Taqueria El Gallo Bravo [LTHForum Taqueria Project]

Another entry in the fast-moving, edge-of-your-seat thrill ride that is: The LTHForum Lawrence/Montrose Taqueria Project.

El Gallo Bravo (not to be confused with the earlier visit to Taqueria El Gallo #1, is a straight-up taqueria. The menu includes tacos, tostadas, tortas, a copule of burritos a few simple entrees, and nothing out of the ordinary. No sopes, gorditas, house-made tortillas, mariscos, or any weekend specials. This is a taqueria, so we stuck to tacos.

We ordered eight or nine tacos: chorizo, lengua, carne asada, suadero, bistec, and al pastor (yes, they have a cone, complete with a little pineapple.) This covered pretty much every taco on the menu except for pollo.



There was nothing particularly outstanding about any of these tacos in my book. The chorizo tasted like your garden variety mass-produced chorizo that you can get at Jewel. None of the steak tacos were particularly distinguishable (except for the bistec which was sliced in larger steak-like slices). Even the fresh-off-the-cone al pastor, while it had good flavor and showed a lot of promise, had none of the carmelization that you really hope for. If I had to pick a couple favorites, I'd go with the al pastor and the lengua, which was very tender but needed a good dose of salsa to lift the flavor.

Overall, in a neighborhood filled with taquerias and other Mexican restaurants, there's not much that distinguishes El Gallo Bravo in a culinary sense. A couple of the tacos were good, but not anything I'd go out of my way for. Their most distinguishing characteristics are the always-open hours (24-7) and the fact that they have a nice counter which is comfortable for solo diners. The next time I'm alone and hungry for tongue at 3am, I'll definitely stop at El Gallo Bravo.

Best,
Michael

Taqueria El Gallo Bravo
3418 W Montrose
773-539-9925

eatchicago wrote:There was nothing particularly outstanding about any of these tacos in my book.

Michael,

True, nor was there any negative. The tacos were fine, just that nothing popped out. I did like Taqueria El Gallo Bravo, reasonable prices, clean, open 24-hours and, as you said, both tables and a counter for solo dining.

Taqueria El Gallo Bravo



One thing we missed, with would have enhanced our lunch, were the grilled knob onions, jalapenos and fried dried peppers. Next time.


Well worth checking out, just a scant half block West, is Supermercado Cardenas. A nicely stocked full service Mexican grocer with good looking meats and nice array of cooked foods on the weekend. There's even a table and a few chairs setup to eat.

Supermercado Cardenas


Enjoy,
Gary

Supermercado Cardenas
3440 W Montrose
Chicago, IL
773-463-2801

Funny - I teach in the area and asked my kids for suggestions of good places. They all said Gallo Bravo, but I have yet to check it out. (I guess 12 year olds don't give the best culinary advice...)

Thanks for the info - I've been enjoying getting to know Albany Park since I drive through there daily now.

Laurk77 wrote:Funny - I teach in the area and asked my kids for suggestions of good places. They all said Gallo Bravo, but I have yet to check it out. (I guess 12 year olds don't give the best culinary advice...)

I live in the area and El Gallo Bravo seems to be pretty popular with the younger Latino crowd. My suspicion is that it's mainly because it's cheap, easy (fast counter service) and always open.

Check out the rest of the project linked at the top of the thread (and feel free to contribute!) and you'll see some of the others that people have checked out.

Best,
Michael

I've eaten here a few times thanks to the combination of 1) my insomnia; 2) their 24/7 hours, and 3) their proximity to my apartment. I've tried the carne asada, the suadero, and the al pastor. Agreed that the carne asada is nothing special. I had no idea what "suadero" was until I ordered it here and it turns out to be, as far as I can tell, carne asada simmered in lemon juice -- again, nothing special. But in my estimation they have some of the best al pastor in town. Another thing I like about the place is the 3 salsas you get with your chips. I'm not too great at identifying salsa styles yet, but one is the dark smokey type, one is the red-clay-colored stuff, and for lack of a better description, the third is a sort of a creamy tomatillo salsa. While they're all quite good, the creamy tomatillo salsa is my fave.