Pozole

I've been reading alot about pozole recently, a specialty soup from Mexico, made with pork and hominy. Does anyone have any suggestions for a good place in the city to get pozole, or is there an actual pozoleria in town? I know typically this soup is served on Thursdays and weekends. Also, does anyone know any background on it? What region in Mexico is it from? Just curious! It looks amazing.

A good place to get pozole throughout the week is:

Restaurant Y Pozoleria San Juan
1523 N Pulaski
Chicago
773-276-5825

A good deal of good stuff has been written here and, BLTH, on Chowhound. There exist several fine posole options in town, a result of the fact that Chicago has a large community of immigrants from the posole states of Mexico. I'm a verde guy myself.

Hi...

Last Saturday, I had truly excellent pozole verde at Nuevo Taco Loco on Lawrence at Ravenswood. Though I've eaten a lot of pozole in my time, mostly in Tucson and New Mexico, I've never had pozole quite like this: it was thick, more like a stew, and not spicy at all. Still, it was full of pork and hominy, lovely green, and served with lime, cabbage and onion, and it was so delicious that I took an extra order home, and have been eating it all week. Alas, my Spanish was not up to asking the waitress how often this special was available, but it's well worth trying to track down. We go to Nuevo Taco Loco fairly frequently. It's near where we live, and the food is adequate, though not necessarily fantastic. But their pozole really hit the spot.

Nuevo Taco Loco
1726 W Lawrence (just east of Ravenswood)
Chicago, IL
773-784-1881


Cheers,

Lillafury

Thank you for the suggestions! We actually went to Restaurant Y Pozoleria San Juan this afternoon for lunch and the pozole definitely lived up to all of my expectations. We tried the red and green and I have to say, I was a little partial to the green. Followed all of the rules and tried it with the cabbage, radishes, oregano, pork rinds, avocado and lime. Very tasty stuff.

Afterwards we drove a little east on North Ave and stopped in at Taqueria Puebla Mexico and took home a cemitas, which was also pretty yummy. The man behind the counter recommended the cemitas milaneza, which was obviously the breaded pork cutlet with avocado, chipotles in adobo and cheese. This sandwich was well worth the effort it took to make a little extra room in out stomachs after the pozole! All in all, a very satisfying culinary trek to Humbolt Park today!

Taqueria Puebla Mexico
3619 W. North Ave.
Chicago

for a Tasty Take-Out Pozole: try the meat counter at Carneceria Jimenez at 3815 W. Fullerton (@ Avers) on SUNDAYS, only - down towards the far left end of the counter (Saturdays, they prepare the Mexican anti-Hangover remedy - Menudo!)-$4.00 for a huge carry away container- don't forget the Cabbage, Lime, and Epazote garnish- available in the most excellent produce section!

I tried pozole for the first time yesterday, at the Glendale Heights branch of El Tesoro. I don't know what has taken me so long: pork, hominy, and soup broth... what else could I possibly want! I saved most of the pork and took it home for an early dinner. At $6 for a gigantic bowl, it was a good bargain to go with my "tarasco" taco and their made in front of you salsa.

But I have a question. With my pozole, they brought me what appeared to be crispy tostada tortillas. Am I supposed to typically put the pork and the onions and radishes on the tostada? Or am I supposed to use the tortillas like crackers, and dunk them into the soup?

Totopos, they're totopos (toe-toe-po's). I don't recall ever seeing anyone breaking them up to put in the pozole, but, rather, they're used to scoop some of the pozole from the bowl to the mouth . . . and it's customary to break them apart and use them as a nacho upon which you can place one of the salsas, some of the avacado, etc.; I often use them as a bread substitute. Below is a photo of a botana of sorts that was presented to me at a pozoleria in Mexico City a couple of weeks ago - you'll note the totopos in the upper-left portion of the photo:



The other garnishes are meant to be put into the pozole, but, you're paying for the meal and you can eat these things in whatever combination you feel comfortable with.

Here's the bowl of pozole before I devoured it:

Another good place for pozole:

La Casa del Gordo
2014 First St.
Highland Park 60035-1428
847-266-1411

Thank you, Bill!

There's usually some tasty take out pozole to be had for cheap at the deli counter in Justice Produce in Berwyn. It's on Ogden & Kenilworth.

