Papalo was available last week. Great flavor.

The cemita is indeed an excellent and filling sandwich. I had the Cemita Milanesa which is the breaded butterfly porkchop with avocado and oaxacan cheese. The red chipotle sauce gives you a good mouth burn with the heat and the green sauce adds another layer of flavor. I also requested the fresh papalo which has a strong flavor that sort of reminds me of culantro used in SE asian cooking.

The best part of my maiden voyage there was the warmth and hospitality offered by the family. From the moment i walked in, the elder members of the family made be feel comfortable and at home. All my requests were met with a smile and the owner was very gracious and accommodating.

Two notes from the field.

1. last three visits, no papalo on the cemitas except on request; they did provide a little foil packet of extra papalo as well. I wonder if, like cilantro for some, the herb has been divisive enough with their new clientele that it's left off by default now.

2. the chalupas are now store-bought corn tortillas griddled briefly and then dressed in the sauce. Gone are the little fresh masa slippers of previous years. The menu says "tortillas" and I asked about this specifically - according to the two behind the grill on Friday, they are no longer handmaking chalupas.

Cemitas still stellar and the arabes the most rewarding tacos in the city for me.

Santander wrote:Two notes from the field.

1. last three visits, no papalo on the cemitas except on request; they did provide a little foil packet of extra papalo as well. I wonder if, like cilantro for some, the herb has been divisive enough with their new clientele that it's left off by default now.

I'm not quite the new clientele (although not their old clientele, either), and like cilantro for me, can't stand the papalo. It's soapy like cilantro, but worse. I pick it off my sandwiches when they put it on, so this is good news for me.

Not such good news for beth, who likes cilantro and papalo.

Jack sprat and all that.

I tried CP for the first time last week. They were doing a pretty brisk dinner business with most of the tables full.

I went with the Cemita Atómica, which comes with ham and two types of pork chop. It was a lot less flavorful than I had anticipated, especially for something that carries the name Atómica. Next time I'll stick with the Milanesa, as that was my favorite part of the sandwich; the marinated pork chop, Carne Enchilada, didn't really do much for me, and I thought the ham detracted from the taste. Most of the milder flavors (avocado and cheese) got lost in the meatiness.
Sadly, I left less enthused than when I arrived. I'm going to chalk this visit up to ordering wrong and go with a Cemita Milanesa and some Tacos Arabes next time.

Service was top-notch. My sandwich came out shockingly fast, as I barely had time to sit down before it was placed in front of me, and the elder Sr. Puebla was chatting up everyone who walked in the door. It must have been Get Your Picture Taken with the Owner Day, because two groups in the span of 5 minutes indulged, showering him with DSLR love.

geno55 wrote:I went with the Cemita Atómica, which comes with ham and two types of pork chop. It was a lot less flavorful than I had anticipated, especially for something that carries the name Atómica. Next time I'll stick with the Milanesa, as that was my favorite part of the sandwich; the marinated pork chop, Carne Enchilada, didn't really do much for me, and I thought the ham detracted from the taste. Most of the milder flavors (avocado and cheese) got lost in the meatiness.
Sadly, I left less enthused than when I arrived. I'm going to chalk this visit up to ordering wrong and go with a Cemita Milanesa and some Tacos Arabes next time.

My exact reaction the first time I tried the Atomica.

Dmnkly wrote:

geno55 wrote:I went with the Cemita Atómica, which comes with ham and two types of pork chop. It was a lot less flavorful than I had anticipated, especially for something that carries the name Atómica. Next time I'll stick with the Milanesa, as that was my favorite part of the sandwich; Sadly, I left less enthused than when I arrived. I'm going to chalk this visit up to ordering wrong and go with a Cemita Milanesa and some Tacos Arabes next time.

My exact reaction the first time I tried the Atomica.

I was there Friday, with friends (for whom it was their first visit).

My reaction was somewhat similar - I felt there was a bit less flavour in *all* the sandwiches I tried, than is usual.. both the milanese and the atomica. Especially true of the "mouthburn" feel that I enjoy most (with the special brown-ish sauce that they put on the sandwich).. it was still sort of flavourful, but I didnt feel much of a burn at all, the heat-quotient much reduced, to me. My friends still liked it plenty of course (and they actually liked the "red-sauce" best, which is telling).

Iam hoping it was just a different batch - maybe less-spicy chilies etc. I was there on a Friday afternoon, it was very busy (with mostly brand-new customers.. far busier than my usual trips)... I hope it isnt a "toning down" of the heat-level to accomodate new clientele but rather just a milder batch of chilies. Its still a terrific sandwich, no matter what - but my own personal favourite part was the genuine heat, the terrific post-bite mouthburn of their special sauce, I hope that'll be there the next time!

c8w

geno55 wrote:I went with the Cemita Atmica, which comes with ham and two types of pork chop. It was a lot less flavorful than I had anticipated, especially for something that carries the name Atmica. Next time I'll stick with the Milanesa

Last time at TP I got into a bit of a kerfuffle with Jazzfood on this very issue, Atomica vs Milanesa. Jazz, a strong proponent of the Atomica, felt I was not being true to nothing says excess like excess by shunning the multi-multi Atomica. Possibly, but to me the abundance of bold flavors don't enhance so much as mask/diffuse. Give me the relative simplicity of the milanesa, 4 ingredients plus bun, 5 if papalo is available, just typing this out has me salivating like one of Pavlov's puppies.

