Taqueria Don Diablo (formerly Fonda del Mar)

I know many on this board were fans of GNR Fonda del Mar on W. Fullerton, and I believe there was a posting last week about a new concept they were planning introduce at that location.

I just wanted to say I tried that new concept -- Taqueria Don Diablo -- last night, and it's got a new place in both my heart and on my palate. Here's why:

- Ten different varieties of tacos, just $2 each. (Think Big Star without the long lines and hipster overload).
- Everything we tried, from the tacos de barbacoa to the tacos de lengua to the empanadas to the flan, were pitch-perfect Mexican street food with a twist. Sure, this is hardly an original concept in a town where Rick Bayless is king, but it's mighty nice to find it on a corridor where you're far more likely to hear Spanish as the first language.
- Four different homemade salsas served with your meal! A great way to vary the heat, spice, and earthiness of the plate.
- Combining a couple of tacos with a side or two will leave you plenty sated for less than you'd pay for a bagel and latte at your neighborhood cafe
- They kept the best of what they do (cochinita pibil, tacos de pescado) unchanged, but now charge less and offer more variety
- Those who need a large plate to call it dinner have those options as well
- Vegetarian friendly (for those who need it)
- They continue to serve beer, wine, and margaritas, but you're welcome to bring your own
- You order at the counter, and the food comes out as it's ready. This overcomes the one quibble I tended to have with Fonda: someone at the table was always served a lukewarm plate. Not the case anymore. Everything is fresh and hot. It may mean not everyone's being served at the same time, but share your plates and you won't be disappointed.
- The owners 'get it'. I live around the corner from Fonda, and as lovely as their former menu may have been, and as true-blue as our neighborhood is, the area probably wasn't ready/able to support a high-end seafood concept. Given the lack of easy public transportation and parking, and the fact that this really isn't a block with great generators of foot traffic, they were smart to be responsive to neighborhood economics.

Eight of us ate and drank like kings for under $100. Sure, we brought some of our own libations, but we also ordered a slew of margaritas. I hope this new iteration wins the support it deserves. Please pay them a visit and spread the word.

Taqueria Don Diablo
3749 W. Fullerton
http://www.fondaonfullerton.com/Don_diablo.html

We ate there last week, too, and had a great time tasting salsas and pairing them with a variety of tacos. The one thing I miss from Fonda is the squid salad...with the fresh corn kernels...I forget what it was called on the menu, but it was spectacular every time we ordered it.

However, I was very pleased to find that the margarita rustico is still on the menu -- best margarita in Chicago, imo.

This sounds terrific. I never made it to Fonda del Mar, but I definitely want to check this place out.

For some reason I was under the impression that the space would lie dormant while they worked on their other operation, so it's great news that it's up and running right away.

Nice selection of $2 tacos, of the three we tried the Baja style fish taco was the highlight, freshly fried tilapia topped with lightly dressed cabbage perfectly accented by a squeeze of Salsa de Agauchiles (Serrano/lime juice). I enjoyed the Cochinita pibil, the flavor of the pork itself was a little flat but a dash of Salsa de Habanero, which has sour orange, really punched it up. Lengua seemed as if it had been held a while and the diced tongue only hinted at the possibility of beefy tender richness, even a splash of the terrific Salsa de Arbol didn't help.

De Pescado, De Lengua, De Cochinita Pibil



Crisp shrimp flautas, three for $3, were well fried, greasless and crunchy, tasty with pickled veg and tomato sauce. We ordered requeson, but were served shrimp, the first of three order fumbles.

Flautas Estilo Escuinapa


Shrimp Empanadas suffered the same fate as lengua and, to a certain extent, cochinita pibil, as they seem to have been held resulting in a slightly dense, gummy dough. I remember the empanadas from Fonda de Mar fondly and next time will request fresh from the fryer.

I'd venture to say my mediocre review has more to do with the fact there was only two other people dining at 8:30 on a Saturday night, which is pretty damn slow even taking into account they have been open less than two weeks, than talent.

