I bolted out to the city before I read the above responses. Our toddler was welcome and their were a few other kids around. We at inside, and I really like Big Star, the music, the layed back vibe, the choice of tequila, the cheap beer, and the cheap yet good food.

The Al Pastor I agree isnt the best around(tierra caliente gets the nod from me for that), but yesterday was a good version, nice flavor, chunks of pineaplle, a solid version bit lacking soul.

The pork belly, wow, great yesterday, porky, fatty, poppin with flavor.

Guacomole, the chips were good, the guac was a decent version but it is missing some depth in the flavor dept. Also a little heavy on the lime for my tastes.

A pinto bean, bacon, and poblano "dip", the least favorite dish of the day, Ididnt taste any bacon, or poblano pepper, and it was only served with 2 tortillas.

Santander wrote:

Habibi wrote:

Kennyz wrote:After a few months, I thought I'd retry the tacos al pastor at Big Star. They're still not particularly good. This time just chewy, cubed pieces of underseasoned meat instead of the over carbonized crisps in the last batch.

My last trip there was a lot of fun in spite of the uninspiring food. My favorite was the queso fundido, but its really hard to mess up chorizo and chihauha.

Thirding this - I only eat from the takeout window now, but after three perfect visits with well-packaged and tasty foods [usual order is some combo of panza, rajas, pollo, agua], I rolled the dice on the pastor yesterday and it was far too sweet and rubbery to enjoy. Furthermore, the pork belly (usually great, or at least salty) was stringy and flavorless, and the dulce de leche shake had separated into grainy curds, not at all the genius product I've enjoyed since they opened. I'll give them a re-balancing period for the summer rush, but this last order sucked.

I ended up at Big Star last night after discovering the Violet Hour was closed. My friend and I had a rather funny, quasi you-know-you're-an-LTHer moment due to the pastor. I like the food at Big Star a lot but don't care for their pastor, which struck me--the one time I had it before last night--as dry and too sweet. I'm definitely not a fan of the inclusion of pineapple bits.

Anyway, I'd always steered my friend away from the pastor, but last night she (not an LTHer but a very discriminating food obsessive) decided she wanted to try one, and I figured I could retry. We ordered one pastor as part of what I thought was our pretty impressive spread--very hungry, we got one or two of everything on the menu.

The arrival of our food (again, t'was a lot) got the attention of the two guys sitting next to us, who proceeded to engage us in conversation on a number of non-food-related topics. Conversation flowed easily, and they seemed like nice company to have. While we were all talking, my friend and I separately snuck bites of the pastor and at once exchanged glances of sheer disappointment. Neither of us otherwise commented on the taco, but it was clear that what was left of it would remain uneaten, unlike everything else we ordered.

In the meantime, conversation with our bar mates moved to the topic of food. They both spoke enthusiastically about Big Star and their frequent visits, and my friend asked them what they would be eating on this night. Just as they started to answer, their food arrived: six pastor tacos, apparently almost the only thing they ever eat there. My friend and I tried to get them to explain their fondness for the one item we found inedible. They weren't really able to articulate their devotion to the pastor, and we ended up basically, in the most jovial ronnie_suburban spirit, agreeing to disagree. Conversation quickly petered out after that, and my friend and I very happily turned our attention back to our own food and drink.

Santander: The dulce de leche milkshake seems back to what it was at its celebrated debut. We got one to-go last night, and my friend, who claims to be an authority on all things dulce de leche, proclaimed it transcendent. It was very smooth and very good.

Ended up here for the first time today after a ridiculously bland, bad meal at Penny's across the street. As I was walked up to the Taco window, I passed a very stoic Christopher Kimball getting into his limo. I loved the Pork Belly Taco and would gladly have two a day until the end of my life (which would probably be hastened by all that pork). The Al Pastor were good, maybe a little too burnt for my tastes, but I've had better at La Pasadita and Taqueria El Asadero.

happy_stomach wrote:

Santander wrote:...and the dulce de leche shake had separated into grainy curds, not at all the genius product I've enjoyed since they opened.

