Amigo Chino (pics)

On the docket today, Ramonita had a belt test in Tae Kwon Do. These can be excruciatingly long events and require not only good discipline but prior sustenance. With little planning, we happened upon Amigo Chino (Irving & Central) a place that we had noted to try in the past by the signage. (Note the logo.)



The place was bustling as we entered. Most of the eight or nine tables were filled with a mix of Chicano faces and a smattering of anglos tossed in for color. The place was brightly lit with typical Mexican doodads strewn on the walls apparently without the aid of an interior designer. We were provided with a six top for the four of us, though due to a support column in the middle of the room, I deemed half the table fit for no more than non-claustrophobic little people.

We were quickly brought two baskets of decent chips and a trio de salsas. One was a typical pico de gallo. The green one was green and good. The orange one was the hottest and our favorite made with chile de arbol.



Amigo Chino has one of those modern taqueria menus with photos. Most items are listed in Spanish, usually with English translations, except where my Spanish fails me. What is Pechuga ala Placha and how is it different from Pechuga ala Diabla? What is a Taco ala Gringa? Is it unisex like the bathroom? (which was only slightly dumpy and smelled clean.)

As usual, I did my best to eye the kitchen. Sometimes I succeed in accidently stumbling into the kitchen but there was no chance with this restaurant’s floor plan. I could just make out a giant vertical spit of pastor through the pass through. I knew what I was going to order. (Note no Dole crown).



Our dishes came out one at a time as a line formed at the door for takeout orders. Ramonita got her regular imaginative plain quesadilla with yellow rice. It looked like it should have. She picked at it some thinking more about her belt test.

Next out of the kitchen came my taco dinner: one pollo, one suadero, and one pastor. There was quite a lot of food on the plate. The beans were the perfect consistency – neither too thick or runny – and the flavor was right. The rice was utile. I dug into the pastor taco to sample the meat alone – delicious. Perhaps the best pastor I’ve had. The pieces were in uniform small strips with just enough citrus hint and moist pig-fat lubrication. Those who I shared with, who usually are pork unenthusiasts swooned. If there had been a bit more char I’d have returned for dinner.



The other two tacos were good, but my palette was clouded by my regret that I didn’t order all pastor. The suadero (“fried meat”) taco seemed just like steak. I had not encountered this Mexican taco descriptor before. Upon inquiry, my waitress said that a suadero taco was just like an asado taco but fully dressed. Perhaps that explains why they dressed them all.

I don’t think we were quite prepared for the last two dishes. Ramonita’s Big Sister’s (RBS) Carne Asada Tampiqueña was muscled to our table on a giant plank with a cast iron inset.



RBS doesn’t do beans so the order came with enough fresh guacamole for us all to enjoy. The tender skirt steak flanked half the circumference of the pan. RBS shared her bounty, but we could only eat half of it. A lighter hand with the adobo (or the salt) and carne nirvana attained.

Finally, Mrs Ramon’s Huachinango ala Veracruzana:



The pic does not do the beast justice (I’m learning here!). Mrs Ramon sighed on the first bite and stated that this was exactly like what her mother cooked for her when she was a child. I was stuffed by this time and did not sample, but I was very happy that Mrs Ramon was so pleased.

Cut to the chase: it was $63 with tax and tip. No alcohol is served but we ordered multiple rounds of domestic and Mexican soft drinks. I was just told on the phone that they are not BYOB (your experience may vary). We brought home lots of leftovers and will return soon for more.

Amigo Chino
5601 W. Irving Park / Central
773-685-4273


Ps. There must have been something in Amigo Chino’s rice …

Ramonita demonstrated her kicking and sparring combinations with such finesse that she was not asked to repeat any of them. When it came time for her to break a board, she quietly but bravely asked for two. Her first spin kick wobbled a bit and it was obvious to a parent that she was in pain. On her second attempt she broke both boards cleanly. My emotions are secondary to the fact that she is deservedly very proud of herself.

-ramon

I know where I'm going for pastor next (even if no pineapple in the meat).

Good find and good pics!

I'm glad the bathroom was "only slightly dumpy"! Nice pictures, looks good.

Ramon,

The red snapper looks fantastic, much like the boys served at La Barca.

Question: are those capers studded into its flesh?

Hammond

Ramon,

Thanks for this. I have been meaning to mention Amigo Chino for some time. I went in last year hoping that this was one of the "Chinese-style" taco places I have tried in Mexico (Acapulco in particular), where the meat is spiced in what is suppoed to be an Asian style. Odd, but no odder than the Japanese (by way of Portugal) tempura-filled Baja fish taco, tacos Arabes, and Tacos al Pastor.

Anyways, I saw from the menu that the name is based not on the food, but on the appearance of the person for whom the place is named. "Chino" is the somewhat un-PC term often hung on Latinos who have particularly Asiatic features. Not unlike bigote, gordo, jorobado, panza, guero, etc.