Both Jazzfood, I had the pleasure of his company at dinner, agreed the high point of the meal were the various salsas, six that evening. Salsa de Cacahuate with Morita, ghost dry pepper and peanuts, balanced heat accented/tempered by the soft nutty richness of peanuts, my favorite.

Taqueria Don Diablo Salsas



I see promise in Don Diablo, I just hope traffic picks up to allow them to fulfill that promise.

Enjoy,
Gary

ChristyP wrote:Taqueria Don Diablo
3749 W. Fullerton
http://www.fondaonfullerton.com/Don_diablo.html

If I was only rating their fish tacos I'd go "Yay, I'm a fan." $2 for a delicious fish taco. This place is where Fonda del Mar was once located and it's owned by the same people. Simpler, more affordable dishes. I think this is gonna be a regular spot.

Nice selection of $2 tacos, of the three we tried the Baja style fish taco was the highlight, freshly fried tilapia topped with lightly dressed cabbage perfectly accented by a squeeze of Salsa de Agauchiles (Serrano/lime juice). I enjoyed the Cochinita pibil, the flavor of the pork itself was a little flat but a dash of Salsa de Habanero, which has sour orange, really punched it up.
De Pescado, De Lengua, De Cochinita Pibil

Dropped by this place today, tried the Baja style fish tacos and the cochinita pibil as well.

First, it was about 12:40 when I got there (the opening time is 11:00am).. and the door was locked! The guy saw me and opened it, but there was nobody there, not even the manager at that time (he arrived a couple of minutes later), no customers, no food cooked yet presumably, certainly no rotating spit or anything (for pastor, which I didnt get anyway).

So, that probably has a part to play in the food I experienced. Which was... mixed to say the least. The cochinita pibil, as you say, was ok - seemed to be held, but the habanero salsa was terrific and so it was a pretty good taco. The fish taco...it was a pretty tasty taco, but I couldnt taste any fish! So I looked closer, explored the 2nd fish taco too... and there was a *lot* of salad, overflowing the taco, but one tiny little piece of fish (and I mean *tiny* - about 1 centimeter wide, no exaggeration, and maybe 2 inches long! Actually a quite thin "fish finger", about the size of my little finger). It was almost a vegetarian taco...and I hate the very idea of veggie tacos, but somehow this was actually fairly tasty, just lacking the critical fish!

I presume this isnt the experience you had, GWiv? ie at other times of the day, one is likely to get a decent quantity of actual fish? If so, this could well be a pretty damn decent fish taco. Though, I will say, not a patch on the Wondrous Tacos Del Pacifico Fish Taco of yore..but potentially a pretty decent fish taco nonetheless. (In general the taco portion-size was a touch small too.. at least, comparing with TDP, where the taco was similarly priced but much much larger - in addition to being just fantastically good, of course

Shrimp Empanadas suffered the same fate as lengua and, to a certain extent, cochinita pibil, as they seem to have been held resulting in a slightly dense, gummy dough. I remember the empanadas from Fonda de Mar fondly and next time will request fresh from the fryer.

Well, I had a Shrimp Empanada too... but I seem to have gone at the opposite time to you, and so had the opposite experience all around:-) Getting there before any food was prepared worked very well for the shrimp empanada - they tossed it into the fryer in front of my eyes, and brought it to me as soon as it was done, still hot. And it was by far the best item of the day, actually very good.

I'd venture to say my mediocre review has more to do with the fact there was only two other people dining at 8:30 on a Saturday night, which is pretty damn slow even taking into account they have been open less than two weeks, than talent.

Same here probably - though really, they could have a good quantity of fish in their taco no matter what time

Both Jazzfood, I had the pleasure of his company at dinner, agreed the high point of the meal were the various salsas, six that evening. Salsa de Cacahuate with Morita, ghost dry pepper and peanuts, balanced heat accented/tempered by the soft nutty richness of peanuts, my favorite.

