joseph's Finest Meats has been around since 1977 and they have the best steak in the city. I did an entire piece about them over at Serious Eats that you can read HERE.

A neighborhood treasure in the Dunning area

Joseph's Finest Meats

7101 W Addison St
Chicago, IL 60634
(773) 736-3766

Barn and Company

-KingT's Wing Fling

It had been a little too long since I stopped into Barn and Company in Lincoln Park to say hello to pitmaster Gary Wiviott while enjoying a drink with some nice ladies in sight. Gary wrote the book Low & Slow which to this day is still one of the main resources I use for smoking meat in my yard. But as even he will tell you practice makes perfect. I've always found the food here to be good but they're really hitting their stride. This is fully evident in their now perfected wing recipe.

A new LP favorite with both college kids and neighbors

I stopped in recently while making the rounds the morning and afternoon of Super Bowl Sunday and met up with Gary who had to send out some food. The wings are as good as ever. They're taking them to another level by making a deep green brine with sage, thyme, coriander, pepper seed and a another ingredient or two I'm probably forgetting. They then take the wings and soak them for 24 hours in a even mixture of the brine and buttermilk. The next morning they're wiped off and dry rubbed before a trip to the smoker. Then just before serving they'll flash fry the wings to retain the crispness in the skin. The final result is a wonderful blend of both smoked and fried chicken which comes in wet and dry flavors. I recommend the Buffalo (made with real butter) and the BBQ which are served dry tossed in house rub. Easily some of the best in the city.

 Wing Plate at Barn and Company 

Barn and Company
950 W Wrightwood Ave
Chicago, IL 60614
(773) 832-4000

Dudley's Dog House

-In Chicago: Every Dog Has it's Day

I've noticed quite a few newly opened hot dog shops across town. Dudley's Dog House is on Montrose and it caught my eye with it's perfect looks. I cant say 100% for sure but I'm almost positive this small little standalone building at the corner of Harding street just east of Pulaski was also hot dog place in it's previous incarnation. Dudley's has been around for about a year now and there's not much on them out there so I just went on in and gave the menu a look.

New locals type spot in the Irving Park Neighborhood

Your options are pretty typical hot dog stand fare. On top of the wieners they have Char-Burgers, Sausage (Italian and Polish), Italian Beef and Tamales. The latter of which are not the traditional Chicago fast food stand style ala Tom Tom. They serve homemade Mexican tamales and I must say I was pretty impressed with them my first go around. The masa was steamed perfectly and inside was hunks of well seasoned pork. These reminded me of the ones that made tamales one of my favorite things to eat growing up. Though I have to point out I stopped in for two to go last week and they only had one left. It was hard on the edges and not nearly as appealing texturally as the first one I tried, it was obviously the last one of the batch.

Pork Tamale 

On my 2nd trip in I decided to try the char burger. I opted for a single instead of a double and got an order of fries to go with them. To me its an unwritten rule that all burgers and hot dogs should come with fries at any fast food style shack. I hate having to order them on top of the entree. Just include them in it and raise the price a little bit. Rant over. We'll start with the fries, they were very good, freshly cut and made to order my only qualm was they were a little too over salted for my liking. The actual burger was good, fresh pre-formed patty served with typical toppings. The bun however was bad. It was just about to bite the dust and never should of been served with the thing. It kind of ruined the overall taste of it.

Char-Cheeseburger

Specialty of the house is the Dudley Dog. It's worthy of consideration amongst the best Chili Cheese Dogs in town. A nicely spiced (though not spicy) beanless chili with a dryer consistency than most others is joined by shredded cheddar and chopped onions. I really liked this blend. The only thing holding the entire thing back was the skinless Eisenberg wiener. Another unwritten rule for me is natural casing hot dogs, unless you cater pre-teen parties why aren't you serving them? Oh well I guess not everything can be perfect. See ya next time on S'C'&C.