And yes, I have had a bit of a sea change since I wrote Cemitas Puebla, post Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.

Far as heat levels and C8W, I was at TP a few weeks ago and did not notice a decrease in spice levels. I tend to doubt the Anteliz family is dumbing down the product to accommodate the tollway crowd flocking in on the weekends. Probably nothing more than natural variations in capsicum levels in the peppers.

Enjoy,
Gary

I'm with Jazzfood in the Atomica camp and I consider it to be one of the finest sandwiches in Chicagoland. I like the Milanesa a lot, too but I almost always order the Atomica because the components go so well together, and I can taste and appreciate them individually, as well. Simply put, with the Atomica, more really is more.

=R=

I love the atomica as well, too much meat..? one will never hear me utter those words.

The only thing I might do different on the Atomica is to add a fried egg.

jimswside wrote:
The only thing I might do different on the Atomica is to add a fried egg.

Genius!

After having had many cemitas and tacos arabe at Bonito Mexico in North Aurora, I went to Cemitas Puebla for the first time yesterday. Compared to Bonito Mexico's cemitas, the cemita atomica was less greasy, had slightly better bread, had better quality cuts of meat, and the cheese was far tastier. Still, Bonito Mexico's is a fine sandwich and should probably satisfy anyone's cemita craving. However, I also ordered a couple tacos arabe at CP, and actually prefer Bonito Mexico's. Without a doubt. They're larger, the meat is more flavorful and substantial (CP's reminded me of sloppy joe meat in taste if not texture) with more grilled onions. After eating CP's version I found myself craving BM's. Also, though CP's ubiquitous adobe sauce has been much lauded, I again preferred BM's version. More vinegary, more chipotley.

jimswside wrote:The only thing I might do different on the Atomica is to add a fried egg.

I live minutes away from CP and I have actually done this at home with a still hot Milanesa - it is muy delicious.

Ursiform wrote:

jimswside wrote:The only thing I might do different on the Atomica is to add a fried egg.

I live minutes away from CP and I have actually done this at home with a still hot Milanesa - it is muy delicious.

nicely done. I tip my hat to you.

jimswside wrote:nicely done. I tip my hat to you.

It's a compulsion - look at my sig line.

Ursiform wrote:

jimswside wrote:nicely done. I tip my hat to you.

It's a compulsion - look at my sig line.

I love it, I am kind of the same way, last week I did pulled pork tacos for dinner, and had to have a fried egg on each.

I weigh in on the Milanesa in favor of the Atomica. The extra meat in the Atomica doesn't seem in proportion to the sandwich.

Yesterday, my beloved Milanesa sandwich, however, was a let-down. The breaded pork was too dark and tasted burnt. I also tried the papalo for the first time. (I did have to ask for it as it wasn't on my sandwich the week before.) Did you ever eat something and you're not sure whether you like it or hate it? That was my reaction to the papalo. Surprising because its unique taste really brain slaps you and I am not usually a culinary fence sitter.


I am going to have to go back and have a with and without tasting to make that call.

W

wendy, that was exactly my reaction to papalo. it definitely is distinctive!

oranjuicejones wrote:After having had many cemitas and tacos arabe at Bonito Mexico in North Aurora, I went to Cemitas Puebla for the first time yesterday. Compared to Bonito Mexico's cemitas, the cemita atomica was less greasy, had slightly better bread, had better quality cuts of meat, and the cheese was far tastier. Still, Bonito Mexico's is a fine sandwich and should probably satisfy anyone's cemita craving. However, I also ordered a couple tacos arabe at CP, and actually prefer Bonito Mexico's. Without a doubt. They're larger, the meat is more flavorful and substantial (CP's reminded me of sloppy joe meat in taste if not texture) with more grilled onions. After eating CP's version I found myself craving BM's. Also, though CP's ubiquitous adobe sauce has been much lauded, I again preferred BM's version. More vinegary, more chipotley.

Now that you've put this place in the boonies on my radar, I'm looking forward to trying it out. I may be out that way over the weekend. Looking forward to compare/contrast with Cemitas Puebla.

I think the papalo is "interesting" but can be very overpowering. It's strong flavor can mask some of the other flavors so use sparingly. It has a similarly "soapy" type of taste much like culantro(different than cilantro).

