TOC al pastor list

Late last year I (jokingly) predicted a survey of carne en su jugo spots, after the stars aligned and a confluence of written opinion emerged between LTH and TOC regarding modest, well-established, but erstwhile unrecognized dining establishments. Anyway, the new edition does not take on CESJ but has a nice al pastor survey that covers several favorites, with some additional info as well. Lovable C. Leon takes silver, denied the gold due only to "greas[iness]". (I'd add a point, but hey.) A Taq. Uptown on Lawrence breaks the tape first after the favorite's oily stumble. Several other noted pastor parlors also get recognition. Somehow, I don't foresee a TOC effect at the scruffy, closed-looking Leon.

PS, how long before a Cuban sandwich and/or jibarito countdown? Marianao should get some ink if C. Leon does. I'm developing a theory that initially intimidating-looking places have to be better to survive. Cf. Barbara Ann's, Goose Is. Shrimp House, Kevin's.

I'm developing a theory that initially intimidating-looking places have to be better to survive.

Then all the Bosnian places should be fantastic.

Here's the link to the TOC article if anyone is interested. Seems like the writer did a commendable job. I've tried a few of those places, and it looks like I need to try a few more.

Call it adobado or pastor, my favorite "taco al pastor" for now is still Taqueria El Asadero on Montrose. Here's a picture from another al pastor thread.

Hey, Michael Nagrant is aka MJN here and aka one of the guys behind hungrymag.com. It seems every time he puts out an article LTH crowds around talking about how great it is. And, of course, they generally are.

Great article, Mike.

Thanks Tapler for the link to the article and your old post on the Montrose taqueria. I'm thrilled to know of two good al pastor places in my area. I've been getting burritos al pastor from Garcia's and it's really inconsistent--sometimes thinly sliced and charred, which is how I prefer it, and sometimes thick chunks with no char.

JeffB wrote:A Taq. Uptown on Lawrence breaks the tape first after the favorite's oily stumble.

The winner was:

Taqueria Uptown
1144 W. Bryn Mawr Ave.
773.878.4785

Strangely enough, I was planning to do an extensive tasting of Uptown Mexican places, figuring that there had to be a great taqueria among the many located in this area. Since Taqueria Uptown is actually in Edgewater, I guess I can proceed with my quest. Full report to follow.

FrankP wrote:Strangely enough, I was planning to do an extensive tasting of Uptown Mexican places, figuring that there had to be a great taqueria among the many located in this area. Since Taqueria Uptown is actually in Edgewater, I guess I can proceed with my quest. Full report to follow.

My vote is for Taqueria El Ranchito although I have not done an exhaustive study. I was mad for their pastor when I lived at Irving Park and Damen and they had a location just north of Lawrence. I've since been once to the Clark and Wilson stop and found that they knew what they were doing with the pastor as well... I also really liked their salsas, esp the verde, to the point where I'd buy styrofoam cups of it to take to parties.

Taqueria El Ranchito
4651 N Clark St
(773) 334-6441

germuska wrote:My vote is for Taqueria El Ranchito...

Thanks for the tip. I've had some hit and miss experiences, but I will go again soon for an al pastor taco.

Fraggle wrote:Thanks Tapler for the link to ... your old post on the Montrose taqueria. I'm thrilled to know of two good al pastor places in my area.

I got a little paranoid this afternoon because my wife had told me that last time she visited El Asadero that it had taken a downhill turn. So I went over there myself for lunch today and was relieved that the taco al pastor was as good as ever--deep red color, plenty of charred edges, topped off with a squeeze of lime for good measure. Maybe it depends on who is manning the grill, but I've never had a bad experience there.