Dudley Dog

Dudley's Dog House
3930 W Montrose Ave
Chicago, IL 60193
(847) 651-8557

5 More Super Sunday Recipes

--Tailgatin' and how to make mofos start playa hatin' (Recipes)

We cant let Super Sunday pass without another one of our classic recipe posts. I didn't get to cook as much during the season this past year as I had others but I still have five worthy recipes for your party. A couple are original and the others are tried and tested. As far as the game goes, I said Broncos would win it all before the season started and I'm sticking with that. Should they take the confetti shower on Sunday I will have gone 2-2 in predicting football champions this year as I had Florida State winning the BCS. I just hope it's a game for the ages because that's what it looks like it's going to be, on paper anyway. Lets hope the weather holds up and both teams are able to play at their top level. Should be a dandy.
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Chicago Style Deviled Eggs

I came up with these one day out of the blue and they turned out alot better than I expected. If you like Deviled Eggs and Chicago style hot dogs, no chance you dislike these. I just mixed mustard into the yolk and sprinkled celery salt into that. The weiners were diced then sauteed and every other standard Chicago stye hot dog topping is in there as you can see from the picture.

a chibbqking original recipe

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Sausage Stuffed Peppadew Peppers

These always go quick at any party they're served at. You can get everything you need to make them at most any Mariano's location. Loose Italian Sausage, chopped garlic and shredded Parmesan joins chopped cremini mushrooms in the skillet. That mixture is stuffed into a peppadew pepper (available at the deli counter) and they bake for 20 minutes. I loosely follow this recipe HERE.  

Note: Loose sausage doesn't get that fine so you may need to whip out the kitchen scissors and throw your cooked crumbled sausage in a cup to break it down even further.

Always a hit

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Fried Giardineria and Banana Peppers

Why don't we see either of these on more bars and restaurant menus? It's such an easy and cheap finger food to make that places could make a killing selling snack plates of it for $4/$5 an order. I love them both but actually prefer the fried banana pepper rings (the bottled variety). Someone needs to add those to a burger. The fried Giardiniera I've been making this season is always a welcome addition to the days platter. Every neighborhood bar with a deep fryer in back should offer this on the house opposed to popcorn.

Deep Fried Bottled Delights...2014's next food trend?

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Mussels with Pancetta

Nothing gets the house smelling quite as fragrant as steamed mussels in white wine. One of the simple joys of the kitchen that many might find intimidating at first but once you make your own batch it's hard to pay $15 for 1/4 the amount at some trendy restaurant. I've found adding a cup of shrimp stock (I keep some frozen ones in the fridge) just boosts the broth to another level. Stuff like diced pancetta, leeks and garlic go great with the white wine shower.

Sweet Smells in the Air

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Toasted Garlic Beef Sandwich at Home

Here's a step by step guide to making a toasted beef sandwich, an idea I got from someone who was explaining a sandwich they loved at a place now gone. Here's how I remade his description of it. First up you have to head over to Pop's Italian Beef and buy an order of their catered beef (minimum two pounds). You can use some random brand from the grocery store but Pop's is one the cities best Italian beef slangers so I'm willing to take the ride. It's nice to make these one night and a beef with hot the next. They give you everything you need. I turned the French rolls supplied into garlic bread. After that I layered the beef from the bag onto the bread. I then and added a row of sport peppers and topped that with cheese. Put it in the oven and bake until the cheese melts. Serve with a cup of the gravy (au jus) on the side.

Damn...I'll take another one of them

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Chicken Gyros

Last but not least is a pretty good chicken gyro, or shawarma if you want to call these that. Either way, they're an easy to make eat for a large party, and they taste great.

Ingredients (Double, Triple Etc for larger groups)

1 lb Chicken (Thighs or a mixture of them and breasts)
4 Cloves of Garlic, chopped
3 TBSP Lemon Juice
2 TBSP Olive Oil
2 TBSP Red Vinegar
2 TBSP Dried Oregano (Greek Preferred)
1 TBSP Salt

Directions: Combine everything but the chicken into a bowl and stir together. Add chicken into a ziplock bag and pour the marinade into it. Let sit in fridge for as long as you can (up to 12 hours). When ready, grill the chicken meat and simply cut each piece as if you were slicing it off of a spit. Serve with warm pita bread, sliced red onion, tomatoes and a tzatziki sauce of your choice, I like one made with dill.