Seeking-out good renditions of pozole hasn’t been a priority for me, until last week when I decided to add it to my list of things I want to focus on in the coming months. Of the three varieties – white, red and green – I’ve developed a preference for the green, and local sources are what I’m looking for (though I’ll be sampling some of the other two).

My standard for comparison of pozole is the pozole I’ve eaten in Mexico – principally at Casa Pilla in Chilapa, Guerrero and Pozoleria Los Tolucos in Mexico City.

POZOLERIA SAN JUAN



Pozoleria San Juan, at North and Pulaski, was my first stop – last Sunday. Walking into the San Juan transports you back to Mexico – it’s a pozoleria that might be found in any city there. It appeared to be popular, with most tables filled mid-afternoon.

The photos I took inside the restaurant during the visit didn’t turn-out very good, mostly because the red fluorescent light on the wall above my table so I’m posting just one. I expect to make another visit to the restaurant at a later date and will take better photos then.



Because of the red hue enveloping my table, when my medium-sized bowl of pozole verde arrived I wasn’t certain it was green, so I walked, with bowl in hand, to the front of the restaurant to have a look and what was staring back at me was a very faint green broth. I stirred the broth to see if the mixing would result in a better distribution of the ingredients, but it didn’t. Back at my table, now, I added the condiments and dug-in.

The broth of the pozole was thin, as if it was a last-thought, not the first. The flavoring seemed off – some ingredients seemed to have been left out. And instead of the chicken being deshebrada (shredded or pulled) as is customary with pozole it was cut into cubes. Overall, I didn’t like the taste.

Other notes: the basket-full of totopos which arrived at the table soon after I sat down appeared to be house-made and I enjoyed them, by themselves. The salsa pico de gallo which accompanied the totopos had an oddly sweet taste as if sugar had been added and the combination of flavors didn’t work well. The aguas available were made from concentrate and I had a large glass of the tamarindo which was typical.

I’d rate this rendition of pozole verde as “not very good.”

Pozoleria San Juan
1523 N Pulaski Rd
Chicago, IL 60651-1938
(773) 276-5825

DELICIAS MEXICANAS RESTAURANT



I’ve been following the recent discussion of Mexican hot dogs and 26th Street, and mention of Delicias Mexicana Restaurant – and, specifically, the mention of good pozole on the weekends. So yesterday I headed for the South Side, and 26th Street. I’m not a fan of the Mexican-style hot dog, so I limited my order to a taco al pastor and bowl of pozole verde and a glass of one of the aguas – again made from concentrate – Jamaica.

My visit was mid-afternoon and I found the restaurant clean, the waitress attentive and 6 to 8 other customers in the restaurant at the same time, and several take-out customers.

The Worst Taco al Pastor, Ever



I like tacos al pastor as much as I like pozole, and finding a good – traditional rendition (as found/served in Mexico) hasn’t been easy for me here in Chicago. I still doubt such a thing exists (here in Chicago). What Delicias Mexicana serves as al pastor bares no resemblance to that food item and I was a bit angered at the bad tasting slop pawned-off as the real thing. The meat was not cut from a trompo (cone), nor cut from a trompo cooked on a spit. The small pieces of meat appeared to have been pan-fried – with characteristics similar to a milanesa – with a chile de arbol sauce poured over it. I tasted two of the small pieces of meat, spitting out the second – and handed the plate back to the waitress. Awful.

Pozole Verde – as it Arrives at the Table



Condiments arrive before the pozole, and when the pozole makes its way to the table you add what you want.

Pozole Verde – After Condiments are Added



The broth was rich, flavorful. The hominy was undercooked, though. The broth had a tad more chile in it than I think you may find elsewhere, but it wasn’t overpowering hot and I didn’t feel the need to add additional chile.

The totopos had the taste of an item commercially produced but the salsa pico de gallo was especially good as were the two other salsas, one of chile de arbol and the other a tomatillo/avocado blend (with chili, of course).

I rate this rendition of pozole verde higher than what I had at Pozoleria San Juan the prior weekend - and “okay” (with the expectation that with better concentratonon its preparation it could achieve "good," in my book).

Delicias Mexicana Restaurant
4148 W. 26th Street
Chicago, IL
(773) 522-5009

For persons reading this discussion and wanting some background/additional information about pozole, some of this may fill in the blank spaces:

1.

