Mom’s Old Recipe Mexican Restaurant - Gladstone Park

Mom’s Old Recipe Mexican Restaurant
5760 N. Milwaukee Ave.
Chicago, IL 60646
773-467-1009

We headed there this past weekend and had a really nice meal, in comfortable surroundings, with some live music playing, excellent service, with full bar.

Don't expect to find a Nueva Leon kind of meal (which is wonderful unto itself). This is great traditional food with a big dash of chef artistry, more a kin to Wholly Frijole or Frontera.

The biggest surprise is the moderate pricing for this level of ingredients/sauces/presentation, the second surprise is how good this was and in Gladstone Park, being that we live in Portage Park. Nothing else like this in our neighborhood.

Here's some images:
http://gallery.me.com/chicagokenji#100054

We also recently stopped in at Mom's (in clear violation of the well-recognized prohibition).

I was intrigued by the enfrijoladas:



Enrobed in frijoles, these enchiladas were stuffed with ham, which I found surprising (I don't think I've seen ham used as an ingredient in much Mexican food; pork, sure, loads of times, but not ham). I liked the flavor, and Tomas (Mom's Bananas Foster-making answer to Sergio at La Casa de Samuel) said this preparation is typical of Morelos, which is where Mom is from.

I'd be interested in hearing from anyone who went to this place before its recent transformation from "coffee shop" (Tomas' words) to fine dining. What kind of food did they serve?

David Hammond wrote:Enrobed in frijoles, these enchiladas were stuffed with ham, which I found surprising (I don't think I've seen ham used as an ingredient in much Mexican food; pork, sure, loads of times, but not ham).

Huevos Motulenos comes to mind as the only ham-bearing Mexican dish I can think of. I've had HM locally at Mixteco, but I think it's offered elsewhere as well.

stevez wrote:

David Hammond wrote:Enrobed in frijoles, these enchiladas were stuffed with ham, which I found surprising (I don't think I've seen ham used as an ingredient in much Mexican food; pork, sure, loads of times, but not ham).

Huevos Motulenos comes to mind as the only ham-bearing Mexican dish I can think of. I've had HM locally at Mixteco, but I think it's offered elsewhere as well.

Good recollection, SteveZ, yes, ham in huevos motulenos, most definitely, along with peas, another ingredient that is far from common (though not absent) in Mexican preparations.

Xni-Pec used to have HM on the menu; this is really something I should make at home once my massive pea planting bears fruit.

David Hammond wrote:
Enrobed in frijoles, these enchiladas were stuffed with ham, which I found surprising (I don't think I've seen ham used as an ingredient in much Mexican food; pork, sure, loads of times, but not ham). I liked the flavor, and Tomas (Mom's Bananas Foster-making answer to Sergio at La Casa de Samuel) said this preparation is typical of Morelos, which is where Mom is from.

I'd be interested in hearing from anyone who went to this place before its recent transformation from "coffee shop" (Tomas' words) to fine dining. What kind of food did they serve?

You can get tortas de jamon just about anywhere in Mexico. My favorite: at the Bar Regis on the zocalo in Veracruz. I live on those things when we're there.

Mom's Old Recipe Mexican Restaurant



Full bar, engaged staff, nicely decorated, tasty house pickled veg with a hint of sweet alongside chips and salsa.



Crisp empanadas with requeson a delicious start, perfectly cooked shrimp marred by bland sauce followed by soupy queso fundito con chorizo served with too few tortillas.

Empanadas with Mexican ricotta (requeson)



Queso Fundito w/chorizo



Bride the clear winner in the entree selection, tender shrimp sauteed with pasilla pepper cranberry red wine sauce, garlic and guajillo peppers.

Shrimp Al Ajillo



Standard issue Enchiladas Verdes disappeared so fast I did not get a taste, portion more suited to appetizer than entree.

Enchiladas Verdes



Fish tacos sounded good, though I should know better than to order tilapia, two slightly overcooked cigars of bland pond chicken on single tortillas with wet shredded cabbage. Fourth person at the table thought fish tacos terrific, but he lives in the burbs, likes Pizza Hut and eats McD's twice a week.

Fish Tacos



Choco Flan, sticky moist gooey, over the top, not to my particular taste, Sopapillas w/butter pecan ice cream impossible to stop eating.

Choco Flan, chocolate cake topped with caramel flan



Sopapillas, cinnamon, brown sugar w/butter pecan ice cream



Mom's Mexican show clear potential, though for now it goes in my nice ambiance dumbed down flavor file along with Alcatraz, Wholly Frijoles and others of that ilk.

Enjoy,
Gary

We went with a couple of buddies this weekend and we all thought Mom's was quite a find. It even pleased the world's pickiest eater. I had the enchiladas mole, which I thought were mighty tasty, although it could have used a little more of that fantastic rice on the side. I really enjoyed the plate of pickled veggies that came with the chips and hot sauce. We'll definitely be back, especially since it's within walking distance.