 Party Platter (Grilled Pork Kebabs to the right of the chicken meat)

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Check out our previous Super Bowl Recipe Posts

Super Recipes for Super Bowl XLIV 
Super Recipes for Super Bowl XLV

Also see all tags with 'super bowl recipes'

La Bomba

-The Sammy's of Chi

For whatever reason it had been at least 2-3 years since I had eaten a jibarito. There was a time in my early 20's when I was eating them at least twice a month, but I just stopped having them one day. I'm not really sure why but most likely because as much as I enjoy them when indulging in one, they always get me after. Whether it's with heartburn or sleep needed I cant seem to function well after eating one. Well anyway I had read a thing on La Bomba from my boss at Serious Eats which came with high praise for their jibarito as well as other goods. Located on Armitage in the Logan Square meets Humboldt Park area, I had passed by this place countless times and was always intrigued. So all I needed to hear was something good from a trusted source and I was there.

Mom and Pop Puerto Rican Shop

La Bomba started off as a food cart in the actual Humboldt Park, they still have one when it's warmer out. Situated amongst other vendors, mostly Puerto Rican, you wouldn't notice anything that stands out about it compared to the other spots but I was always intrigued by their storefronts awning. Probably due to the pictures of the food on the window. I rode over one day a couple months ago to try the jibarito Nick mentions and I also picked up a roasted pork sandwich for her. The lechon sandwich was very satisfying. I cant remember the exact prices but both sandwiches with an order of rice and peas were less than $7 apiece. The pork was pulled fresh from a nice sized hunk that was sitting in the display case for people to order from. This resulted in a juicy sandwich with nice kicks of garlic in every bite.

Roasted Pork Sandwich

I was there for the Jibarito. For those unfamiliar this is a Puerto Rican sandwich that most people say traces back to Chicago though some say they were eating them on the island at the same time they started appearing around restaurants in Humboldt Park. Smashed plantains replace the bread and the meat of choice is usually steak though chicken, pork and other options are usually offered. Toppings are lettuce, tomato, onions, mayo and cheese. As Nick pointed out in his "10 Best Jibaritos in Chicago" list, this is a textbook example of one. The plantains were smashed thin and cooked properly, same goes for the steak which had actual char after being cooked to order. It didn't look like it was half steamed like many other spots. Then last but not least, it all stayed together while eating. There was no sliding of the steak and because there was very little resistance it was actually a very easy eat. Their rice and peas are as good as anyone else in town and everything they had in the grab and go case looked tempting. It wont be 2-3 years between my next one because I'll be back to La Bomba sooner than later.

Jibarito Sandwich

La Bomba
3221 W Armitage Ave
Chicago, IL 60647
(773) 394-0106

Azzurra EnoTavola

-Grubbing in Chicago  
New to the 'Scene'

One of my favorite recent restaurant openings has flown under the radar since they touched down. Azzurra opened up on Milwaukee Avenue in Wicker Park late last year and quickly shot onto my radar with this review by Mike Sula from the Reader HERE. It's closeness in proximity to my GF's place was enough to make me stop in some day soon but his review got me in quickly. Azzurra comes to us from the same guy behind Anteprima in Andersonville. As Mike points out, Azzurra has alot of the looks and feel of Anteprima.

A Peek Inside

Its a pretty small space inside but that hasn't resulted in any waits on either of my three visits. Service is laid back, they give enough attention to make sure you don't feel you're being overlooked while at the same time you don't feel like someone is bothering you every five minutes with check ups. I don't need to be checked on like a kid below the age 16 flying alone. If you choose to sit at the bar, they got some good cocktails, that's also where the days cicchetti sits. A good way to start your meal here is with a few selections from it. Just make sure to save an early bite or two for my favorite amuse bouche in the city. The cheese straws they give you once you sit down at the table are as addictive as a sunset in Puglia.