Santander: The dulce de leche milkshake seems back to what it was at its celebrated debut. We got one to-go last night, and my friend, who claims to be an authority on all things dulce de leche, proclaimed it transcendent. It was very smooth and very good.

False alarm, Matt. Off night at Big Star tonight, but most disappointing were the milkshakes. We had two at our table, both with grainy curds.

happy_stomach wrote:

happy_stomach wrote:

Santander wrote:...and the dulce de leche shake had separated into grainy curds, not at all the genius product I've enjoyed since they opened.

Santander: The dulce de leche milkshake seems back to what it was at its celebrated debut. We got one to-go last night, and my friend, who claims to be an authority on all things dulce de leche, proclaimed it transcendent. It was very smooth and very good.

False alarm, Matt. Off night at Big Star tonight, but most disappointing were the milkshakes. We had two at our table, both with grainy curds.

Thanks - a sad thanks - for the confirmation. I stopped by at a rehearsal this week and toyed with the idea of a shake but ended up with the limeade, which was the best part of the meal. The borrego and al pastor were clumpy and chewy and the tortillas not perfectly moist. Salsas were still good. Frustratingly inconsistent place.

The fact that you and I still go there as often as we do (along with the other 200 at any given moment) even with its issues should be a call that this type of place - fresh, crafty, reasonable, central, outdoor seating, takeout window, open late, booze - is in need, and can be done even better.

A work friend pointed out that it may be just right now the crowd cares about sitting outside, drinking, and not much else. After all, Pontiac was always completely packed, and their food was not particularly good.

I love Big Star and think the place is sheer genius. The unique-in-Chicago concept is masterfully executed. The physical space is very well-matched to its function and that makes it an especially fun and distinctive place to spend time. The entire concept, which would likely work very well in its own right, ascends to another level because of the way it extends the Kahan brand. 'Authenticity' of cuisine isn't really necessary here because the pedigree of the place and the tight execution give it instant credibility. It's an homage; a chef-created hybrid born out of what appears to be genuine appreciation for the food by which it was inspired and the setting it hopes to provide to its customers. This isn't to say that food isn't good -- or doesn't have to be. In my opinion, it happens to be delicious and well-executed. The bar selection is, again, distinctive -- plus it's large, fun and high in quality. Service is excellent and music, excellent music, is delivered via LP's played on a turntable, which is wonderful.

I've been there a few times over the past few months -- at all different hours -- and have not been disappointed . . .


2 Tacos de Panza (front), 2 Tacos de Borrego (rear)
I really love the tacos de panza, which are fatty, crispy and intense in flavor. The borrego is also really tasty and nicely executed but this picture was taken on a very hot day and the strongly-flavored lamb, along with the intense braising liquid was a little heavier than I was in the mood for. I've had it on colder days and absolutely loved it. On other visits I've had the tacos de rajas, which I adored and the al pastor, which had a bit too much pineapple for my taste.



Frijoles Charros and Chiles Torreados
I love both of these items. The beans have a savory, spicy and intense flavor. They're tender but not mushy in the least; perfect texture. The chiles, while packing some heat, have a nice complexity of flavor.

On all my visits, service has been extremely friendly and no-nonsense. I like the style very much. It's very accomodating as long as you 'act like you've been there.' I don't know if this is a place for everyone but if you're in the mood for what they do, it's definitely a great destination and the hours make it a nice late-night spot for a bite and a nightcap, as long as the wait isn't too long. As was alluded to upthread, this is a perfect warm weather venue because the capacity increases greatly with the outdoor seating and the space really hits its full potential when the large garage doors are opened to the outside world.

In any case, I've been really impressed by Big Star over my visits and had been meaning to post about it for a while. Seeing some of these recent posts inspired me to finally do it. I'm definitely a fan and if I lived closer, I'd be here all the time.

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote:
In any case, I've been really impressed by Big Star over my visits and had been meaning to post about it for a while. I'm definitely a fan and if I lived closer, I'd be here all the time.

I agree with Ronnie, if I lived closer Id be going to Big Star once a week at least.

