Tacos El Jaliciense

Well, stopped in for dinner this eve. The place is really quite nice inside with a nice tile mosaic counter to sit and maybe 4 tables. Serve the typical taco/torta/burrito/tostada/quesadilla menu.
I had a taco dinner (3 tacos, ice/beans) for $7.95.
As it was my first time there I went with a pastor, carne asada, and lomo encebollado to sample a few things.
Pastor was on a vertical spit with a pineapple on top and was sliced off fresh and put on the grill when I ordered. Nice acidic taste to it, really quite a nice flavor. Asada was quite nice, charred on the grill for a litle crunch, well seasoned with salt. Lomo was tasty and was prepared from a raw state when I ordered. Saw them season with a powder and some jarred (store bought)lemon juice. Think perhaps there was a bit too much lemon juice for my tatse but sure it varies depending on the cook (I had also squirted it with fresh lime before I ate so could have been my bad too). Rice was a bit overcooked but passable, beans were quite good, served with some cheese on top.
One thing I noticed was MUCH less grease than many of my favorite taco places. It is nice to finish three tacos and not have a pool of grease on a plate, and it wasn't like these were dry and tasteless tacos either.
I will be back for sure.
Jamie

Tacos El Jaliciense
2859 W Chicago Ave
773.235.2859

Thanks for the tip, the place sounds good. Rich4 is always looking for places that do al pastor from a spit, and I feel like an un-worthy chowhound, that my information is less than vital, when I can not name more places for him. (For whatever reason, it is the only food challenge that bugs me that I cannot address).

Rob

Yes, Jamie thanks. To give this some context, someone on CH was wondering where to eat in South Humb. Park other than Boston's. I mentioned this place because it just "looked" so damn perfect, and Jaime and Lill jumped in to agree.

Indeed, camera crews would have a lot to work with in terms of atmospheric fast food stands on the corner of Grand and Chicago. I really love that corner. It's a destination for me on lunchtime runs (as in excercize, not food pickup). It's how I became interested in Boston's originally. These are little oases in an area that is both close to the parks (Smith and Humboldt are nearby), yet desolate and remote, owing to the Metra yard, the huge rental place, and the stretch of industrial buildings. I always expect to see a tumbleweed roll by. (Closer to Smith is a very cool-looking place, a bar named Cobalt, I think.)

Anyway, pastor, on the spit, with the pineapple on top is a very good sign. I meant to step in and discuss possible specials with the lady working there the other day, but was in too much of a hurry.

Thanks again.

The al pastor project gets more complicated as I am including places that do not use a spit. The spit could get you to your goal of bits of nicely carmelized marinated pork and onions, or sometimes they shave the pork too soon and it's not always browned, in which case you have shredded pork rather than carmelized which is key. Some places without the spit could brown it as well, but you have inevitably larger chunks. Consistency on this issue seems to be a problem all around.

Thanks for the al pastor rec on El Jaliciense, which I intend to try soon with my camera.

Yeah I decided to give it a shot after seeing the Chowhound post. Frankly I didn't even realize it was open as I rarely drive down that way (unless I am going to Boston's which I have not been in too long). Any clue when this place opened it's doors?
I walked in and ordered to go so I could take a few shots to post but it felt really comfortable in there so I decided to make my order "para aqui". That is a good sign.
Looking forward to any other reviews from people who give it a shot.

Now perhaps a quick question:
What is your favorite mexican place on Chicago Ave (or within 1/2 a block off it) say between The expressway and Grand? Asking because there are many I have not tried (Naty's, etc in that corridor) and wondering where to start. Had frequented Traspasadas on Ashland/Chicago until I found Mr Tacos, now that is my norm. Sure there are plenty of good one's though.

Jamie, I wish I had some suggestions. I live further north, and mostly run down Grand to Humboldt Park, doing recon for to-go food orders later in the day. My focus has been on the Sicilian, Puerto Rican, and beef places until the new taco stand caught my eye. Do you ever stop by the Baron of Beef? There is an interesting looking taco stand (was a hamburger stand) just west of there.

JeffB wrote: ... My focus has been on the Sicilian ...

Care to elaborate? I don't focus on that strip much, so I'm very curious what Sicilian joints are serving. I might be thinking of the wrong facet of Sicilian ...

Many thanks,

rien

No secret, I just meant the red sauce, pizza, bakery, etc. on Grand between the river and, say, Western. All pretty well documented Italian of Sicilian backgound places (though among the best is Barese, not Sicilian, Bari.)

Rich,

have you tried any of the atotonilco stands (la villiata, back of the yards, 56th&kedzie), They do a very very nice al pastor. I was at 56th & kedzie just yesterday and as always loved their marination of the pork. The lengua is pretty good as well

zim wrote:Rich,

have you tried any of the atotonilco stands (la villiata, back of the yards, 56th&kedzie), They do a very very nice al pastor. I was at 56th & kedzie just yesterday and as always loved their marination of the pork. The lengua is pretty good as well

No I haven't, is any one better than the others that you would recommend?
Thanks.

Jamieson22 wrote:Now perhaps a quick question:
What is your favorite mexican place on Chicago Ave (or within 1/2 a block off it) say between The expressway and Grand? Asking because there are many I have not tried (Naty's, etc in that corridor) and wondering where to start.

Though I have yet to go, my last roommate swore that El Taco Veloz had the best chile rellenos. Another friend also seconded that they had pretty good food.

El Taco Veloz
1745 W Chicago Ave
312-738-0363

JeffB wrote:No secret, I just meant the red sauce, pizza, bakery, etc. on Grand between the river and, say, Western.

OK. I guess I don't really think of those as "Sicilian" - though, now that you mention it, they obviously are. My view of Sicilian food is totally constructed through reading and cookbooks - I've never been there - so my "Sicilian" has fish stews and windswept landscapes a la Visconti's La Terra Trema.

But that has nothing to do with Taquerias ...

rien

I tried the al pastor at Tacos El Jaliciense, and didn't like it. Sure, they had a spit, but they shave the pieces too large and too soon. The result was greasy, non-carmelized, large chunks of marinated pork. In fact, none of the meat was browned. The grease was too much for even the 2-ply tortilla. No lime, no salt, very little fresh onion and cilantro, too much lettuce and tomato.

Overall, this was an al pastor train wreck.

Rich4 wrote:

zim wrote:Rich,

have you tried any of the atotonilco stands (la villiata, back of the yards, 56th&kedzie), They do a very very nice al pastor. I was at 56th & kedzie just yesterday and as always loved their marination of the pork. The lengua is pretty good as well

No I haven't, is any one better than the others that you would recommend?
Thanks.

Rich,

I havent been to the la villita outlet, but both the 47th and ashland and 56th and kedzie worked well for me, the 56th street store is a little "nicer"

On my way into work today I noticed that all the windows at Tacos El Jaliciense were boarded up. There was also a POD moving crate next to the back door.

Jamieson22 wrote:On my way into work today I noticed that all the windows at Tacos El Jaliciense were boarded up. There was also a POD moving crate next to the back door.

I walked in there a few days ago and it looked as though they were possibly just remodeling the place. Unfortunately, I didn't ask the contractors working there if they were permanantly closing or not since I was too distraught over not being able to get their quality carne asada taco.

Sorry.

There was a fire. They plan to reopen.