Excelen' Mexican: Picante Grill

My parents and some family friends and I recently went to Picante Grill, a Mexican resaurant juset past the edge of Pilsen. My parents had gotten the recomendation from a Latino friend (one of the founders of the Mexican Cultural Center, actually), and had been there previously and loved it. Entering the restaurant, were greeted with a nice Southwestern-adobe-style, though modern, bar. The maitre d' took us upstairs to the dining hall which continued the style. Since we were there durring the last quarter of the Bears-Panthers game, the place was empty. Dinner started with a drinks order. My dad got a Negro Modelo, I had water, and everyone else had giant margaritas. In addition to the standard lime margaritas, they also had mango, strawberry, and one or two other flavors. The margaritas were huge (approximately 8-9 ounces) and came in what looked like hand-blown glasses. I should mention, all the glassware looked hand-blown and was carefully of non-uniform size to accent this. The waitress also brought home-made (appearing) tortilla chips and salsa. The salsa was on the spicy side, which I liked, and very smooth, not your typical chunky salsa at all.

Then we ordered the rest of our meal. While the menu had all of the "tex-mex" (or Southwestern, as most prefer) standbys, there was also a healthy selections of more sophisticated dishes. We started with a pair of sombreritos, which are a triplet of tostada-like creations on a soft, doughy, pita-like corn base. The toppings were one each of chicken, beef, and beans. Each was extraordinary. For dinner, me and one of our friends ordered a molcajete, a sort of mixed grill of chicken, steak, shrimp, and it was supposed to have chorizo as well, but they were out that evening. It came in a guajillo sauce, which was a sort of red chile sauce. It was dressed with cheese wedges and agave leaves and came in an apparently traditional mortar-like pot called a [i[molcajete[/i], which is presumably where the dish got its name. On the side,k there was rice, beans, and home-made tortillas. I only had a large taste of the rice and beans as I was stuffed by the main dish, and the tastes I had of others' dishes, but the sides were quite nice as well. My mom ordered anillos de pollo, chicken breast stuffed with ground chorizo. It was really good, with the chorizo adding a nice heat to the well seasoned chicken. The other two entres I tasted were both shrimp. One was a spicy dish, the camarones al chilazo, were the shrimp was sauted in olive oil with chiles. The spice was quite nice with a small hint of citrus (the menu specifies orange, though I couldn't make it out as such). The other was a more mild creation, the camarones al mojo de ajo, which had a very strong lime taste. Again quite good.

Portions were always quite generous, the food was outstanding, and the prices quite reasonable. Its conveniant location, just off the highway, make Picante Grill a really nice spot for a casual Mexican dinner.

The Picante Grill
www.picantegrill.net
1626 S. Halsted
Chicago, IL 60608

I was worried for a moment that you were about to praise the completely ordinary burrito place of a very similar name on Lincoln just south of Roscoe. Luckily, it's no relation (or to this, either).

I teach in Pilsen and have several hours to kill before a school function, so I found myself yearning to try a new place...and Picante was it!

Great place, I concur with everything you've stated.

On my visit I had a great Tilapia filet that was seasoned with just a tinge of spice and it was a huge portion so I had trouble polishing it off. It was served with some nice, seasonal steamed vegetables...and just because I had been good through dinner I ordered the tres leches which certainly undid any good I may have done over dinner.

I dined solo and found myself very welcome and at ease throughout the meal...not bad! I do hope they succeed with burgeoning University Village just north and lots of people who would prefer Chipotle to anything else moving there.

I stopped in Picante Grill for a margarita one night while I was in the area. I enjoyed the bar atmosphere and a good margarita. I decided I needed dessert and asked the server to guide me toward something chocolate. Boy what a dessert! It was a Mexican chocolate coated "bombe" with marshmallow and ice cream inside. It tasted great and everyone at the bar couldn't stop staring at it and asking me if it tasted as good as it looked. I definately will be there again for a full dinner.