Rico Taco (in Cicero)

Has anyone been to Rico Taco on Roosevelt? 5901 W Roosevelt Rd, to be exact, which I guess is Cicero. I have a neighbor who just picked up a pile of Al Pastor (and witnessed the actual spit) for a party and swears it was great, but a search here turned up nada. Apparently it's just a small taco stand in the back of a store, which I suppose is enough to get many a mouth watering

I have, but recognize it by the description rather than the name - it's at the back of the butcher / produce mart on the block between the Depot and Albano's Pizza (which I've never tried), on the south side of the street, and they do have spit pastor (with the same old sometimes on / sometimes off setup as most of the other places), tacos, carnitas, and tamales. This is one of the places I was thinking of when I posted this a few months ago, but still have not gotten around to the photographs and reports.

In any case, it's trustable; I end up going to Altos de Jalisco on that stretch more often for the excellent sit-down service, though if I'm hungry and fighting traffic I usually don't make it past La Quebrada when coming from the east.

The grocery is called Carniceria Nuevo Mundo and the food counter went through an overhaul a couple of months ago, probably since you've been there Santander. It is more restaurant-like now with a flashy menu that was thrown into my bag last I purchased avocadoes and chiles. I was skeptical, but have since tried it once and was pleasantly surprised by a meal of flautas de papa with a bright and garlicky guacamole. I think (mostly from looking at the menu) it was designed to be a little more gringo friendly than the last food counter there, but from a cursory overview, still apparently authentic. They have daily specials which, from what the very friendly woman at the counter described, do sound quite special. And sell out relatively early in the evening. Definitely worth a visit and a post if anyone is in the area.

kl5 wrote:The grocery is called Carniceria Nuevo Leon and the food counter went through an overhaul a couple of months ago, probably since you've been there Santander. It is more restaurant-like now with a flashy menu that was thrown into my bag last I purchased avocadoes and chiles. I was skeptical, but have since tried it once and was pleasantly surprised by a meal of flautas de papa with a bright and garlicky guacamole. I think (mostly from looking at the menu) it was designed to be a little more gringo friendly than the last food counter there, but from a cursory overview, still apparently authentic. They have daily specials which, from what the very friendly woman at the counter described, do sound quite special. And sell out relatively early in the evening. Definitely worth a visit and a post if anyone is in the area.

Sounds and looks good; I just noticed the new sign when I drove by this weekend, and the spit (crowned by a pineapple) is now prominently displayed in the westmost front window.

Their chips are unique and delicious. They are very light, maybe they pulled apart the tortilla before they fried them? Also, there was some lime flavor and just the right amount of salt, perfect. It's not often I go to a Mexican place and get super excited about the chips! It seemed a reflection of the amount of care they put into their food.

I've only been in there once so far and need to go back. The woman working was very friendly and explained a little about their specials, which were unfortunately all gone. It was immediately apparent that she is very invested in making the food and doing something special, let's hope that things work out! I live a few blocks up the street. One of my neighbor's swears he had "the best chicken taco I've ever eaten in my life". Not sure I would ever get a chicken taco when pastor is available, but folks in the neighborhood seem very impressed.

This stretch of Roosevelt is really starting to take off: the Depot, Bodhi Thai, Rico Taco... There are so many empty store fronts. C'mon all you entrepreneurs!

Went tonight early to be sure and get a peak at what the specials were like. The gentleman behind the counter was really friendly and explained them. They make traditional stews everyday from scratch. They had Bistec de Res enchile pasilla, Carne de puerco and Pollo con papas.

He had them in steam trays and took the lids off to show me. He offered a sample of the sauce from the Bistec stew and it was fantastic, so I ordered that. Offering free samples definitely wins points in my book. The other stews looked really delicious too. The steak was great, it had potatoes in it and the sauce was very rich with a lot of depth. It was a little bit spicy, but not over the top. Xnipec is my idea of what spicy should be so I would say it was mildly spicy with great balanced flavor. You get rice, refried black beans (thank you!), a bunch of tortillas and some shredded lettuce, tomato slices and lime (ok, onion and cilantro would be better, I'll ask next time). Grand total $4.99 plus tax, I forget the exact amount, but it was less than $5.50 and I am stuffed.

I took some photos on my phone but I'm new here and need to figure out how to attach them. Let's just say, from the outside the place doesn't look like much. It's like many other corner grocery stores, lots of handmade signs and such in the window. The spit with the pastor definitely steals the show prominently displayed in the front window. The atmosphere inside is very modest and the place is clean and there are tables to sit at. There were two cops in there, a good sign in my book.

I looked through their menu that came in the bag and they have Pambasos DF and on the weekends they do Pazole and Menudo.

kl5 wrote:I think (mostly from looking at the menu) it was designed to be a little more gringo friendly than the last food counter there, but from a cursory overview, still apparently authentic.

Heh, I went there a few months and the workers in the restaurant spoke NO English. Food was good though.

Editing my above post with the correct name of the carniceria, which I posted from London and plenty jetlagged.
Ate there again first meal back (after eating "mexican" food in Perth, Scotland, which was, well, strange and not something I would repeat or recommend), and had another great experience. I got the flautas de papa again, because I am a creature of habit and they were delicious the first time. That assessment stands. The special today was bistec de res (I didn't ask for further details) and some sort of margarita. Fantastic cumbia music playing, fan cooling the dining area, and the woman behind the counter was as friendly as the last time. She mentioned that they are putting together a catering menu but are already ready to go for the "catering season" as she put it.