I am the last person who fawns over big name chefs and I still really like this place. Is it perfect? (no), is it 100% authentic? (no), but who cares imho, its has a Texas roadhouse feel that I really enjoy. I also love the music, tequila, and bourbon selection, and the pork belly tacos are great. I could care or less about sitting outside, and have sat inside on every visit and will continue to do so, I really doubt sitting outside is the big/only draw of Big Star. Any place can be nitpicked to death, it is what it is.

jimswside wrote: Any place can be nitpicked to death, it is what it is.

yeah, why bother discussing restaurants all. Let's just have PR people post a press release when a place opens, then add an official LTH statement saying "It's good". All this discussion/ "nitpicking" is a waste of time.

Kennyz wrote:

jimswside wrote: Any place can be nitpicked to death, it is what it is.

yeah, why bother discussing restaurants all. Let's just have PR people post a press release when a place opens, then add an official LTH statement saying "It's good". All this discussion/ "nitpicking" is a waste of time.

intelligent discussion is good of course. its all good.

Big Star isnt for everyone.

I guess I'm in the minority. My tastes usually coincide with Ronnie's, and I really like Kahan's other ventures (well, Blackbird lost me a while ago with its miniscule portions of mostly bland (a/k/a delicate) food, but I love Avec and really enjoy Publican). He seems sincere as hell, but I can't shake my opinion that Big Star is one of the most cynical restaurants ever. Look, it's a wharehouse-like meat market selling imitation Pasadita/C. Leon tacos within smelling distance of those places to a patio full of recent Big-10 and design school grads. I'm glad that the kids are learning something about Al Pastor, Patsy Cline and Elijah Craig (better than sliders, Dave Matthews, and Bud Light, I guess).

But come on, it's mostly Naperville's waiting room, like so many other Northside pubsteraunts.

So Big Star's a rip-off of Tierra Caliente and La Pasadita except with better ingredients, handmade tortillas, more variety, and you don't have to carry around the LTHForum flowchart telling you what's safe to order depending on the time of day? Pretty cynical!

Pasadita invented tacos?

At which restaurants should Big 10 graduates eat?

I go to Big Star fairly frequently (although my last visit was not up-to-snuff -- underdone queso fundido, tough tortillas). But I have a hard time getting my mind around the concept, and I find its "staginess" frustrating at times. When I say Big Star lacks authenticity, I'm not talking about the food. It's as if some hipsters decided to throw a themed party, and the hosts all donned their very best thrift-shop rockbilly clothing, cued the Patsy Cline/Johnny Cash/Willie Nelson to encourage guests to embrace their inner urban hillbilly, and the male hosts all eschewed showering and combing their hair to perpetuate what they imagine a hard knock, blue-collar, bourbon-swilling, Bakersfield bar patron would look like during a certain time period, although in their middle-class surburban upbringings, they've probably not encountered too many real blue collar folks. (I think Big Star is the first period-themed restaurant in the city.)

And, for a variety of reasons I won't go into, I have a hard time with them seemingly plucking out of obscurity a woman to make tortillas a mano in a kitchen next to Grade A chefs for a well-heeled crowd who otherwise wouldn't set foot in a real taqueria. (It reminds me of this post.) Having said all that, I go to Big Star not when I'm in the mood for a real taco, but when I want some top-shelf liquor, and some tacos and queso fundido to accompany it. In doing so, I have to suspend reality, try to ignore some things around me, and I tend to enjoy myself.

Cilantro: Exactamente. Buen provecho, Sr. Sofistico.

Look, all I did was offer an opinion. Line up and have at it, folks. There's nothing wrong with enjoying Disneyworld and Epcot. Just don't tell me about Paris when you come back from Orlando.

[EDIT] Let me be easier to understand: I agree with Aschie and NAV MAN, above.

And for all who love the place, please seek out La Esquina in NOLITA when visiting NY. Same place. Tacos aren't quite as good, but it's been around longer.

aschie30, I happen to agree with you. I liked the food, but am not a fan of the neighborhood, the scene, or the crowds. I feel the same way about the Violet Hour. But, in fairness, many restaurants think very hard about how to market themselves, interior design, etc. This place happens to have a customer base in mind that is different from many of us here. If my friends and relatives that are recent college graduates are attracted to this place because of the scene, and go here instead of a run of the mill beer garden in Lincoln Park, that's great.

