Maxwell Street from a new Chicagoan's perspective.

I recently moved to Chicago from New York, and ever since getting here, I've been dying to check out some of this city's wonderful Mexican offerings. So it was with some excitement that this morning (barely--more like noon), I printed out a copy of David's Maxwell Street Guide and hopped on a bus to Roosevelt.

I went alone, and decided that since I'd have limited stomach space, I'd stick with the recommendations from the guide, and would try to explore more on my own another day, hopefully with a friend or two. It's always hard to try a lot of stuff solo, because it just bogs you down. With three people willing to share, you can try three different varieties of taco without eating (or throwing away) three whole tacos.

Entering the market from Roosevelt, I first headed south, in search of the Tamal Oaxaca stand. I love the photos in the guide, which make identifying particular stands a breeze, even among the never-ending visual stimuli in the market. At the tamale stand, they were out of everything but the large Oaxacan chicken tamales. They were very accomodating when I explained that I wanted one to go and one right away. Finding a seat was no sweat, probably because it was already a little past one. The tamale came unwrapped, with a fat dollop of sour cream, and was delivered with a bottle of hot sauce. Perhaps because of the late hour, I found the ends of the tamale (that is, the parts where there was no chicken) a little dry. Is that just a result of the airiness of the masa mixture? It seemed like it had the potential to come out soft and crumbly, like it's been described elsewhere on these boards, but perhaps mine was just a bit stale. As I worked my way toward the middle, though, the dryness disappeared. The chicken is really wonderful. The sour cream helped out with the dry parts, but I found it to be a distraction on the rest. I shared a table with a couple of guys from the neighborhood who told me--unbidden--about how the market used to be better years ago. They couldn't say exactly how or why (something about being able to bargain more), but that does seem to be the prevailing opinion.

I walked from there all the way to the southern tip of the market, just to see what kinds of wares were on display. Some pretty unusual stuff. One guy was selling what appeared to be items returned--opened--to Best Buy. Everything was $6, and some of it was a bargain at that rate. Lots of computer cables originally priced as much as $30 or more.

I looped around and started back north, when I spied the Deliciosos Cockteles stand. Eating here was really my main goal for the day. I lived in Mexico City for about 4 months in 1996, and I discovered ceviche with tostadas just a few weeks before leaving. I absolutely love this stuff. So much so that on a short trip to Mexico a few years ago, I ate some from a market in Culiacan even though I knew I had about a 90% chance of getting a little of the ol' turista (and I did, but it was worth it.) The ceviche at Deliciosos Cockteles was the one item about which I'd vigorously disagree with David's guide. He says that it's a good "neutral" dish, and mentions that it's non-spicy. Sure, it's not blazingly hot, but it's definitely picante, and on top of that, incredibly refreshing. The flavor is strongly vinegary, with plenty of cilantro and a dash of hot sauce. The tostadas are nearly perfect; slightly warm, very crispy, and they taste more like corn than grease. I have only two small complaints. My ceviche was slightly watery, and I thought they were a little chintzy with the avocados. Of course, on this latter point, that might be a little unfair. When I was in Mexico, avocados were a peso apiece (at that time, roughly 7 cents). So I suppose they could better afford to pile wonderfully fresh avocados on top of everything, which probably just isn't economically feasible way up here. Again, because I didn't want to overdo it, I skipped the huaraches.

By this time, it was close to 2:30, and a number of vendors were already packing up. My other big goal for the day was to try the Salvadoran pupusas, so I had to hotfoot it north of Roosevelt. There was no line whatsoever at the pupusa stand, which was kind of a shame. These corncakes are probably best when they're being snatched hot off the griddle by a hungry horde. By the time I got there, a little pile of the chicharron pupusas had been piled up alongside the griddle, and a few half-cooked cheese variety were being kept tepid on the top. The women working seemed like they were ready to go home, and tossed a plate of two cheese and two chicharron together for me, asking "para llevar?" in a way that didn't sound much like a question. I can't blame them--they'd been there since 7 or earlier, where I'd rolled in after noon. I ate one of the cheese right away and took the rest home. The cake wasn't bad, but not wonderful, either. I'd like to get my hands on more of that sauce, though. It's hot, and just a little smoky. These are definitely not a good candidate for taking home and eating later. I didn't try heating them up, but they get awfully rubbery once they cool.

I passed the Tacos Bernardo stand, and did not see any papalo on the tables, or anywhere. I didn't stop to ask if they had any tucked away, but there was defnitely none on display.

The trip definitely satisfied at least one craving, and made me eager to head back for more. Next time, though, I'm not going alone, I am going earlier, and I'll definitely try to delve a little deeper.

Thanks to David and everyone for the fantastic guide.[/i][/url]

Great report. I think when Maxwell Street was a year old in 1889 or whenever, there were people saying it wasn't what it used to be in 1888.

Hey Stinky,

Glad you found the guide helpful.

