lunch in Gage Park?

I just started a short-term teaching job in Gage Park, near 57th and Western. I have the middle of the day free one day a week, so I'd love to get a recommendation for somewhere to go for lunch nearby. Considering the neighborhood, I figured if anyone would know some good places to eat near there, it would be LTHers. I did a board search and found Paco's (which I definitely want to try) on Kedzie, but not much else. Thanks!

There's a decent Belizean place on 63rd, just off Western, if that's close enough, Garifuna Flava. Try the conch soup, the conch fritters, the panades, their version of jerk chicken--I really haven't had anything bad there:

Garifuna Flava
2518 West 63rd Street, Chicago, IL 60629
(773) 776-7440
http://www.garifunaflava.com
(WARNING: Website has loud auto-play music on it, with no apparent way to shut it off, and apparently "does not work in conjunction with Internet Explorer." (!?) Do not let this put you off.)

There's also an outpost of Atotonilco on 57th and Kedzie. I'm not terribly familiar with that location, although I've been there once, but the location on 26th Street is my favorite for their style of al pastor tacos in Chicago:

Tacquerias Atotonilco
5656 South Kedzie Avenue
Chicago, IL
(773) 436-4890

As for the Paco's--are you thinking of the one on Pulaski? If so, I submit you also try Zacatacos there. There are two items that I always get there. The grilled steak tacos and the (lesser known) potato tacos. The potato tacos are tacos dorados, so deep fried with an unctuous layer of mashed potatoes within. Seriously good food:

Zacatacos
5925 South Pulaski Road
Chicago, IL 60629
Phone:(773) 581-9481

And if you're up for a bit of a drive, there's a relatively new place in Archer Heights called Machete Big Quesadillas on Archer near Pulaski (so about 49th-ish) that has a Mexico City version of quesadillas that are essentially elongated versions of tacos--20 inches in this case--made with homemade corn tortillas and a variety of fillings. I recommend the huiltlacoche (corn smut/corn truffle/corn mushroom), the chicharron with green salsa, and the cochinita pibil:

Machetes Quesadilla
4888 S Archer Ave
Chicago, IL 60632

And, hell, if you've made it this far, there's Birrieria Zaragoza, perhaps the best birria (goat) in the city. This one is really not to be missed, but we're straying a bit away from Gage Park. It also has the best homemade corn tortillas I've had in the city:

Birrieria Zaragoza
4852 South Pulaski Road
Chicago, IL 60632

LauraS wrote:I just started a short-term teaching job in Gage Park, near 57th and Western. I have the middle of the day free one day a week, so I'd love to get a recommendation for somewhere to go for lunch nearby. Considering the neighborhood, I figured if anyone would know some good places to eat near there, it would be LTHers. I did a board search and found Paco's (which I definitely want to try) on Kedzie, but not much else. Thanks!

I think Paco's on Kedzie (more here) is gone, but you still have many choices for great lunches. I believe Paco's has been replaced by El Conde (5141 S Kedzie), a branch of the tacos de canasta specialist. Note there are a couple Paco's Tacos not too far away (4311 S Archer and 6034 S Pulaski) that aren't bad (excellent value!) but there's far more interesting food to be had.

Six blocks north is La Placita de Durango (2423 W 51st), one of my favorite Mexican restaurants in Chicago, and one that doesn't get the attention it deserves. Beautiful handmade gorditas (both wheat and corn) with uncommon fillings and much more.

Much of the surrounding area is heavily Mexican, of course, but six blocks south is something completely different—Garifuna Flava (2518 W 63rd), for unique Afro-Belizean food. Don't bother with the Jamaican part of the menu (not that it's bad).

How far are you willing to travel? Is Birrieria Zaragoza (4852 S Pulaski) too far? It's an absolute gem, worth going out of your way for. Spectacular roasted goat and handmade tortillas.

I'd say those are a few not to miss. If you could give us a better idea of your foraging range, it would help us tailor our suggestions. There's really a lot to explore in the area.

Here's a visual for that quesadilla, in case my description was incomplete:

I second/third most of what was said above, except for the Atotonilco--I've been, and found it terrible. I especially enjoy Garifuna Flava, which is tasty and unique and a good change of pace from Mexican, which is the dominant cuisine in the area.

Sadly, Pozoleria Dona Esther closed recently, that was pretty good.

There are a number of taco places on 59th west of Western, down for quite a ways. I've tried a few, and while I can't remember names, they're worth exploring. I primarily enjoy the preponderance of tamales in the area. As a fellow teacher nearby, I sometimes get tamales from the various stands along Kedzie in the mornings, put them in an insulated lunch bag, and eat them for lunch. With it being so cold, there aren't as many vendors out now, but come spring they'll be back. There are also two brick-and-mortar tamale places open year round that are pretty good lunch options--Manolo's on 53rd and Kedzie and and Rosas Tamales at 56th and Kedzie. Both are fine, but I prefer getting them from the street vendors when they're out. Typically it's six tamales for five bucks, occasionally six for four.