I make a concerted effort not to consider the crowd anywhere unless it forces me to wait. How can anyone mention the crowd as a downside of the Violet Hour? The place is designed to insulate you from everyone else in there...it's one of my favorite things about it.

I suppose the fact that Kahan worked for Bayless doesn't give him any further credibility amongst those who are already predisposed to consider Big Star cynical.

kl1191 wrote:I make a concerted effort not to consider the crowd anywhere unless it forces me to wait. How can anyone mention the crowd as a downside of the Violet Hour? The place is designed to insulate you from everyone else in there...it's one of my favorite things about it.

I wrote "I liked the food, but am not a fan of the neighborhood, the scene, or the crowds. I feel the same way about the Violet Hour."

Let me explain: "I make a concerted effort not to consider the crowd anywhere unless it forces me to wait." That's what I don't like about the crowds at the Violet Hour.

kl1191 wrote:I suppose the fact that Kahan worked for Bayless doesn't give him any further credibility amongst those who already predisposed to consider Big Star cynical.

I think the people that are worried about Kahan's credibility don't think that Bayless is particularly strong in that department. Just a guess based on decades of cynicism.

Was Big Star ever held out to be an "authentic taqueria"? I would never think of this place as trying to operate in the same space as La Pasadita, Las Asadas, etc. I haven't been (although I do want to go), but I always tend to think of it as that hipster taco and bourbon place...nothing more. If I want "down and dirty" I know to go to La Pasadita/East Side.

JeffB wrote:I guess I'm in the minority. My tastes usually coincide with Ronnie's, and I really like Kahan's other ventures (well, Blackbird lost me a while ago with its miniscule portions of mostly bland (a/k/a delicate) food, but I love Avec and really enjoy Publican). He seems sincere as hell, but I can't shake my opinion that Big Star is one of the most cynical restaurants ever. Look, it's a wharehouse-like meat market selling imitation Pasadita/C. Leon tacos within smelling distance of those places to a patio full of recent Big-10 and design school grads. I'm glad that the kids are learning something about Al Pastor, Patsy Cline and Elijah Craig (better than sliders, Dave Matthews, and Bud Light, I guess).

But come on, it's mostly Naperville's waiting room, like so many other Northside pubsteraunts.

LOL! Can't say I entirely disagree with this amusing take, which I hadn't really thought of. But, since it doesn't apply to me, well, it doesn't apply to me. I'm also very happy to eat at La Pasadita, Tierra Caliente, etc. and do so with frequency but as a fan of the business side of the restaurant industry, I love Big Star. As a patron, I think what they offer is unique (for these parts) and highly enjoyable. Also, I've never failed to make a personal connection with my server there and maybe that's one reason I enjoy it so much. Yes, it has warehouse-like qualities but for me, that's part of the charm and there's always been more to it than that.

JeffB wrote:And for all who love the place, please seek out La Esquina in NOLITA when visiting NY. Same place. Tacos aren't quite as good, but it's been around longer.

In my post above I referred to Big Star as "unique-to-Chicago." I've edited my comment to "unique-in-Chicago," which is what I meant to say. Sorry, it was late when I posted.

=R=

I think Kahan has done tremendous good for dining in Chicago, most notably by pioneering modern design, mid-lux dining here in the form of Blackbird, leading the way in house-made charcuterie, and being out front with top-notch rustic, ingredient-driven concepts like Avec and Publican -- though I also think Avec is clearly the best of the bunch due largely to Koren Grieveson, whom Kahan had the good sense to put in charge. I think my post above is clear enough that I'm not generally down on Kahan. And if I were, who cares. (I also want to distance myself from negative comments about the Violet Hour. I think it's the best such place, especially after trying several similar spots in NY and CA. It's completely well-conceived and executed.)