Timing the Maxwell St. Market is an important consideration (I've been there too early, meaning around 7:00 AM, and too late, meaning around 2:00) and the big problem with coming late, as you found, is that stands run out or you get stuff that's been sitting around for awhile.

You found the Ricos Cockteles picante, and I would agree that they are spicy, though rarely "hot" -- then again, none of the cocktailiers use measuring devices, so there's definitely a luck of the draw element involved there, and everywhere else, at the market, which is part of what makes it so cool.

Hammond

David Hammond wrote:You found the Ricos Cockteles picante, and I would agree that they are spicy, though rarely "hot"

I'm not sure if this matters or not, but Ricos Cockteles was the one place where I was able to "fool" them into thinking I spoke great Spanish. I don't look Latino, but I can pull off a pretty good accent, so every once in a while, native speakers of Spanish might think, for a few minutes anyway, that I'm not quite pure gringo. I doubt this affected my ceviche, as I find it hard to believe the woman who took my order gave the person putting it together the secret "Don't worry, he can handle it" sign, but it's a thought.

I just watched the Gorilla Gourmet guide again the other day before I send it to a friend. And looking through the online guide, I'm still pissed I happened to go on the one day of the year, apparently, when the ricos huaraches people weren't there. I consider the huaraches of Mexico City, like you get in Mercado Merced, the perfect huarache, the Platonic form of the huarache. It's hard to find them outside of Mexico City and it looks like they do them perfectly at the ricos huaraches stand. You guys are quite lucky.

btw, David, if you want to use any of my photos to extend the guide, feel free. (I don't consider them in the public domain, but I'll consider them in LTHForum's domain for all the help I got.)

extramsg wrote:btw, David, if you want to use any of my photos to extend the guide, feel free. (I don't consider them in the public domain, but I'll consider them in LTHForum's domain for all the help I got.)

EMSG,

Thank you very much; that's very kind of you to offer, and I will probably take you up on it. You have some excellent Maxwell pix (I recall, in particular, the searingly visceral ocular taco pic).

Hammond

ExtraMSG, it's not the one day. The last time I went, earlier in the summer, they weren't there either. It just happens, the market is a living organism. And not what it used to be, in 1888....

I started going to Maxwell St. in the mid-80's during summers home from college. The key to the old Maxwell was the more "free-for-all" approach, vendors arrived at 2 or 3 or 4am to claim "their spot." There were no spots delineated by spray-paint, no city enforcers or inspectors, and vendors (especially food!) were unregulated by anyone but themselves. The cops were there to shop and a ticket (or arrest) was a rare sight, maybe once per day... The new Maxwell St. has forced a higher overhead, the food is ceratainly more expensive, but over the years the number of food vendors has grown.

I miss the Tamale Ladies- short ladies dwarfed by piles of Coleman coolers packed full- "TRES PARA UNO DOLLAR!" There are a couple that made the transistion, though at higher prices. We could swing through on the way to the Bears and pick up the food end of a tailgate for $20- already cooked and napkins included!

There was also a (carne asada) taco guy who would move around in the same general area from Sunday to Sunday. He had the Magi-soaked meat spread out across a six-foot frill pumping smoke like an old steel factory. When done, it would be thrown onto a butcher-block cut from a tree, literally a large un-split round, cut from a tree, with a big divot from the years of pounding. They rolled it out pf the back of the truck. They had a giant cleaver and would hack up a handful of meat, grab it with a warm tortilla and hand it over. Originally, you just shoved a dollar in the big plastic jug and went on your way.



--trent

trent wrote:I miss the Tamale Ladies- short ladies dwarfed by piles of Coleman coolers packed full- "TRES PARA UNO DOLLAR!" There are a couple that made the transistion, though at higher prices. We could swing through on the way to the Bears and pick up the food end of a tailgate for $20- already cooked and napkins included! trent

I walked by cooler at Maxwell St. Market one day a while back, and it had a sign on it that read "Dospor $1.00." A "dospor" was an unfamiliar food item to me, so I said to the nice lady, "Dospor. Que es esto?" She replied, with the benign smile that normal people reserve for the village idiot.

Hammond

That's classic. Sort of like:

"No esta mal. Es tamal."

or my favorite Spanish language riddle/play on words - -

?Que cosa es?

Oro parece, y plata no es.

Rebbe

The key to the old Maxwell was the more "free-for-all" approach . . .

That's a nice evocation of the Market in "the good old days." I think some people only familiar with the Canal Street version might be surprised that the original was much rougher and less organized. One other memory of old Maxwell Street is the music. There would always be a band (occasionally some very famous musicians) who'd run an extension cord into a store or apartment for their amplifiers. You could stop in the deli for a quart of beer and sit contentedly on the curb with your paper bag listening to (sometimes) world-class blues while munching on a Polish sausage. Then there was Chickenman, one of the great street performers. I was really disappointed when the city moved the market and I stopped visiting for years. It took the 1999 Saveur article by Rick Bayless to make me realize it was still worth going.