I went to Bonito Mexico today (now called Teotitlan. I think. Minor scare walking in there..."do you still have cemitas and tacos arabe??" "yes." whew) and overheard the waitress talking to another customer in Spanish, when he asked what a cemita was after I ordered mine. My Spanish isn't too good, but I heard her mention papalo, checked my sandwich, and lo and behold there was a single papalo leaf. Don't know if it was in any of the other cemitas I've had there or if they also only use it "in season", but I think you're right that it definitely needs to be used sparingly. I don't know if I would have noticed it if I hadn't checked for it, but after doing so I did detect it's presence in the background and appreciated the extra dimension it added. I probably would prefer it to have papalo AND cilantro, but I'm a cilantro fiend.

So, after a long time of "meaning to" stop by this Taqueria
(so many Restaurants- so little Time!!) next to Santos Radiator Repair,
we entered around 1-ish on a Saturday afternoon.

From the Diners,Drive-Ins, and Dives poster(s) in the window and stapled to the front of the counter- it was clear that they were happy about being on TV!

Don Cemitas (possibly the owner, or Elder Statesman? )
was assuming the role of greeter/shill/menu hander-outer/"do you know why we were on TV ?" spokesman,
(not a way I normally care to enter a Humboldt Park establishment, but.......)
and making sure to explain food items I had already "documented" in my Smartphone,
from my lth readings.

We ordered some "Tacos Arabes" and another Taco specialty (?) and a $9.00 Atomica Torta.
I was amazed at how quickly the food appeared.

I was more impressed with the variety of salsa's- especially the dark brown Mole colored one.
The food was- eehhh.
Underwhelmed, at best.

For me- the worst part of the experience was watching every group of Gringos that entered being assaulted by the "greeter", and seeing many Latinos
clients being happy to eat/order with any long introduction. It's clear that they've seen an increase in business from being on The Food Network,
yet, if I want a $9.00 Torta- I'll go to Xoco!

Glad I went, happy to have "experienced" this place so revered on lth - but frankly, the food and the "circus" was not my -
"O-M-G....I've got to tell all my Cunados about this place" kind of experience.

OH- and thanks for offering "Don Cemitas"- but I won't be buying a copy of the segment of your show for $19.95!

Oh, come on. The guy's just proud of his place. This family-friendly hole in the wall is many things, but a circus it is not. For that we have ... well, Xoco, right?

Hombre de Acero wrote:shill

How was he a shill?
And how do you make a long-delayed, well-researched visit to Cemitas Puebla and not sample the cemitas?

Vitesse98,
You shoulda seen the scene there yesterday.
Then, you would understand where I'm coming from.
I know of no other Taqueria, Dive, or other hole-in-the-Wall "joint" where food is served in green plastic baskets lined with paper,
that has a "greeter" to hustle you (and every other potential client/customer who has European blood lines) about their food and their being on TV.
OK?

AND - to your comment about "circus"-
for many years The Food Dude on ABC 7 James Ward, referrred to 2 elements when reviewing an eatery-
The Food (which he tagged "Bread") and the Vibe/The Environment/The Service (or lack thereof) as "Circus"...
get with the program, will ya?!?

But, now that ya mention it- it was a kinda of a circus, with the barker or carnie (pun inteneded) attempting to lure you into the place.....

Ive never seen a "greeter" any of the times I have been here. the tacos arabes are good, but the cemitas are why I go here.

jimswside wrote:Ive never seen a "greeter" any of the times I have been here. the tacos arabes are good, but the cemitas are why I go here.

My Bride and I were 'greeted' by Papa the last time we were there. I believe it was on a Friday about dinner time. He met us at the door and led us to a table of our choice with menus in hand.

He was by no means overbearing and we had fun talking to him about him meeting many celebrities as documented in the photos on the west wall.

I am guessing that Hombre de Acero misspoke (mistyped) when he mentioned Torta instead of Cermita.

Yes, Papa is usually there to explain to first time visitors how to order, etc. I've never found it off-putting, though. He's cute

leek wrote:Yes, Papa is usually there to explain to first time visitors how to order, etc. I've never found it off-putting, though. He's cute

He's also responsible for making all of the outstanding salsas at the restuarant. The man's got some serious cooking chops.

Does anyone besides me double up on the meat when they order a cemetas milenesa? After I started doing this I fell in love with this sandwich, without doubling up on the meat I was a bit let down because it was lacking the meatiness of the atomica. Doubling up on the meat takes care of that and doesn't overwhelm the sandwich either, it in fact makes it more proportionally correct. Try it. And of course, get a few tacos arabes, keep it simple and you will be impressed!
I haven't bothered to venture around and try their other menu items, any other recommendations besides the obvious?

I tried skimming through the previous pages to see if my question was answered so apologies if I'm doing a repeat. Love Cemitas Puebla and have gone a few times, but I'm never sure what to do about tipping. I don't really see many customers leave money on the table. Does everyone leave a tip in the jar? And in your opinion, how much would be a good amount to leave? A few bucks? 15%? 20%? The service seems similar to some Panera Breads or Corner Bakeries in the suburbs, and I don't think people tip there. Just curious to hear what most people do. Thanks!