But, Big Star feels to me like a cynical (yes) pastiche of cool-for-the-moment stuff aimed at the bottom line and filling the patio. So, he's not selling out, he's cashing in. Why not. Nothing wrong with that. I'd rather bring a bag of tacos into DeVille.

JeffB wrote: I'd rather bring a bag of tacos into DeVille.

or just wait for the tamale guy, who always seems to show up at DeVille at just the right time.

JeffB wrote:Look, all I did was offer an opinion. Line up and have at it, folks. There's nothing wrong with enjoying Disneyworld and Epcot. Just don't tell me about Paris when you come back from Orlando.

Unfortunately I made the mistake of offering to meet some people here on a Friday evening — people I never met before — and naturally most of them couldn't find me. So I ate until I met up with two of them. I was shocked at the Kuma-like wait times, with one of the hosts saying "the wait list is so full we can't even tell you how long the wait is." Even after I placed my name on the 4-page list, I didn't get called after 2 hours. I didn't like having four people herd me along, telling me I could stand at the bar but not here, not here, not here and certainly not here. But when I got out of the clusterfuckage and sat at a picnic table, it was quite pleasant. I had one of each taco and found all but the lamb to be pretty mediocre, and the milkshake (blueberry, very tasty) was so thin I was sure it was a smoothie. I'll stick to 4 Hermanos. But I find the space rather nifty, and the pollo lolly was a nice touch.

JeffB wrote:But come on, it's mostly Naperville's waiting room, like so many other Northside pubsteraunts.

One of the funniest things I've read in quite a while.

As data point, I enjoy Big Star, both food and ambiance, though last time there I went directly to La Pasadita (east side of ashland) for a couple of tacos, lengua and carne asada if you must know.

Enjoy,
Gary

Of all of this forum's preoccupations, none is so tiresome as the endless authenticity debate. I'm out.

-- Sr. Sofistico

cilantro wrote:Of all of this forum's preoccupations, none is so tiresome as the endless authenticity debate. I'm out.

-- Sr. Sofistico

And the apparent criticism of a place that is designed to be trendy for being...trendy.

Darren72 wrote:

cilantro wrote:Of all of this forum's preoccupations, none is so tiresome as the endless authenticity debate. I'm out.

-- Sr. Sofistico

And the apparent criticism of a place that is designed to be trendy for being...trendy.

Hey now, I, probably rashly, criticized Cilantro for what I thought was a sophistic criticism of my post. My premise was not that B.S. is a "ripoff" of a real taqueria. You come closer to understanding my critique above. Substitute "contrived" for "trendy" and we are getting close. Did I mention I like most of the other stuff from this guy but think he's largely cashing in on the highly impressionable with B.S.? It's an inside joke selling nostalgia for something that never happened. Just to be clear, I will go there for $3 bourbon and Dwight Yoakam again, after the crowds die down.

Uncle.

Tupelo

Well, my point was, you seem to be criticizing the crowds, the staff, the idea of the place... everything but the food. The latter (usually good, sometimes not) is the only aspect that interests me. I'm perfectly happy to eat, standing in the corner, my back to the throngs, not caring a whit about what they're wearing or doing or where they went to school. I'm not sure why the people who inhabit, say, Avec are any better to spend time with, to be honest, and again I don't really care. I'm there to have a meal and then be on my way. It's a very transitory relationship.

-- Sr. Pacifico

JeffB wrote:Substitute "contrived" for "trendy" and we are getting close.

Fair enough. I happen to think that The Publican has a bit of a "contriviness" to it also. It takes the major food trends of the day -- charcuterie, Belgian beer, offbeat cuts of meat, etc. -- and combines them in a restaurant in the Fulton Market area. But it works very well - esp when it is well-executed. And it fills a gap in the Chicago dining scene. Kahan wasn't the first to do any of these in Chicago, but he's combined them well and is doing them as well as anyone else.

Blue Star is similarly contrived in that it is taking currently trendy elements and combining them. I would have been more excited to see Paul Kahan riff on a Mexican cuisine in a similar way that Avec riffs on Mediterranean food. But Blue Star is still a net positive for the area and, as I noted above, a step up for the 20-somethings who would otherwise not be eating Paul Kahan food.