Latin Sandwich Café: Love, Death & Comfort Food

Latin Sandwich Café: Love, Death & Comfort Food

Saturday night, The Wife and I attended a wake for a Belizean friend’s mother, and I noticed something you don’t see very often in Anglo funerary rituals: kids and parents were leaning over the open coffin, speaking to and affectionately stroking the face of the deceased, holding her hand, getting really close to her. Touching the cold body is not something we gringos are very comfortable with (I’m sure it happens, but it ain’t common), and I think this practice is a good reflection of the high level of comfort that Hispanics seem to express for death and dying (viz. Day of the Dead). In many ways, this relaxed and intimate relationship with the deceased loved one seems a healthier approach to the cycle of life/death than what seems a more Eurocentric, stand-offish and ultra-hygienic attitude toward the corpse and its care.

Anyway, after the wake, we went to eat, of course. We stopped by Latin Sandwich Café and had a number of Chilean items (I believe this is still the only place in Chicago where you can get Chilean chow), and I had one of those experiences that has happened only a few times in my life. Just like the first time Alice met Gertrude, a “little bell rang inside my head” when I first laid eyes on the pastel de choclo. I knew that this was something I was going to like.



It’s basically a clay pot of corn meal, baked, with pino (lightly spiced minced beef), raisins, black olives, some hardboiled egg and a chicken leg. I used to think that “comfort food” was, by definition, something you grew up with and learned to love while eating it on your mommy’s lap. This pastel was instant comfort food for me – comida casera, our matronly and touchingly sweet server told us – food of the house, something you make for friends and family, simple, unstuffy and satisfying. The textures are various throughout, like a Neapolitan pizza: sugary crisp at the edges, softer in the center, with pockets of density and surprise patches of meat and spice. It seemed like something I’d eaten before, but I don’t believe I ever have…though I’m certain I will again.

Latin Sandwich Café
4009 N. Elston
773.478.0175

Wow, that looks and sounds delicious. I walk over to the LSC about once a week, but have never ordered anything but the oven-baked empanadas, which are heavenly. I look forward to trying this dish very soon.

Hammond,

Your pastel de choclo reminds me very much of the ingredients (and likely the taste) of queso relleno at Xni-Pec, with the latter featuring melted gouda in place of the corn meal. I'd say these two dishes were cousins.

Having grown up with this type of food at family gatherings, I had to go check out what seems to be the only source of Chilean food in Chicago.

I left with several empanadas de horno (baked) of both the chicken and meat variety (they keep well in the fridge), as well as some empanadas fritas (fried) de queso. I also got a sandwich Lukas to try as well as some torta mil hojas (thousand layer cake).

I took the empanadas de horno cold because they heat up well in the oven. But I had them fry the empanadas fritas de queso for me. Due to the travel time from Elston/Irving Park Rd to Streeterville, they were eaten upon arriving home before the camera was brought out. Despite the travel time they were still delicious and very similar to the ones I grew up with. Crisp on the outside, soft on the inside fried dough around slightly salty melted cheese. They were very tasty, and would have been even better with some mashed avocado to spread on them. The Sandwich Lukas was great but next time I will try to get the avocado spread on the side as the trip made it warm, and I'm not a fan of warm avocado. I'm sure it would be much better added immediately prior to consumption. Otherwise the sandwich was delicious, with tasty steak, ham, cheese and the aforementioned avocado.

This is an empanada de horno (chicken) which seems to consist of the traditional soft-ish dough stuffed with sauteed onions, egg, chicken (seems like leg meat - very tasty), a couple raisins and one black olive. It was served with a salsa of sorts that was very fresh and tasty, with just the right amount of kick. A little surprising to me, it complemented the flavors of the empanada very well. It seems to contain, among other things, garlic, jalapeno, onion and cilantro.




This is the torta mil hojas (thousand layer cake). It is layers of dough in between which is what I grew up knowing as "manjar" but may be known by other names as indicated here. I also never had a version with nuts (walnuts I believe) but they added a nice texture.


In all, I was impressed with the quality of the food and the taste. The people were very friendly and warm. Even though it is a bit of a drive for me, I am sure I will be back there soon to try out the pastel de chocolo and some other menu selections.

Latin Sandwich Café
4009 N. Elston
773-478-0175
http://www.latinsandwichcafe.com/ (the website has pictures of most of the food)

I had the torta mil hojas, too, and though it was my kind of dessert: not too sweet, with good tooth, and it looked great.



We actually ordered one to share, but it was so good I got another.

Those dishes look and sound great. Do they serve any sort of tamales?

Cogito wrote:Those dishes look and sound great. Do they serve any sort of tamales?

I believe they serve humitas, which are similar.

Best,
Michael

Cogito wrote:Those dishes look and sound great. Do they serve any sort of tamales?

