Best Mexican Restaurant in Chicago

I tried to search first, but maybe I missed it. While I don't like the service, I still think Frontera Grill is the best Mexican food in town. But I don't want to go early and stand in line anymore, so where can I go in Chicago and get Mexican food (not Tex-Mex) that is as good or better than Frontera? I like Topolo and go there, but too high end for everyday. We like Adobo Grill but I don't think it equals Frontera. Had a very bad experience at Salpicon, not going back. I have tried several of the Bahena restaurants and liked them, but again none quite equal to Frontera IMHO. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance...

Have you been to Sol de Mexico?

http://lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=15102

Restaurant Sol de Mexico
3018 N Cicero Ave
Chicago, IL 60641
(773) 282-4119

Note: closed on Tuesdays

Midpack wrote:I tried to search first, but maybe I missed it. While I don't like the service, I still think Frontera Grill is the best Mexican food in town. But I don't want to go early and stand in line anymore, so where can I go in Chicago and get Mexican food (not Tex-Mex) that is as good or better than Frontera? I like Topolo and go there, but too high end for everyday. We like Adobo Grill but I don't think it equals Frontera. Had a very bad experience at Salpicon, not going back. I have tried several of the Bahena restaurants and liked them, but again none quite equal to Frontera IMHO. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance...

When's the last time you went to Frontera? I've been there 4 times in the last 6 weeks, and not once have I had to wait for seating in the bar area. Each occasion was a weekday at about 6PM.

Admittedly, I have not checked out the more gussied up spots like Sol De Mexico nor Fonda del Mar. Also, Frontera nor any of the Bahena ventures have done much for me either- no mashed potatoes with my mole please. I also don't like to pay for salsa. I am a fan of sometimes overlooked Mundial Cocina Mestiza in Pilsen, but I don't approach a meal there as a purely Mexican experience. They do, however, make fantastic hand made tortillas and some of the more Mexican leaning menu items can really hit home, like the wonderfully complex Tamales Judios, the authentically Oaxacan, Quesadilla Campestre, and the Camarones Diabla augmented with wine, bacon, and butter, while retaining a blazing chile de arbol- fortified bite. But to answer the question of "best Mexican restaurant" I would proudly answer- there isn't one! We are so blessed in Chicago to have such a span of regional Mexican cuisine that this inquiry can be indexed into "best Michoacan food" or "best Yucatecan food". So my regional favorites, which are also board staples would be: Cemitas de Puebla for Pueblan cuisine (cemita de milanesa por favor!), Xni-pec for Yucatecan (which has introduced Chicagoans to many surprising delicacies such as rellano negra and papadzules), and La Oaxaquena (which doesn't offer certain Oaxacan staples, like tlayudas or tasajo, but makes up for this with fantastic moles and conejo adobado- and they do have chapulines, fried grasshoppers for request from time to time!) Furthermore, Mexican dining in Mexico can have an informal approach with street vendors or taquerias specializing in specific dishes, which offer refined renditions of each particular speciality. In Chicago, we are also presented with such precise preparation, probably best represented on 18th street in Pilsen with carnitas spots- Carnitas Don Pedro and Carnitas Uruapan and birria spots like Birrieria Reyes de Ocotlán. Also, a number of taquerias on "carne asada row"- on Ashland between North and Chicago offers up the best in charred steak tacos and my favorite spot that offers both my favorite tacos asadas and tacos al pastor is the taqueria formerly known as Carniceria Leon. The best way to graze through all of these regional specialties and the most authentically Mexican eating experience to be found in the city is a day trip to Maxwell Street Market, where you can eat tamales Oaxaquenas, tacos de cabeza, and quesadillas de huitlacoche all in one outing. So maybe our best Mexican restaurant isn't a restaurant at all!

Agreed, especially on Xni-Pec for a Slow Food meal in a convivial atmosphere, and Cemitas Puebla for quick eat-in or takeout. For tejano, my favorite place is Las Pinatas on North and Wells (but do yourselves a favor and go early on a weeknight so you're not up against the loud five-margarita minimum crowd).

Casa de Samuel is worth a visit for in-house tortillas and regional specialties (some of the best deer and goat in the city).

The aforementioned Fonda del Mar and Sol de Mexico probably have the most modern and pleasant interior design and atmospheres if you need tablecloths and crystal-clean stemware.

Amata wrote:Have you been to Sol de Mexico?

Yes, and I found the food to be rather bland, fairly good but hardly great. As a fan of mole sauces, I was quite disappointed.