Hmm. Didnt actually try this salsa - pity. The couple I did try were quite excellent though (stuck mostly with the Habenero, which is very hot but very good too).

I see promise in Don Diablo, I just hope traffic picks up to allow them to fulfill that promise.
Enjoy,
Gary

Same here I suppose - they certainly show more than enough promise to warrant another visit when in the area IMHO, they *could* be very good if things work out.

c8w

Glad to see some chatter about this place after returning from the holidays. I've been to Don Diablo several times now, and I agree completely that business needs to pick up for them to fire on all cylinders. The meats for their tacos obviously get cooked in large portions, so if orders are slow, it seems inevitable that the ingredients will sit, which doesn't make for a stellar taco. I agree the salsas really are the star (I wish they'd sell them retail!), but I think the key to consistency will be regular foot traffic.

All that said, I had an *amazing* dish there last week that isn't on the little paper menus they've started printing, but it does appear on the menu above the ordering counter. Do yourself a favor and ask if they have pozole that day. I don't think they'll offer it daily, but I'd love to generate some demand for this dish. Not only was it gorgeously presented (I was kicking myself for not bringing my camera) with ribbons of cabbage and little radish rounds for garnish, but the depth of flavor, generous portion, tender pork, and hearty pozole made for one of the best dishes I've tasted this year, anywhere. A steal at $8 a bowl, and great for this wintry weather.

We finally made it by Taqueria Don Diablo, and were mostly impressed. (We frequented Fonda Del Mar, especially during the summer).

The good:
Cochinita Pibil: I enjoy their cochinita, even though it is seemingly prepared in large portions and lacks any banana-leaf flavor. The Habenero is the go-to salsa here. A squeeze of lime also helps, IMO.

Fish tacos: ours were very good — a decent amount of freshly prepared, greaseless fish and crisp cabbage. Ate these with the quite limey Salsa de Agauchiles, which was my favorite salsa o' the day.

Shrimp flautas: well-prepared, tasty.

Rice and beans: above average, same as Fonda's.

The meh:
Pastor: good quality meat, but no char/carmelization and forgettable spicing.

Asada: boring, which surprised me. The asada dinner at Fonda was pretty good, so the asada taco may fall victim to the prepare-ahead-and-hold-it syndrome noted upthread.

Note: carnitas are apparently only available on the weekends.

We were the only people eating at 5:30-6:00 on a Wednesday night. I think they'll be OK if they can last until the weather improves and their back patio beckons.

I've been reading this forum for quite awhile and love all the info on cooking and great places to eat, but this is my first post. We ate at Taqueria Don Diablo tonight looking for somewhere nearby and budget-friendly. I've been obsessing for awhile about the cochinita pibil sandwich from XOCO, so I was interested to compare. I tried the cochinita pibil at Rustico not too long ago, but it was quite bland compared to the XOCO version.
There were only two other occupied tables around 8:30 on a Saturday, but the food tasted pretty fresh. We tried several different tacos and the shrimp and cheese empanandas. Everything was delicious, although the horchata lacked any cinnamon. I thought the cochinita pibil had great flavor, especially with the habanero salsa, and was much better than the Rustico version. I hope this place hangs in there until business can pick up!

Beginning to suffer post-Mexico vacation withdrawal, the wife and I decided to check out Taqueria Don Diablo Friday evening. Menu sounded interesting and the prices were great. We ordered a bunch of stuff, and most was mediocre at best. The shrimp cocteles was horrible, with most of the shrimp WAY overcooked and tough. We ate about 1/3 of it before giving up and asking not to be charged. My wife had the chile relleno, which she was nothing special. The rice that accompanied it was good, but the re-fried black beans were dry. I ordered an asada taco and a cochinita pibil taco. The asada meat was cold and dried out but the cochinita was moist, nicely flavored and came with pickled onions. I also enjoyed the side of frijoles charros. While we saw an assortment of salsas on other tables they only brought us a single bottle, so we didn't get to try the variety of salsa. We'd been to Fonda Del Mar in the past and enjoyed it, so we had high hopes for this affordable Mexican joint. But it's not one will likely revisit given all the great Mexican in town.

