Your post about the scene is hilarious and spot-on. All I could think of was this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLEuWEvH5GI

To avoid derailment, I should add that the walk-up window is a great addition to the neighborhood, and their queso fundido might be the best I've ever had.

The tacos are tiny as hell.

Had a second visit to Big Star last night for dinner & drinks. Tacos/tostadas, fresh chips, liquor- and beer-based cocktails were just as excellent as the first time.

As we were sitting at the bar, we got to talking about some of the complaints in this thread about the extreme darkness of the room...I've gotta say, I'm confused. Either they replaced the original lightbulbs with higher-wattage ones, or darkness is in the over-dilated pupil of the beholder. Here are a couple of pics of the room, taken with a crappy, flash-less, 2-megapixel iPhone camera (known far & wide as being uniformly awful in low-light conditions) around 10pm last night:





I was easily able to read the menu boards from across the room, and had no problem identifying my food and its individual components.

They did considerably up the lighting after my initial visit (noted elsewhere, including on Yelp). I still have an aversion reaction to that room, which your pictures trigger as if I were there. (Let's all go party in a brick stairwell, guys!) Takeout window for me!

there was something i found very appealing about the space saturday afternoon on our first visit. with the sunlight streaming in through the high windows and old country music playing in the background i was transported for a few hours. (austin, maybe) it probably helped that it wasn't too busy and we easily found a seat at the bar. the pork belly tacos were fantastic and everything else we tried was good. didn't care for the margarita but i should have read the description better. don't care that much for mescal. all in all it was a pleasant way to kill a couple hours.

Assuming they open the place up to the same patio volume that Pontiac had, the venue is about to get substantially more appealing come spring!

Ralph Wiggum wrote:Assuming they open the place up to the same patio volume that Pontiac had, the venue is about to get substantially more appealing come spring!

I hope they hire about 3 more servers per shift as the service at the Pontiac was always the worst, Jerry, the worst.

I've been loving the tacos, the pork belly is a fave and I always finish a meal there with a fish tostada chaser. I wish they had some Three Floyds on tap or a couple of crisp lighter craft beers (maybe a Belgian farmhouse?) to pair w/the fatty, salty food.
They're open for lunch now so I hope to avoid the, um, WickerParky crowds that seem to pack the place at night...I think the plan is for a slightly smaller than Pontiac patio space.

Ralph Wiggum wrote:Assuming they open the place up to the same patio volume that Pontiac had, the venue is about to get substantially more appealing come spring!

Excellent, more space in the dark, by the bar for me!

jmc wrote:I've been loving the tacos, the pork belly is a fave and I always finish a meal there with a fish tostada chaser. I wish they had some Three Floyds on tap or a couple of crisp lighter craft beers (maybe a Belgian farmhouse?) to pair w/the fatty, salty food.

They do rotate what they have available, but last time I was in there the Goose Island Green Line hit that bill, and I do think they had some belgians as well, but maybe only in the large bottles?

SSDD

The patio is now open (and slammed); brown paper signs over the pickup window at 6 PM: "takeout service is closed." The parking lot doesn't look so bleak, at least.

Santander wrote:The patio is now open (and slammed); brown paper signs over the pickup window at 6 PM: "takeout service is closed." The parking lot doesn't look so bleak, at least.

Standing on the Blue Line platform at Clyborn around 6PM, I was shocked to see the patio totally full and a line slinking down south.

I was by here last night (checking out a show at Double Door), and man, what an ugly (figuratively) crowd, very much akin to Santander's take above. I suppose given the location and service that's inevitable, but around midnight it was nutty like a singles bar several rounds in, that's for sure. If it wasn't Passover I would have totally gotten a taco, though.

New Easter Tradition - Big Star!!

Had reservations for dinner at Shaw's but decided to head over to Big Star....arrived about 3pm and the place was pretty full...had to wait about 15 minutes for a table!

I have been there at least 6 times and have tried the entire menu including several daily specials. For the most part, the food is very well executed and consistent and I was very happy to see that even with doubling the numbers of people since the patio was open, the service and food quality was as good as ever.

If more owners would take a tip from these guys, they may have a better chance of survival. I think everytime I have been there, one of the owners was present and Easter Sunday was no different. This is a huge reason why they are so successful in every place they open.

Kudos to the Big Star team!!

I agree completely about the ethics of the owners rubbing off on the staff. I was there for lunch last week, and while everyone was out on the patio, I chose to sit at the bar. Donnie and Terry were both in there and didn't stop working the entire time. They were wiping down booths, righting toppled patio umbrellas, instructing staff on how/why it was necessary to top-off the salsa bottles in the caddies...it seemed whenever Donnie had a free minute, he'd find a staff member and ask, "How can I help you right now." They want that place to run seamlessly and for their customers to have a perfect experience. Absolute class acts.

kl1191 wrote:I agree completely about the ethics of the owners rubbing off on the staff.

Wow, there's a sentence that bears repeated reading!

JimInLoganSquare wrote:

kl1191 wrote:I agree completely about the ethics of the owners rubbing off on the staff.

Wow, there's a sentence that bears repeated reading!

Sorry, I've spent too much time in the Money Shot thread...

So I order and yes it's my own fault I didn't check my receipt when I ordered....