Yes, they serve humitas (blind) tamales, which are somewhat sweet and benefit from a touch of Chilean salsa.

I just had lunch at the Latin Sandwich Cafe and am happy there is already a thread devoted to this wonderful little restaurant.

The restaurant is now called Rapa Nui (the local name of Easter Island) and the website is http://rapanuichicago.wordpress.com/.

I started with a chicken empanada, which was fried to order and delicious, and a churasco especial (a steak sandwich). The bread for the sandwich is baked in-house and has a real nice, rich flavor. I will be going back very soon.

Darren72 wrote:I just had lunch at the Latin Sandwich Cafe and am happy there is already a thread devoted to this wonderful little restaurant.

more than one, in fact...Rapa Nui is a few short blocks from home for me, and I'm glad to say it's on my regular dinner rotation.

I am glad to have discovered this forum! Full disclosure: I designed the new website for their restaurant (http://rapanuichicago.com), and I'd always appreciate your feedback. Please use the contact form here: http://crmdynamo.com/about-me/

Eddy the owner decided to rebrand the restaurant to focus primarily on Chilean and Rapa-Nui cuisine, whereas they previously had a more Caribbean menu as Latin Sandwich Cafe. As a Chilean-American I can attest that his menu, while lacking some flair, is absolutely authentic Chilean. And, it's BYOB. Please note: the menu on the website still needs updating to reflect the new options, and I'll hopefully post a new one soon.

I'm glad to help promote Chilean cuisine in Chicago, especially since they're really the only one in this city. It would be a shame for this city to lose it! Where in the world will I go to see Chile play in the World Cup???

For starters, I recommend you try the traditional oven-baked empanada, as well as the new salmon empanada which I fell in love with. In commenting on a previous post, I've never had walnuts in my "torta mil hoja" but I am a convert now, this should be a standard. My wife loved the shakes, both the avocado and strawberry.

Feel free to send me your comments, or contact Eddy the owner directly at this email: lukasqui @ yahoo.com. As long as you don't spam him, I'm sure he'd appreciate it.

Hmm... I see they have a "Chacarero" sandwich. I havent had one of these since I worked in downtown Boston and used to get these from a small storefront that shared a name with the sandwich in Downtown Crossing. The ingriendent list seems mostly the same (steak, green beans, tomato) though the real attractions were the bread (not sure I can describe that), the green hot sauce and Munster cheese. Mayonnaise is listed here, though I don't recall it. These sandwiches were one of my favorite lunches (when I didn't actually need to talk to anyone afterward...) and I'm hoping this is a good facsimile.

Estimado cmespinoza,

It's been a long time since I lined up at the bakery at Rotunda Tomas Moro on a Sunday morning for a box of empanadas de horno to take home. I am delighted that the restaurant is focusing more on Chilean cuisine.

Another thing I miss is dipping buttered crusty bread into a dish of pebre. I've tried repeatedy to make it here in Chicagoland with recipes I've found on the internet, but I've never been satisfied with the result. Is there any chance the owner of Rapa Nui would sell me a quart of it?

Saludos,

Katie

Katie wrote:Another thing I miss is dipping buttered crusty bread into a dish of pebre. I've tried repeatedy to make it here in Chicagoland with recipes I've found on the internet, but I've never been satisfied with the result. Is there any chance the owner of Rapa Nui would sell me a quart of it?

Mucho gusto Katie! They certainly let you take a quart of pebre, it's usually included with to-go orders. When I had ordered several dozen empanadas for a cocktail party I hosted, they included a few quarts of pebre. I'm sure they'd accommodate you if you ask nicely.

Bonus FYI: The Chilean group Inti-Illimani is coming to Chicago on Nov 12 at Morse Theatre, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED for those that appreciate true artists of Andean, Caribbean and folk music. They have two shows the same night, they're that popular. See the Chilean Club of Chicago website for more details (I'm webmaster for this one too):
http://www.clubchileno.com/2008/musica- ... noviembre/

Regards,
-Christian

cmespinoza wrote:Mucho gusto Katie! They certainly let you take a quart of pebre, it's usually included with to-go orders. When I had ordered several dozen empanadas for a cocktail party I hosted, they included a few quarts of pebre. I'm sure they'd accommodate you if you ask nicely.

FanTAStico!

Bonus FYI: The Chilean group Inti-Illimani is coming to Chicago on Nov 12 at Morse Theatre, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED for those that appreciate true artists of Andean, Caribbean and folk music. They have two shows the same night, they're that popular. See the Chilean Club of Chicago website for more details (I'm webmaster for this one too):
http://www.clubchileno.com/2008/musica- ... noviembre/
Regards,
-Christian

Cool! Thanks for the heads-up on the show and the club.

Katie,
who also pines for a thick cheesy torta pascualina from Jumbo...