The best Mexican restaurant I've been to in the Chicago area is Flamingo's Seafood in Mount Prospect.

Kennyz wrote:When's the last time you went to Frontera? I've been there 4 times in the last 6 weeks, and not once have I had to wait for seating in the bar area. Each occasion was a weekday at about 6PM.

Sorry, I meant to say on Saturday evenings... And thanks all for the suggestions so far. I will work my way through them in the months/year ahead.

I recall Cocina Barro being quite tasty.

Cocina Barro 73 E. Lake Street Chicago, IL 60601 Tel: (312) 346-8457
www.barrorestaurant.com

With the Edens Expressway repaving starting on 4/4 and continuing through the late summer of 2009 (sic), I'm suggesting that anyone living along the North Shore consider visiting Casa de Isaac. I'm not an expert on Mexican food like other contributors to this forum, but their dishes have lots of flavor and have been based on many of Isaac's mother's recipes. Good eats!
The restaurant has been opened for nearly one year and still seems to be doing well in spite of being closed on Friday nights and Saturday until an hour after sundown.
Regards,
Grandpa Bob

Casa de Issac
431 Temple
Highland Park, IL
847-433-5550
Sun: 8 am to 10 pm
M to Th.: 10 am. to 10 pm.
Fri.: 10 am to 3 pm
Sat. Open one hour after sundown until closing

Midpack wrote:I tried to search first, but maybe I missed it. While I don't like the service, I still think Frontera Grill is the best Mexican food in town. But I don't want to go early and stand in line anymore, so where can I go in Chicago and get Mexican food (not Tex-Mex) that is as good or better than Frontera? I like Topolo and go there, but too high end for everyday. We like Adobo Grill but I don't think it equals Frontera. Had a very bad experience at Salpicon, not going back. I have tried several of the Bahena restaurants and liked them, but again none quite equal to Frontera IMHO. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance...

High end, I think if Frontera is your measuring stick, you will be disappointed by anything else. My advice would be to bring a date, find a spot near the bar, and wait it out.

Grandpa Bob wrote:With the Edens Expressway repaving starting on 4/4 and continuing through the late summer of 2009 (sic), I'm suggesting that anyone living along the North Shore consider visiting Casa de Isaac.

Really? I had no idea you liked that place.

I grew up in a place where Mexican food is second only to water and I was always of the ilk that enchiladas where the way to choose if the restaurant was worth the title "best." I have found that this voting procedure has somewhat changed since moving to Chicago- I now try the tacos.
My vote on Best is therefor:
Chavas Tacos at Western and Grand (best green sauce ever!)

I finally made it to Topolobampo last night. It was enjoyable, but I found the moles to be pretty much on par with anything I ever had from Sol de Mexico or Ixcapuzalco/La Bonita/Tepatulco.

What about Wholly Frijoles in Lincolnwood? That's probably the best value you'll find on mexican.

* for the record, Bayless's Tortilla soup has nothing on Taqueria Moran's

selanator wrote:
What about Wholly Frijoles in Lincolnwood? That's probably the best value you'll find on mexican.

Here is an existing thread with a number of opinions about Wholly Frijoles.

selanator wrote:I finally made it to Topolobampo last night. It was enjoyable, but I found the moles to be pretty much on par with anything I ever had from Sol de Mexico....

Praising Topolobambo does not appear to be your intent with this statement, but it's hard for me to imagine how one could offer a more positive opinion of their mole.

Kennyz wrote:

selanator wrote:I finally made it to Topolobampo last night. It was enjoyable, but I found the moles to be pretty much on par with anything I ever had from Sol de Mexico....

Praising Topolobambo does not appear to be your intent with this statement, but it's hard for me to imagine how one could offer a more positive opinion of their mole.

A very positive opinion indeed. My opinion is that the moles at Sol de Mexico are the best you will find in Chicago (better than many you'll find in Mexico), but don't be surprised to get moles at Topolobampo that are not quite as good, but similar in quality. In terms of presentation, Topolobampo is certainly more impressive than SdM, but you'll pay dearly for that presentation.

The moles at Topolobampo were superb, but my expectations were perhaps extraordinarily high. Saying that they are on par with those of Sol de Mexico was intended to be a compliment, but at 3x the price, I see myself venturing towards Cicero a lot more than Clark St.

I love mole sauce in all its variations, and I was really underwhelmed with the ones at Sol de Mexico. The variety of sauces they offer was great, but upon tasting them, the sauces themselves just didn't wow me at all.