Pozole is a traditional Latin American soup which has been served since pre-Columbian times. It continues to be especially popular in Mexico and the American Southwest, where it is often served at celebrations and major events. Numerous variations on basic pozole exist, and some Latin American restaurants actually specialize in offering only pozole, much like noodle shops in Japan and China. In regions with a large Latin American population, it is often possible to find pozole on offer at restaurants, but you can also make it at home if you're feeling adventurous. The foundation of all pozole is hominy or nixtamal, dried corn which is treated with an alkali like lime. The corn is traditionally soaked in water and lime to loosen the outer shell and germ, and then it is repeatedly rinsed and ground to varying degrees of fineness, depending on the intended use. This process frees up useful vitamins and minerals in the corn so that they can be digested, and it is has been practiced in Latin America for thousands of years by native people.

Pork is another traditional ingredient in pozole, although the dish may also be made with chicken or seafood. The soup is made spicy with the addition of chilies, and garnished with ingredients like sliced cabbage, tomatoes, avocados, radishes, cilantro, and lime juice. Some cooks add ingredients like chili verde and beans to their pozole. Depending on the region, the soup may also be called posole, pozolli, or poso; all forms of the word are derived from a Nahuatl word, potzolli.

Source: http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-pozole.htm

2.

This discussion (revealed when you click on the link) is helpful in explaining pozole: http://tinyurl.com/yg6yk7y

Pozole verde i had while in Zihuatanejo, Guerrero, Mexico last summer.

AlekH wrote:Pozole verde i had while in Zihuatanejo, Guerrero, Mexico last summer.

looks like the pozole from Tamales y Atoles Any. Yes? Either way, thanks for the memory.

Kennyz wrote:

AlekH wrote:Pozole verde i had while in Zihuatanejo, Guerrero, Mexico last summer.
looks like the pozole from Tamales y Atoles Any. Yes? Either way, thanks for the memory.

correct, thanks for remembering the name for me.

AlekH wrote:

Kennyz wrote:

AlekH wrote:Pozole verde i had while in Zihuatanejo, Guerrero, Mexico last summer.
looks like the pozole from Tamales y Atoles Any. Yes? Either way, thanks for the memory.

correct, thanks for remembering the name for me.

apologies for sidetracking the thread, but did you also happen to go to a place called La Gula? It's an upscale "fusion" restaurant on a hidden little side street in Zihua, on a terrace facing away from the ocean. I had a memorable meal there, partly because of the fantastic food and partly because of a fascinating conversation with the chef/ owner about what constitutes "authenticity" in Mexican cooking. He's oft criticized by locals for using eastern spices and European techniques, but fights rather passionately to protect his image as a Mexican-at-heart chef.

Here's an old, erudite post about pozole in Chicago. Like birria and carne en su jugo, pozole is something one can find in many places around Chicago. (That in itself is unusual for a US city, of course, and I happen to think even bad pozole is pretty good.) However, one must look hard and be lucky to find a great one.

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/111766 ... dule_small

I'm not sure why a city like Chicago, with a huge population from Guerrero, couldn't have great posole. I'm sure we do. I just haven't come across it in a while.

JeffB wrote:Here's an old, erudite post about pozole in Chicago. Like birria and carne en su jugo, pozole is something one can find in many places around Chicago. (That in itself is unusual for a US city, of course, and I happen to think even bad pozole is pretty good.) However, one must look hard and be lucky to find a great one.

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/111766 ... dule_small

I'm not sure why a city like Chicago, with a huge population from Guerrero, couldn't have great posole. I'm sure we do. I just haven't come across it in a while.

Within the discussion you've linked (thanks for that) is a comment that only "RST" could write with such passion and accuracy about pozole verde:

RST wrote:Having dined at many of the great houses in this country and in Europe (El Bulli, Ducasse's places, Gagnaire and so on), I say that very few dishes anywhere, on any level of dining have moved me so profoundly and to the point of tears as did the purity and the nobility of this dish.

As is true with other recent-immigrant groups, I think Mexicans tend to eat at home more than eat-out in restaurants, for economic and other reasons, and I've no doubt there's some damn good pozole in Chicago but the Mexican restaurants in the city that feature it one or two days a week probably aren't where it's found. One can always hope to stumble upon it, however.

During my trips to Maxwell St. I haven't been on the lookout for pozole but I'll have to remember to keep an open eye for it. Some of the very best pozole I've enjoyed in Mexico has been at the weekly tianguis where you find people who've made it at home transport it to the market day for sale to hungry market-goers. Maybe someone is doing the same thing, with quality, at Maxwell St.