De Allende Restaurant, Lombard

I made a U-turn to try this storefront after seeing it out of the corner of my eye as I went west on Roosevelt this morning. It was 10:30, an awkward time for a meal unless you're a chowist, in which case anytime is the right time.

Despite the hour, there were other customers sitting in one of the comfortable booths (they also have three or four tables)--in this case a group of men who looked like they had just come off a dry-wall job. In addition, the phone kept ringing with carry-out orders. The bi-lingual (well, her English was way better than my Spanish) cashier took a steady stream of orders in Spanish, relaying them back to the cooks at the grill.

Clearly the al pastor is very popular. After one phone order the grill man carved what had to be at least a couple of pounds off the spit and started grilling it, chopping it up more as he did. I noticed that after that, the other cook pushed the flame on the spit higher and it was starting to get brown again as I left.

I might have tried something with the al pastor if I'd noticed the spit when I came in, but instead I asked for the heuvos a la mexicana. She asked me if I wanted them hot and I said yes, though I suspect she gave me gringo hot, not Mexican hot. If the eggs were any indication, they've got one great grill man. The onions were carmelized, with just enough char to give a little smokey taste, the peppers (mostly green peppers with a few slices of what I assume were jalapenos) were cooked but not mushy, the tomatoes were real, and the eggs were perfectly cooked. They came with commercial tortillas, good refried beans, and adequate rice. The salsa verde in the squeeze bottle was medium hot, and very good. I can't remember when I last had eggs I liked so much. And all for $3.75.

There was a sign up for homemade tamales, and the cashier also mentioned to me that they had them, so I asked for one. She gave me a choice of two kinds, but I confess to not understanding what the choices were, except that it sounded to me like one of them was "green." I ordered one of whatever the second choice was. It wasn't green. It was excellent, even if not quite as fabulous as Neuvo Leon's. When I praised it the cashier admitted she made them herself. I was impressed enough to bring another half dozen home.

I don't see anything particularly exotic on the dinner menu. The only thing I don't recognize is a "house specialty" called "Oaxaquena/ bacon, beef steak, green pepper, cheese, and onions," and that probably just shows what a novice I am. But for good basic cheap Mexican in the Lombard area, it's a winner.

De Allende Restaurant
1238 S. Highland (just south of Roosevelt)
Lombard
630 953 0050

I brought Bill along for a follow-up lunch visit today. We were again the only non-Mexicans in the place. My first impressions were more than confirmed. In particular, the salsa that comes with the chips at the table is terrific, with hunks of tomato and lots of fresh cilantro and the al pastor is a little crunchy and wonderfully seasoned. Bill's favorite tacos were the chorizo--spicy and greasy but not oozing oil. We noticed a hand-made sign for an "Iglesia Hispanica" a few blocks away, another indication of the growing Mexican community in DuPage County.

Sounds good, Ann, I need to check that out.

As to a growing Mexican population in DuPage county, I think there is quite a large one already. But it is more north and west, places like West Chicago, for instance. More specifically, in any part of the county where there is fairly low cost housing, which usually means inexpensive rental units as well as a few pockets of inexpensive houses as in West Chicago, there is a significant Mexican presence.

There is an interesting book I have, called Poliscide, which is a treatise on the creation of Fermilab. The story, quite simplified, is that Dupage and Kane counties worked together to get Fermilab sited there, despite the presence of an existing community, because it was inexpensive, ethnic (mostly Mexican, if I recall correctly) and very out of synch with its neighbors, Warrenville, St. Charles, Geneva, Batavia and Naperville. So they got the federal government to bankroll the destruction of this town. To their chagrin, I suppose, parts of West Chicago developed a similar profile.

This process started in the 50's and was completed in the 60's. It is most interesting, according to the author, because it is the only evidence of an entire town being bought up and razed by the government, though you can still see some of the tiny houses that were kept for staff housing at Fermilab. It is particularly unusual because under US law, the town itself had to somehow "consent" to its destruction. I think this occurred by some form of gradual infiltration of the city government, if I recall correctly. NIMBY run amok, I guess.