Cheesy Tacos at Raymond's in Pilsen

Here's another South Side culinary oddity, although I'm not sure cheesy tacos are really a South Side thing. I've never seen them anywhere else but surely they are served at other places in the city (any sightings?). If you look at the Yelp page on Raymond's you'll see quite a bit of praise heaped on their tacos. It's clear you have to get them with cheese.



So off I went to the corner of Damen & Blue Island to order a couple tacos—carne asada and lomo with cheese. They look like ordinary gringo-style tacos buried under all that lettuce and tomato.



Where's the cheese?



A slice of American cheese gets melted between the two tortillas, making sort of a Big Baby of the taco world. The cheese melts completely adding more of a rich, greasy presence than a dominant cheese flavor. I enjoyed the tacos quite a bit, more than I expected, maybe more than I should admit. I might opt out of the flavorless lettuce and tomatoes next time, even though those garnishes seem entirely appropriate. The meats are of good quality and well griddled, and the salsa (only green is available I think) packs a punch. For regular tacos, Raymond's seems a bit above average but not a destination.

This is one of those foods that might seem completely disgusting one day but the next night becomes the most brilliant creation ever. I'm not exactly recommending the cheesy tacos at Raymond's, I'm just pointing out they're there if needed. Raymond's is open every night until 2:30am, Friday and Saturday to 4. They know who their audience is.

Raymond's Hamburgers and Tacos #2
2406 S Blue Island Av (at Damen)
(#1 is on Cermak east of California)
Chicago
773-254-5301

Hi,

I am rather partial to Taco Bell's double decker taco: soft flour tortilla slathered with beans and wrapped around a hard-shell corn taco.

It is not difficult to imagine I would very likely enjoy Raymond's cheesy taco.

Regards,

Rene G wrote:A slice of American cheese gets melted between the two tortillas, making sort of a Big Baby of the taco world.

Banner quote.

I saw this post literally as I was leaving Pilsen today, otherwise I would have stopped in. The cheesy tacos look kind of good.

Rene G wrote:A slice of American cheese gets melted between the two tortillas, making sort of a Big Baby of the taco world. The cheese melts completely adding more of a rich, greasy presence than a dominant cheese flavor. I enjoyed the tacos quite a bit, more than I expected, maybe more than I should admit.

Oddly compelling, I see cheesy tacos in my immediate future.

This sounds good to me. Its always been kind of a dissapointment to get the double layer of tortilla with nothing in between. The cheese would add taste as well as a stick together.

toria wrote:This sounds good to me. Its always been kind of a dissapointment to get the double layer of tortilla with nothing in between. The cheese would add taste as well as a stick together.

Sometimes, given the weight of meat and condiments, a double-tortilla taco is structurally necessary, but even then it seems like a lot to bite through. Years ago, someone here (or maybe it was Steve Dahl) suggested that when you get a double-layer taco, you simply deconstruct it and make two smaller tacos. That seems a plausible approach, but I like better the idea of packing cheese and maybe salsa between the two tortillas so as to make a virtue of necessity.

I have to say I'm slightly surprised by the generally positive response the cheesy tacos have received so far.

Cathy2 wrote:I am rather partial to Taco Bell's double decker taco: soft flour tortilla slathered with beans and wrapped around a hard-shell corn taco.

It's funny you bring up Taco Bell. After my visit to Raymond's I consulted the TB website to see if something similar is on the menu. It seems right up their alley. I didn't find anything but a little more research turned up the Cheesy Gordita Crunch, introduced in 2001 but apparently no longer available. It's not quite the same as Raymond's but they're clearly similar. I never tried one but feel confident in saying Raymond's is better.

happy_stomach wrote:I saw this post literally as I was leaving Pilsen today, otherwise I would have stopped in. The cheesy tacos look kind of good.

That pretty well sums them up: "kind of good." I have a feeling Raymond's cheesy tacos would appeal to many fans of CND's gyros melt. Kind of good but kind of trashy.

G Wiv wrote:Oddly compelling, I see cheesy tacos in my immediate future.

I'd recommend waiting until they sound like the perfect snack. For me they're a true special-purpose food, certainly not for everyday consumption.

Next time I order some cheesy tacos I'll try to customize them a bit. I wasn't quite satisfied with the standard issue. I'm not entirely sold on the lettuce and tomato topping but onions and cilantro would be wrong. Maybe tomato and onion is the way to go? I don't recall all the meats at Raymond's but if picadillo/ground beef is an option I'd see how that works. Also I liked Raymond's salsa verde a lot but if a mellower red is available I'd like to try it.

What the hell, why not go all the way and order one with a fried egg on top? Maybe a cheesy chorizo and egg taco? The possibilities are limitless.