Cicchetti Bar and Complimentary Cheese Straws

The assaggi e più part of the menu features the aforementioned cicchetti options as well as some hot ones. On one visit we decided to go with a sampler platter and were rewarded with a wonderful plate of fresh options. Whatever the caponata special is, that's a good way to start. Simple and fresh are the keys here. The cannellini beans with pickled vegetables, soppressata and red onion were also worthy of being ordered again. From the hot section I recommend the crispy polenta sticks served over a pepper puree, we ordered more as soon as they were gone.

Excellent Starters

Azzurra makes their pastas in house so of course an offering or two from that part of the menu would have to be tried. The orecchiette with Italian sausage, garlic, rapini and pecorino was very satisfying. The texture was perfect and the sausage had a nice taste to it, something the stuff I ate at Eataly did not. The star of the show though on my first visit was the Whitefish Picata off the specials menu. For whats it's worth I've found every offering I've tried off this part of the menu to be exceptional. That's where I would look first if dining here. The whitefish tasted like it had just been fished out of Lake Superior. The way they cooked it to get the skin crisp was exceptional, especially paired with the little fingerling potatoes underneath it. As I tweeted out after eating, it was the best piece of fish I had ate of late.

Orecchiette with Italian Sausage, Garlic, Rapini and Pecorino

Whitefish Picata

It's not just the simple rustic cuisine of Azzurra that I enjoy. I also sincerely appreciate the fact they're trying to get their neighbors inside. They want people from around the way to try their stuff and one way of doing so has been by handing out $15 brunch gift certificates with every $75 spent. No doubt I was going to be back for dinner after my first visit but who knows if I ever would of stopped in for brunch had I not been gifted the certificate. I'm not big on brunch but was intrigued by what type of dishes they'd have on their menu. The fact I had $15 to sample with got me in. Good thing because the eggs amatriciana just might become my go to eat on early Sunday afternoons from here on in. Eggs poached in a tomato sauce with loads of guanciale, diced red onion, and those same crispy polenta fries make for a great way to start  a weekend day. I inhaled this dish and had to talk myself out of ordering another plate.

Eggs Amatriciana

Another nod to the service here as we had a huge misunderstanding over a New Years Eve dinner reservation. A place that will go unnamed decided to call us the afternoon of NYE and make sure we knew that the menu that night was a special set menu. Really? Because their website made no mention of it and they realized we weren't the only ones expecting to be able to order what we wanted that night. No apologies, no nothing, just a "well you shouldn't come tonight" from them had me steaming. Luckily a walk over to Azzurra was within reach. Double lucky that they had a spot for us. I don't know why this place isn't packed every night, it's so much better then some of the other spots frequented by the neighborhood yuppies disguised as hipsters. Well maybe it's not a bad thing that they weren't flooding the place on NYE because we ended up having a wonderful meal.

Cannellini Beans and a Tuna Tartar to start

The only real miss I've had of everything I've ate at here is the Italian Wedding Soup. It was just too damn salty. There was a little too much salt in the taste of the tartare as well but it wasn't enough to make it inedible like the soup. It was a nice rendition of one of my favorite dishes, just not one of my favorite examples.  Two of my favorite plates so far were had on this trip so it all evened itself out. The grilled octopus with potatoes, red onion, chili, lemon and olive oil was fantastic. I imagine this to be my meal of choice when I'm off on the Amalfi Coast or somewhere not worrying about anything except when my next drink will be brought to the table. So simple, so good. Same goes for the tagliatelle topped with a prosciutto ragù and parmigiano cheese. Look I understand if you work near Eataly and go there for lunch due to its proximity to your office, but if you're leaving the northside to go there while driving by here, you're just a product of the machine. I've been to the fresh pasta bar there and there's nothing like Azzurra's prosciutto ragù on Eataly's menu.

Excellent Menu Mainstays

Another aspect I love about this place is the pricing. I've been pleasantly surprised with the bill total each time we've been in. It's as reasonably priced as any worthwhile sit-down place around town. Just take a look at this plate of porchetta below and know we paid something like $15 for it. One of the best dishes made with pig I can remember. I'd like to take this last sentence to welcome Azzurra to my regular dining rotation.

Porchetta

Azzurra EnoTavola
1467 N Milwaukee Ave
Chicago, IL 60622
(773) 278-5959
Website