El Jardin, Glenview "Glen"

We ate at El Jardin in the Glen in Glenview.

Not a lot of dishes sampled, so your milage may vary:
Chips and Salsa: Chips were crisp and warm, two levels of salsa, the mild was too mild, but the spicy was reasonably picante (I could have handled hotter)

Sopa de tortilla: Excellent! A generous slice of avocado and a dollop (piped floret, actually) of crema garnish this soup with flavorful lemony chikcen broth, lots of tortilla strips, and chunks of chicken. Also containing mixed veggies that probably came out of a freezer bag, but were not unpleasant. A definite winner.

Bistec a la mexicana: Very good. good beef flavor, lots of peppers and tomatoes and onions.

Chiles Rellenos: Mediocre. Bland picadillo in fresh peppers marred by a flat, oily batter. Sauce on top of it made it all soggy without adding much flavor.

Rice and beans on each plate: Rice is ordinary, beans were very flavorful.

Service: Attentive but not obsequious. Young man obviously not hispanic, but at least pronounced menu items with a good accent.

Value: A little pricey, I can probably eat at nearby Lalo's for less (and their soup is also very good). There are a few things I'd like to try still, including enchiladas positano, something mole and their shrimp al diablo (with three sauces?).

In the 80's the original El Jardin on Clark was known more for the hallucinatory margaritas than the food (although they use to make decent chiliquillas). I don't know what was in those margaritas, but they were lethal. Many experienced drinkers, including myself, had at least one El Jardin story.

It was hard to explain the problem. They would not taste overly strong. The sizes were comparable to other places. You would not feel like you were becoming inebriated. Then WHAMMO. All hell breaks loose. Heads falling into their plate of food. Usually sane souls trying to jump out of moving cars on the way home. Cars suddenly became misplaced when leaving (which was probably a good thing). Fights between BF's and GF's, who when not under the spell of an EJM never disagreed. Others refusing to come out of the restroom stalls. I could go on and on.

From someone who got drunk a couple of times in my youth, this was not an alcohol high. It always seemed more drug-like. A little peyote, perhaps. Maybe mescaline?
Who knows what was in that margarita mix. All I know is that tequila never posed a problem for me anywhere else. For me, one was fine. I couldn't finish a second without sharing Otis' jail cell.

Anymore stories?

Cheers,
Al

Al Ehrhardt wrote:They would not taste overly strong. The sizes were comparable to other places. You would not feel like you were becoming inebriated. Then WHAMMO. All hell breaks loose. Heads falling into their plate of food. Usually sane souls trying to jump out of moving cars on the way home. Cars suddenly became misplaced when leaving (which was probably a good thing). Fights between BF;s and GF's, who when not under the spell of an EJM never disagreed. Others refusing to come out of the restroom stalls.

The "legand" was that they included a shot of grain alcohol along with the tequila and triple sec.