I've been craving pozole and thought I was covered - upthread recommendation and close proximity = Don Diablo. Not to be. I had a false start last Wednesday night - pozole is only served on the weekends. Instead, I had a baja fish taco (good flavor, light on fish), shrimp coctel (ample serving but too sweet, overcooked), and the cowboy beans (good flavor, surprised by addition of hotdog slices?!!)

Trying again tonight. I called to confirm pozole availability, but it rang to VM. OK - maybe just a technical snafu. My food enabling SO makes the run anyway then calls to tell me that the lights are out. On a Saturday night at 7pm. Anyone have the scoop?

Wendy,
if your craving some GOOD Pozole,
just down the street- on Sundays only- at the meat counter of Supermercado Jimenez is some
of Chicago's tastiest Big Bowl of yummm around.
Just don't get the menudo by mistake (not that it's bad- just the 2 soups are a similar orangey color in a Plastic Tub)
and don't forget the Epazote, and Cabbage relish!
as to the food at Don Diablo (fmr. FDM)-
fuggadabout it.
You'd have better tacos at anyone of a million Taquerias listed on lth forum.
Really.

Hombre

Thanks for the rec on the pozole. So fortunate for me that I can go tomorrow.

Wendy

We heard from Luis at Don Diablo/FDM that there was a licensing issue, and it looks like they may be gone for good. It's a loss to those of us who live nearby and watched FDM in all its iterations. It was a nice place for a date night, and I had many memorable meals on their lovely back patio in the summers.

The last year or two has brought more unevenness and obviously more curve balls. Say what you will about the food quality -- I know some loved it, some hated it. I was much closer to the middle -- but these were good folks trying to bring a little something different to a very challenging commercial strip. They did it with sensitivity to the community around them, always having Spanish-speaking staff on board and several menu items affordable to working families. It showed in the clientele. In a neighborhood where most businesses to the east, which are obviously more targeted to affluent newcomers, it was refreshing to encounter a mixed crowd every night of the week.

Perhaps there will be some unexpected turn and they'll open their doors again at this location. But we've all seen signs like these before, and it's not a stretch to feel pessimistic. If those signs are correct, FDM will be missed.

Hombre de Acero wrote:Wendy,
if your craving some GOOD Pozole,
just down the street- on Sundays only- at the meat counter of Supermercado Jimenez is
and don't forget the Epazote, and Cabbage relish!
........
as to the food at Don Diablo (fmr. FDM)-
fuggadabout it.
You'd have better tacos at anyone of a million Taquerias listed on lth forum.
Really.

Maybe the licensing issues explain the Don Diablo experience I had - was in the area, stopped in (at about 2:50 in the afternoon)... and it was closed. Felt strange, I looked in, and there was someone there- he came out and told me they closed at 3pm, opened back up at 5pm for dinner! Oh well. The habanero salsa was very good when I tried it the last time, and the fish taco felt like it could be good (Hombre - is there a good place for baja style fried fish tacos you like, then, if you didnt care for DD?)

Anyway. When DD fell thru, I went across the street to the above-mentioned Supermercado Jiminez - had the special sandwich of the week (which was an option of asada, milanese etc tortas, all for 2.50!) Very solid, Id do it again when in the vicinity, no problem. (Also enjoyed the leche empanada from the woman with the cart right outside Jiminez for dessert).

c8w

Pat Bruno reviews the currently shuttered, possibly temporarily, Don Diablo in Fridays Sun Times

Received an e-mail today:

Dear customer,

Just wanted to let you know that Fonda del Mar is back at its original location.

Thanks,
Angel

Fonda del Mar
3749 W. Fullerton Ave
Chicago IL, 60647
Phone: (773) 489-3747
http://www.fdmrestaurant.com

There was also a $10 coupon to celebrate their return.