David Hammond wrote:

toria wrote:This sounds good to me. Its always been kind of a dissapointment to get the double layer of tortilla with nothing in between. The cheese would add taste as well as a stick together.

Sometimes, given the weight of meat and condiments, a double-tortilla taco is structurally necessary, but even then it seems like a lot to bite through. Years ago, someone here (or maybe it was Steve Dahl) suggested that when you get a double-layer taco, you simply deconstruct it and make two smaller tacos. That seems a plausible approach, but I like better the idea of packing cheese and maybe salsa between the two tortillas so as to make a virtue of necessity.

Exactly. It's a creative use of normally wasted space. As I said though, I'd never want all my tacos to be cheese filled.

I would be very interested to hear of other taquerias that make a similar item. I'm talking about places that offer it as a common option; I'm sure many cooks could be persuaded to put some cheese between the tortillas. I find it hard to believe the cheesy taco is unique to Raymond's.

Rene G wrote:I have to say I'm slightly surprised by the generally positive response the cheesy tacos have received so far.

Me too. As soon as I read your post, the first thing that came to mind was that it sounded exactly like the crap they serve at Taco Bell. I almost did a spit take all over my screen when I scrolled down and saw Cathy's post extolling the virtues(?) of Taco Bell.

Though I'm not a huge fan of cheese on tacos. I'd be willing to bet that Chihuahua would be better tasting (to me, anyway) and is definitely offered. I know that American cheese is a whole different level of what anyone would be going for in this type of application, so the option of cheeses might be irrelevant.

seebee wrote:Though I'm not a huge fan of cheese on tacos. I'd be willing to bet that Chihuahua would be better tasting (to me, anyway) and is definitely offered.

I too would rather eat a chihuahua than what's pictured upthread. You are all weirdos.

cilantro wrote:

seebee wrote:Though I'm not a huge fan of cheese on tacos. I'd be willing to bet that Chihuahua would be better tasting (to me, anyway) and is definitely offered.

I too would rather eat a chihuahua than what's pictured upthread. You are all weirdos.

Oddly enough, in all seriousness, if given the choice, I might opt for a taco del perro over a taco de carne asada con queso Americano.

G Wiv wrote: If you long for the tacos served at your high school cafeteria hit Emerald Isle on a Wednesday.

Oh yes, I do indeed, except these were always eaten after a summers day spent up in smoke under the el tracks. Always a tradition to head to Terry's for white trash tacos after. These are just flour tortillas with a piece of melted American cheese and ground beef, lettuce and hot sauce added on. Still to this day a guilty pleasure of mine. I gotta feeling Terry's days are numbered now that Cabrini is done since many of their customers were from those buildings.


Truly ghetto fabulous

Rene G wrote:I have to say I'm slightly surprised by the generally positive response the cheesy tacos have received so far.

happy_stomach wrote:I saw this post literally as I was leaving Pilsen today, otherwise I would have stopped in. The cheesy tacos look kind of good.

That pretty well sums them up: "kind of good." I have a feeling Raymond's cheesy tacos would appeal to many fans of CND's gyros melt. Kind of good but kind of trashy.

G Wiv wrote:Oddly compelling, I see cheesy tacos in my immediate future.

I'd recommend waiting until they sound like the perfect snack. For me they're a true special-purpose food, certainly not for everyday consumption.

Next time I order some cheesy tacos I'll try to customize them a bit. I wasn't quite satisfied with the standard issue. I'm not entirely sold on the lettuce and tomato topping but onions and cilantro would be wrong. Maybe tomato and onion is the way to go? I don't recall all the meats at Raymond's but if picadillo/ground beef is an option I'd see how that works. Also I liked Raymond's salsa verde a lot but if a mellower red is available I'd like to try it.

What the hell, why not go all the way and order one with a fried egg on top? Maybe a cheesy chorizo and egg taco? The possibilities are limitless.

Yes I am slightly surprised too but not so that I also see them in my future. I've passed by Raymond's a bunch of times but never stopped in (thinking it was what it is minus the cheesy taco) but will have too next time. I make tacos like this at home but use chihuahua or muenster in between the larger flour tortillas. I always make those with a ground beef mix and could see some picadillo or steak with any sort of grilled onions and some red sauce being very good with these. Thanks for the tip on another oddity. How could these not be great after 2a? Come to think of it, maybe a White Castle slider patty or two with some of those rehydrated onions would work wonders in between the tortilla...

Thanks for taking one for the team. I would have to be good and tight to get those, but i imagine if i was, they would seem like a stroke of taco-genius. Alas, with so meny tacos in pilsen to eat my way through...i can't imagine i will ever go for the "cheesy taco". I've tried searching for a pilsen-related thread on here and couldn't find one. We need a pilsen taqueria thread!