Went here tonight and got some chicken tacos, a chicken tostada, and a cheese quesadilla (for my daughter). Chicken tacos and tostado were great (to the poster above who mentioned why get chicken when you can have pastor, I was trying to be in one of those silly "healthy" modes-- but I see your point). At any rate, chicken was totally moist and flavorful. I have no idea if it had been marinated but it was really succulent. The people who run Rico Taco are warm and accommodating and I will definitely return. Great place for a quick lunch in the greater Oak Park/Berwyn/Cicero area.

jeff_deff wrote:This stretch of Roosevelt is really starting to take off: the Depot, Bodhi Thai, Rico Taco... There are so many empty store fronts. C'mon all you entrepreneurs!

Coming this fall:
Autre Monde Cafe & Spirits
6727 w. Roosevelt Rd. (This puts it a little bit west of Fitzgeralds, still KINDA in the vicinity)
Berwyn, IL, 60402

Autre Monde is a next generation restaurant. Celebrating organic, local, sustainable food with a Mediterranean flair, an exciting beverage program, and a vibe that celebrates the b-side of pop culture!

Man, my neighbor and all of you above were totally right! This place is great. Stopped in a little while ago to feed the family, and they couldn't have been nicer. Pastor spit was right there near the window, so no worries on that front. My al pastor tacos themselves were delicious, with great char and nice bits of pineapple. My wife got two tortas, one steak, one chorizo, and she considered it near the top of Mexican (street food variety) she'd ever had. Daughter had a chicken taco and wolfed it down. Didn't notice the specials tonight, but they offer menudo and tamales on the weekends.

Again, great food, super nice folks, and they even have a loyalty card. And ample parking!!! Has anyone tried their special sandwich yet? Potatoes and such in a pepper-sauce painted bun?

I tried the Pambazo DF. I had it just after reading the thread about the "drowned" sandwich, the Tortas Ahogadas. It is not that style, it is a DF, I gather this means it has chorizo con papas not carnitas nor pickled onions. It seemed like it was made so you could easily eat it with your fingers so it hadn't soaked in sauce for a long time and the bread was still dry. The bread was fresh and not at all stale. It was delicious, though I ate it after it sat waiting for me on our countertop for two hours. This was only because I gorged on their guacamole and pico de gallo with chips which is amazing. Admittedly, I was hoping for something that looked like the pictures in the Tortas Ahogadas thread, a beautiful mess of a sandwich that provided an extreme eating experience. It's not fair to judge it on those grounds. Most people would appreciate the easy eat-ability and it was certainly delicious. If I order it again, I will ask if they can do it in the style of the Tortas Ahogada, it will be interesting to see how they respond to special requests!

Finally made it over here yesterday. High Noon. We were up and at em early for some random garage sale-ing,
the OP farmer's market, and some random errands. Rico was the last stop for lunch before getting back home.
We were hungry, and a littlt bit wet after all the rain. This place is standard issue grocery store tacqueria, except
it appears that sit down service is avail. I'll definitely echo that the folks running the place are as nice and as
pleasant as can be, and I fully appreciate that, but the food we had fell a little flat of what I was hoping for.

The chips and table salsa were fine. I like the thicker chips like Milagro, del rey, or el ranchito more than these thinnish ones. Just a preference thing. The salsa was a blender red. Nothing great, not bad. Decent. I went with my standard approach for new tacqueria trial: Order a bunch of stuff.

When the food started coming out, we were also brought a salsa verde, and a salsa de chile arbol (I'm assuming on the arbol.) Of all of the salsas, I was liking the arbol the most. Their version on Saturday had a serious garlic kick, and a bright lime punch to it. None of the salsas were particularly hot. For grocery store tacqueria, however, I will say that the arbol was pretty good.

1 Carne asada taco:
Yesterday, the carne asada was dry, chewy, and very bland. I'd try it once more, but if it was this bad again, I'd skip it
for good.

1 Chicken taco:
The chicken was far too salty for me to eat. It was standard "boiled in broth and pulled" Mexican chicken. Tender, sure, but
way too salty. I'd try it again as well, but if it was the same salt level, I'd skip it for good.

1 tostada de tinga:
We are tinga junkies. I wish I could find more good tinga in these parts, but I normally have to head to La Casa Del Pueblo
in Pilsen / Little Vill to get a decent prep if I don't make it myself. Happy to say that we were fans of Rico's tinga. They were a tad stingy with the portion, but I'd imagine that it varies. The tinga was pretty good here. It looks like a mainstay on the menu, so we have reason #1 for a repeat visit.

1 Taco del pastor.
WINNER! The pastor here was great today. Once again, like the very few other joints I like for al pastor, their version was not an oversalted glop of red stew-like substance slopped on a griddle. This was lightly flavored, with nicely charred bits, a nice pineapple sliver, and they added a squirt of a red sauce on top (presumably an achiote sauce - very lightly flavored.) Big fan of Rico's pastor here.

1 Torta "Rico Taco:"
The flagship torta. Standard issue torta fixins (smear of beans, avocado, tomato, little lettuce) but their "twist" was
carne asada, queso fresco, and a smear of a mayo and chipotle en adobo mixture. It didn't really work for me. Again,
the carne asada was dry, chewy, and bland. I would have preferred a melting cheese instead of a thick slice of cold cheese
that was just kind of sitting there. The mayo spread was great. I make a similar mayo thing at home a lot. I dig it.

The guisado of the day was a chicharron en salsa verde. It just seemed a little too rich for my blood that day, and I'm not a big fan of other preps of it, so I passed. I'd really like to hear about the other daily specials if anyone tries them out. Even though I wasn't thrilled about the food we had, it warrants another visit or two. The tinga and al pastor seem like pretty good baseline orders to start off with for future trials.