The food I tried was solid, if unspectacular. But your fish looks great, as does the steak.

I have quibbles with some of the names applied to certain dishes by taquerias and restaurantes around town. Often, cooks and owners from towns/states other than those where the dish is "native" take some license. For example, the snapper, while it looks wonderful, is not ala Veracruzana as they would make it in Veracruz. And the Tampiquena is supposed to come with an enchilada, not quesadillas, I believe. Of course, this has come up in all sorts of discussions, from pambazos, to semitas, to barbacoa, to birria, to al pastor.

For something closer to the Veracruz style, try the snapper at -- of all places -- Fernando's on Lincoln. Yes, the margarita as big as your head place. It's one of those rare restaurants where the kitchen rises to the challenge when you go past the mundane and safe. The true dish is very Spanish/Criollo in its outlook.

Here's a recipe from a real Veracruz restaurant:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes ... 19,00.html

Pechuga ala plancha is a grilled chicken breast. "Gringa" style anything typically means Americanized tacos/burritos -- maybe ground beef with lots of lettuce and cheese in this instance.

JeffB wrote:I have quibbles with some of the names applied to certain dishes by taquerias and restaurantes around town. Often, cooks and owners from towns/states other than those where the dish is "native" take some license. For example, the snapper, while it looks wonderful, is not ala Veracruzana as they would make it in Veracruz.

JeffB,

So true.

El Barco does the same thing. It's as though just serving huachinango all by itself automatically qualifies it for the qualifier Veracruzana. I find it very rare that a restaurant offering Huachinango ala Veracruzana actually uses olives, tomato sauce and the other ingredients I had come to expect (actually, I was starting to think that maybe I misunderstood the actual ingredients in this dish -- thanks for adding the recipe link).

Hammond

David Hammond wrote:El Barco does the same thing. It's as though just serving huachinango all by itself automatically qualifies it for the qualifier Veracruzana. I find it very rare that a restaurant offering Huachinango ala Veracruzana actually uses olives, tomato sauce and the other ingredients I had come to expect

Hmm. I have a distinct memory of El Barco's Huachinango ala Veracruzana having a good amount of olives and onion, although maybe light on the tomato. Perhaps you had one of their other preparations?

Best,
Michael

eatchicago wrote:

David Hammond wrote:El Barco does the same thing. It's as though just serving huachinango all by itself automatically qualifies it for the qualifier Veracruzana. I find it very rare that a restaurant offering Huachinango ala Veracruzana actually uses olives, tomato sauce and the other ingredients I had come to expect

Hmm. I have a distinct memory of El Barco's Huachinango ala Veracruzana having a good amount of olives and onion, although maybe light on the tomato. Perhaps you had one of their other preparations?

Best,
Michael

EC,

I'm sure there was some onion involved, but my main point of exception is that El Barco, and Chino's too, seem to not present the fish in a tomato sauce (containing the onion, olives, capers, etc.). The presentation looks way cooler in a mounted-over-the-mantle kind of way, but it is not in line with my recollection of the standard "authentic" preparation.

Hammond

David Hammond wrote:

eatchicago wrote:

David Hammond wrote:El Barco does the same thing. It's as though just serving huachinango all by itself automatically qualifies it for the qualifier Veracruzana. I find it very rare that a restaurant offering Huachinango ala Veracruzana actually uses olives, tomato sauce and the other ingredients I had come to expect

Hmm. I have a distinct memory of El Barco's Huachinango ala Veracruzana having a good amount of olives and onion, although maybe light on the tomato. Perhaps you had one of their other preparations?

Best,
Michael

I'm sure there was some onion involved, but my main point of exception is that El Barco, and Chino's too, seem to not present the fish in a tomato sauce (containing the onion, olives, capers, etc.). The presentation looks way cooler in a mounted-over-the-mantle kind of way, but it is not in line with my recollection of the standard "authentic" preparation.

Ah, I understand. These places do sacrifice their authenticity in favor of the dramatic presentation. But I'd still contend that El Barco's is not that far off. If you lay the fish down it's resting in what I would consider to be a reasonably good tomato, olive, caper, onion sauce (could use more tomato). But, then again, I've been backed into a corner defending El Barco in the past, so without any proper documentation, I'll rest my case.

While the Amigo Chino fish does look beautiful, it does certainly appear to be lacking some key ingredients.

During my last visit to Los Nopales on Western, I had a very good Huachinango ala Veracruzana. The fish was more moderately sized and was nestled comfortably beneath the required sauce.

Los Nopales
4544 N Western Ave
773-334-3149

Best,
Michael

JeffB wrote:...I have been meaning to mention Amigo Chino for some time. I went in last year hoping that this was one of the "Chinese-style" taco places I have tried in Mexico (Acapulco in particular), where the meat is spiced in what is suppoed to be an Asian style. Odd, but no odder than the Japanese (by way of Portugal) tempura-filled Baja fish taco, tacos Arabes, and Tacos al Pastor.

