La Cebollita, Pilsen: new location, new look

La Cebollita, Pilsen: new location, new look

In need of a quick little breakfast this morning, I headed to Café Mestizo with thoughts of a tamal oaxaqueño. It turns out that Mestizo doesn’t open till 9, however (oh, it’s that kind of café…). Heading east on 18th I spotted a new place with an “open” sign a bit south on Ashland so I parked and headed over to check it out.

What I found was a new location for an old neighborhood spot – La Cebollita, which has been on Ashland a couple doors north of 18th, opened a new location last Saturday. (The old spot is still going, but has been sold, so perhaps we’ll see something new there.) La Cebollita has been mentioned here various times as a good source of tamales, so for my breakfast I ordered two sweet tamales (bright red masa, not overly sweet, filled with raisins and small chunks of pineapple), plus a small champurrado, the chocolate masa-based hot drink which traditionally goes with this kind of breakfast. I was completely happy with my choices, and sitting by the big windows looking out on rainy Ashland was pretty pleasant. Total including tax: $3.31. I love the serendipity of ending up at a new place when the original plan doesn’t work out.

The new La Cebollita is just north of Carnitas Tzararacua and directly across the street from Carnitas Saba y Vega, just to orient the pork-lovers who may be reading this. The space and décor is an amazing change from their old spot, which was/is a tiny, fast-foody place with perhaps a half-dozen tables for two squeezed in. They now have a big loft with brightly colored walls displaying paintings by local artists, and about 15 4-top tables.

The menu selections may have expanded a bit from the old location, but most of the offerings are pretty standard. (I’m curious, though, about what the difference might be between “chilaquiles rojos o verdes” and “chilaquiles norteños.”) I think the tamales and the breakfast offerings are probably the way to go here. Here’s a combination breakfast that sounds really good to me: Desayuno “La Cebollita” – 1 tamal, 2 eggs, potatoes with chorizo, and a small champurrado ($5.00). I think beans and tortillas come with that, too.

La Cebollita also has a location on 47th Street, which we’ve driven by but never tried. Has anyone been there?

Previous mentions on LTH:
http://lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?p=65149#65149
http://lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?p=71138#71138
http://lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?p=85393#85393
http://lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?p=56953#56953

La Cebollita
1807 South Ashland Avenue
Chicago IL 60608
312 492-8443

4343 West 47th Street
Chicago IL 60632
773 247-0910

Café Mestizo
1646 West 18th Street
Chicago, IL 60608
312-421-5920
www.cafemestizo.com

Thanks for posting about La Cebollita -- I've never been, but it is now on the list (which, thankfully or no, grows weekly).

Could chilaquiles norteños simply be chilaquiles with norteño sauce, milder than rojo o verde?

That Desayuno sounds outstanding and quite rib-sticking. Are their breakfast beans refried? Black or brown? I'm flashing back to a vacation in Belize, where the standard breakfast is fried eggs, fresh flour tortillas and refried black beans, with Marie's habanero sauce on every table in the county.

My first guess is that the Nortenos come con queso. Do you recall if the Nortenos cost a few cents mas que los rojos o verdes?

Well, I just happen to have a copy of the menu here...

The basic price for either type of chilaquiles is $5.00 (served with beans, potatoes with chorizo, and tortillas). The red/green kind can be ordered with meat, for $7, or with "eeg" for $6. Under the nortenos listing the only other option is with meat, $7.

My guess would be that the norteno style is with bits of tortilla in scrambled eggs -- Nuevo Leon does this version. I hope someone goes and orders this so we can find out!

By the way, apropos of the hot dog discussion in the Bombon Cafe thread, you all might be amused to see that the breakfast meats available alongside eggs-any-style are chorizo, jamon, tocino, salchicha ("mexican sausage, ham, bacon, weiners").

Joel, I didn't see any plates with beans on them while I was there so I don't know for sure, but I'd guess the beans are standard fried mashed pintos. Those Belizean breakfasts you describe sound great! (Any Belizean places around here doing breakfast?)

Amata wrote:La Cebollita also has a location on 47th Street, which we’ve driven by but never tried. Has anyone been there?

Huh. I live less than a half mile from this location and have meant to stop by for a year now. This post should provide me with the inspiration I need to get off my lazy kiester and try some new food in the neighborhood.

I just came back from the 47th street location, and was a bit disappointed to find out that they no longer have tamales on the menu. The menu consisted of the usual Mexican dishes: tacos, tortas, gorditas, burritos, etc. I ended up ordering tacos al pastor (even though there was no spit in sight, I was hankering for some marinaded pork) and tacos de lomo (ribeye). They also had a number of dinners, but my appetite wasn't up to the challenge this morning. As for breakfast offerings, there wasn't anything particularly exotic beyond chorizo and eggs. They even had hamburgers, hot dogs, and pizza puffs here for people who would like to opt out of the Mexican offerings.

The tacos de lomo were tasty, if not a bit stringy and tough, cooked over the griddle, and not the grill they have. The al pastor was good for not being made on a spit--definite pineapple-y taste to it, but lacking the tasty edges of an al pastor made on a spit.

Sorry for the tepid choices here, but there wasn't much of anything that leapt out at me. The chile rellenos looked good, you can buy chicharron or carnitas for five bucks a pound, and I'm tempted to see what their take on the torta cubano is.

All in all, nothing bad, nothing great, perfectly serviceable Mexican food. It's just that there's a lot better choices in the area depending on what you want.

Wow, Binko, that was fast. Too bad the menu at the 47th St outpost was so limited, but thanks a lot for checking it out and reporting back.