Order:
2 Al Pastor
2 Pork Belly
1 Lamb

Recived
2 Al Pastor
2 Cheese and Pepper
1 Lamb

Now granted the receipt in spanish reflected the Cheese and Pepper taco order but I specifically asked for pork belly! Grrrrrr didn't notice till I got home the order was awry....

I've discovered that my own homemade Al Pastor is better...that being said. The cheese and pepper was good but not life changing and the lamb was a sleeper hit. (reminded me of a barbacoa taco)

Will I go back to try the pork belly of course...how could I not....but I was peeved b/c I specifically ordered "pork belly".......

Big Star's biggest problem, and one I've run in to on probably 2/3 of my dozen visits, is not delivering everything that was ordered, or delivering the wrong items. This is especially true when they're busy. There's not really any excuse for it.. they just cannot get orders right. We've had dishes never arrive, tacos we never ordered arrive in place of ones we did, etc. These are all problems when dining in, too.

Las Asadas never gets my order wrong

I finally had an opportunity to check this place out, albeit, briefly, after a boozy visit to the Violet Hour. Stopped in here a little after 10 yesterday with happy_stomach because we both decided we needed some food ...

I ordered a poblano, lamb and pork belly taco. The pork belly was by and far the best that I tried. Excellent flavor, very similar taste to the beloved al pastor tacos from at Atotonilco in Worth. I also ordered a Coke in a bottle, but to my disappointment, it was not Mexican Coke -- just American Coke [in a bottle]. Sigh.

The place was still relatively busy at the time we went, but not so much that we weren't able to snag a couple seats at the bar. I guess most of the crowd was drinking, too, because our food arrived lightning-fast.

I do agree with Santander, who commented on the stark interior of this place. It's a bit too hipster-minimalist for my taste; I much prefer the cozy interior of a place like TVH or Bar DeVille, but that's just me. Still, the food was pretty decent and relatively inexpensive for what it was. I'd probably venture another trip back here, but definitely again at an off-hour.

The last time I drove by here on a warm Friday night, the place was packed to the gills, all the way out to the sidewalk. No thanks!

They also increased the price of the tacos by 66% about a month ago. The tacos are miniscule. The place sucks.

NAV MAN wrote:They also increased the price of the tacos by 66% about a month ago. The tacos are miniscule. The place sucks.

no.... not what I wanted to hear, planning a first trip there very soon.

NAV MAN wrote:They also increased the price of the tacos by 66% about a month ago...The place sucks.

But how were the portio-

NAV MAN wrote:The tacos are miniscule.

Oh...nevermind.

jimswside wrote:

NAV MAN wrote:They also increased the price of the tacos by 66% about a month ago. The tacos are miniscule. The place sucks.

no.... not what I wanted to hear, planning a first trip there very soon.

3 dollars for about an ounce of pastor is not what the NAV MAN ordered.

Put a BIG STAR TACO next to an EL MILAGRO taco and it looks like one of those solar scale exhibits of the earth next to the sun.

Aside from the lamb (which was a dollar less and goat when they opened), all of the taco prices are the same as they've ever been.

The pastor is still $2, the pork belly is still $3, the fish and chicken tostadas are also still $3.

jimswside wrote:

NAV MAN wrote:They also increased the price of the tacos by 66% about a month ago. The tacos are miniscule. The place sucks.

no.... not what I wanted to hear, planning a first trip there very soon.

You should definitely check it out. Cheap beers, cheap & delicious tacos (Oh no, a whole 80 cents more per taco than La Pasadita! The bank, she is broken! ), reasonably priced whiskeys and tequilas (I know the latter are of primary interest to you ), good tunes, laidback & casual atmosphere. I'm a big fan.

gleam wrote:Aside from the lamb (which was a dollar less and goat when they opened), all of the taco prices are the same as they've ever been.

The pastor is still $2, the pork belly is still $3, the fish and chicken tostadas are also still $3.

No, they were 1.80 at the beginning.

Khaopaat wrote:You should definitely check it out. Cheap beers, cheap & delicious tacos (Oh no, a whole 80 cents more per taco than La Pasadita! The bank, she is broken! ), reasonably priced whiskeys and tequilas (I know the latter are of primary interest to you ), good tunes, laidback & casual atmosphere. I'm a big fan.

definitley still going, the bourbon and tequila will get me through the door alone. I appreciate hearing non glowing reviews as all I have heard so far has been good.

NAV MAN wrote:

gleam wrote:Aside from the lamb (which was a dollar less and goat when they opened), all of the taco prices are the same as they've ever been.

The pastor is still $2, the pork belly is still $3, the fish and chicken tostadas are also still $3.

No, they were 1.80 at the beginning.

If only there was some way to check this....

jimswside wrote: I appreciate hearing non glowing reviews as all I have heard so far has been good.

OK then... I thought the pastor was dry and overly carbonized, the fish too smoky and not that fresh tasting, and the salsas way too vinegary.

I hit this place for the first time on Sunday, and frankly, $5 for an Al Pastor and pork belly tacos hit the spot for an afternoon snack. I didn't think they were so tiny so as to feel ripped off and while, yeah, I could go to Tierra Caliente for cheaper/bigger, if you're in the neighborhood, Big Star is hardly some trendy/expensive place to avoid. Let me know when they add cupcakes to the menu and maybe I'll change my mind.