Anyways, I saw from the menu that the name is based not on the food, but on the appearance of the person for whom the place is named. "Chino" is the somewhat un-PC term often hung on Latinos who have particularly Asiatic features. Not unlike bigote, gordo, jorobado, panza, guero, etc.

A non-culinary aside that may be of interest...

But note too that specifically in Mexican Spanish 'chino' also means, in the plural, 'curls' and, as an adjective, 'curly', which is odd if one thinks of the homophony with an adjective for people who are not especially renowned for having curly hair. This use I've seen first hand: A monolingual-Spanish-speaking friend of ours from Mexico used to call our son 'Chinito' because, as an infant, he had very curly hair.

The semantic relationship between chino 'Chinese' and chino 'curly, kinky' is clear enough if you look at the range of meanings across all the Spanish dialects of the Americas but the Mexican use of the two meanings side by side, without the middle terms represented (referring to people of certain racial mixes), seems at first glance a bit odd.

Incidentally, it also means 'bald' in some dialects, as well as a bunch of other interesting things to go along with the uses noted hereabove by Jeff and by me.

Antonius

EC,

I did like El Barco, and I have no problem with sacrificing authenticity for flavor, but with the fish in the sauce, the dish becomes more a successful gustatory composition because flavors are "together," playing off of one another (it's true, though, that the sauced version is less of a successful visual composition -- the fish "swimming" through air, upright, looks pretty cool).

Thanks for the word about Nopales -- I should check it out.

Hammond

David Hammond wrote:Ramon,

The red snapper looks fantastic, much like the boys served at La Barca.

Question: are those capers studded into its flesh?

Hammond

Sorry its taken me so long to reply, David. I needed to consult with Mrs Ramon, and we've so busy this week, I kept forgetting to ask. She could not remember with LTH level certainty, but she believes they were capers.

In truth, I'd kinda forgotton about this place, and I'm happy for the reminder. Wouldn't be surprised if we end up back there in the next couple of day.

-ramon

Ramon wrote:[She could not remember with LTH level certainty, but she believes they were capers.

They bear an uncanny resemblance to frozen peas and corn.

E.M.

Huachinango (known as pargo to Cubans) and snapper to us is done like this (fried in it's entirety) at many restaurants around town. My favorite is a great little place at Irving and Elston called C-Manny's Mexican Restaurant (owned by Carlos and Manuela-hence the name). They do a veracruzana that is the creole type sauce of slightly sweet tomato-based sauce and also a citrus garlic preparation (al mojo de ajo). Very tasty. Damn good chilaquiles in green sauce too.

C-Manny's Mexican Restaurant
3641 W. Irving Park Rd.
773-583-1590

Ramon wrote:No alcohol is served but we ordered multiple rounds of domestic and Mexican soft drinks. I was just told on the phone that they are not BYOB (your experience may vary).

Stopped by tonight.

There's a sign up saying you can't bring in any alcohol -- on the upside, the horchata is pretty good.

And Ramon, that green salsa is jalapeno-based -- I asked the lady what made it creamy and she giggled. Crema? Mayo?

Erik M. wrote:

Ramon wrote:[She could not remember with LTH level certainty, but she believes they were capers.

They bear an uncanny resemblance to frozen peas and corn.

E.M.

What looks like frozen peas and corn turned out to be exactly that. Still, what may not be evident from Ramon's photo is that light tomato sauce is drizzled over the fish (bringing it a step closer to the traditional huachinango a la Veracruzana) and there are olives involved.

Had a most odd torta cubana -- with ham and milanesa (expected) and egg and a hot dog (most unexpected, though I notice such ingredients are advertised on the window sign).

bumping this thread for the single biggest $1 tacos al pastor (pineapple or not) i've ever seen in my life:



the tray/utensil/alum foil/tacos +paperbag musta weighed a lb. i'm moving coupla miles away from Amigo and have been driving by weekly for almost 6 months straight. not a great al pastor, but will be back...

I had a quick lunch here last weekend and the al pastor tacos are simply amazing. Crisp, juicy, flavorful, one of the best tacos I've ever had.

There was a fire in the building of the Irving Park location last night. 9 residents displaced, no word on the condition or prognosis for reopening.

I'm going to the Lawrence Ave. location for dinner tonight, hopefully I'll get some more info.

Octarine wrote:There was a fire in the building of the Irving Park location last night. 9 residents displaced, no word on the condition or prognosis for reopening.

I'm going to the Lawrence Ave. location for dinner tonight, hopefully I'll get some more info.

When I saw the news coverage late last night, they didn't mention the restaurant, but I thought it might be Amigo Chino. Chicagofiremap has a little more info: http://www.chicagofiremap.net/2014/01/fire-at-taqueria-amigo-chino-mexican.html