There is also Nicky's at 58th and Kedzie which is solid for hot dog stand/Big Baby fare.

If you want good pizza, there's the original Palermo's at 3751 W 63rd, a South Side classic. There is also a cheap pizza place called Gino's/Geneo's on 59th near Western that is okay for thin crust. I think they have slices, but wouldn't try those--get a whole pizza. The other pizza places on 63rd (Papa T's, DeArco's) aren't very good, though DeArco's is the better of the two.

There is plenty of research to be done on Mexican places in the area, but if I think of anything besides those, I'll post again. Good luck with the teaching gig!

mtgl wrote:I second/third most of what was said above, except for the Atotonilco--I've been, and found it terrible.

Ah, that's too bad. The 26th Street location is so good for their brand of al pastor.

The pizza comment reminds me: there's also Pizza Castle, which has one of the best thin crusts in the area, but it's not a dine-in sort of place.

Pizza Castle
3256 West 55th Street
Chicago, IL 60632
(773) 776-1075

Years ago, I used to love the Nile for its falafel, too. I haven't been there in the last year or so, and the Yelp! commentary suggests the original chef left and the recent reviews have not been too good, but it still may be worth a check if you're in the mood for investigation and Middle Eastern fare.

The Nile
3259 W 63rd St
Chicago, IL 60629

Not a restaurant, but if you want to pick up some affordably priced and delicious lamb or other Middle Eastern ingredients, there is a halal market on 63rd street worth checking out a little bit west of the Nile.

Olive Mount Imported Foods
3526 W 63rd St
Chicago, IL 60629

I would also add La Quebrada at 51st Street and California for their homey Mexican food and handmade tortillas. La Quebrada is well documented on the board.

I would also add Mezquite Pollo Express on 55thst and California for charcoal grill chicken and carne asada with homemade tortillas.

I recently sampled a pambazo at Taqueria Juanita's documented by Da Beef here. It was a tasty sandwich stuffed with chorizo and potato mixture. Chips were freshly fried and was given two salsas to start. When the pambazo came out, they brought an additional two salsas. All fresh and bursting with flavor. I also sampled an excellent pineapple aqua fresca. The rest of the menu seems interesting with homemade tortillas and interesting specials such as tamales oaxaquenos.

I have not tried yet, but the Sandwich Break has good reviews on Yelp for their Puerto Rican sandwiches.

Also worth noting is the champurrados and atoles offered by the tamale places which should be perfect hot drinks for these chilly winter days.

La Quebrada
5100 S California Ave
Chicago,IL 60632
(773) 737-4575

Pollo Mezquite Express
2809 W 55th St
Chicago, IL60632
773 424 8100

Taqueria Juanita's
2955 W 59th St
Chicago,IL 60629
(773) 776-7551

Sandwich Break
2942 West 63rd Street
Chicago, IL 60629
(773) 952-0547

Thanks, everyone, for the ideas! I'm especially excited to try Garifuna Flava. I remember seeing it on Check Please a million years ago and really wanting to try it. I will definitely also be finding time to try the tamale places and La Quebrada. I won't have time to get all the way to Birreiria Zaragoza, but may have to stop by one afternoon to get food to take home for dinner.

surbano wrote:I would also add Mezquite Pollo Express on 55thst and California for charcoal grill chicken and carne asada with homemade tortillas.

mtgl wrote:There is also Nicky's at 58th and Kedzie which is solid for hot dog stand/Big Baby fare.

Around Gage Park there are some strong Mexican contenders in the chicken arena but don't count out the Greeks! Kevin Pang's article in today's Tribune (part of "Poultry slam: A survey of roast chickens in Chicago") reminded me of Nicky's best offering—the Grecian chicken dinner. Nine bucks gets you half a chicken (with delicious lemon-garlic sauce), a small Greek salad, fries and garlic bread. A smaller dark meat meal is only six dollars. I think you can switch out the fries (not bad but nothing special) for a larger salad, almost certainly the way to go. Kevin tried 17 chicken spots and Nicky's was one of the six that made the cut. This Nicky's is at 58th & Kedzie, so it's very close to the school. Nothing wrong with their Big Babies either.

Nicky's The Real McCoy
5801 S Kedzie Av
Chicago
773-436-6458
http://nickysrealmccoy.com/

It might be too far, but Zaytune has opened a second location at 35th and Western. I love their pita bread.

Zaytune Mediterranean Grill
3500 S. Western
Chicago
773-523-3500

Reporting back from my first outing in Gage Park... I picked up some tamales from Manolo's Tamales at 5341 S. Kedzie. I got the chicken with green chile and rajas con queso. They were a dollar each. The tamales were pretty decent. The chicken was good quality and tender, and the masa had a good flavor. However, my go-to place for tamales is Tamales Garibay, so I'm a little spoiled
The menu looked pretty standard, with different types of tacos, but they also have tamales with sweet fillings like guava which looked interesting.
Hope to try a new place next week!