Weekend in West Chicago - ByBys

Funny how that works, the soccer tournament in St. Charles lead, inexorably, to dining in West Chicago. Because that is where the good eats are.

Forgive me, those that have already heard from me on ByBys...

For any that do not know, West Chicago is a small, somewhat working class, suburb nestled in a more affluent niche of western DuPage county, between St. Charles and Geneva. It has a large Mexican population, it appears, and that has driven some very nice places to eat. Others have noted some places I need to try, but I have been stuck on ByBys. a five table joint which features Gyros and other fast food on the window, but inside has a glorious gallery of Mexican offerings, including a rainbow of Quesadillas, Tortillas Oaxaquenas (Tlayudas, really), Huitlacoche, Flor de Calabaza, an array of organ meats and more.

For my 2 meals this weekend, I focused on the specials. Friday night was Bistec Mexicana. Just okay, as the meat was pretty fatty, though the accompanying peppers, onions, tomatos were flavorful. The special the next day was Chivo, Barbacoa and Consome. The Consome was full of cabbage, potatos, and onions, and bits of "goat" (probably lamb) but not terribly flavorful until dressed. Pretty good when dressed (lime, cilantro, onions and jalapenos) and a heary and cheap meal.

The Barbacoa was much better: crispy outside and quite tender. Livens up with the salsa (red on Saturday, green on Friday - to coordinate with the specials, perhaps?).

Still, I do prefer the Quesadillas (Huitlacoche is a great treat, and hard to find out here), with their thick and chewy tortillas, and the Tortilla Oaxaquena with the salty beef, etc.

Byby's
142 W, Washington
West Chicago, IL 60185
Phone: 630/562-1710

dicksond wrote:Still, I do prefer the Quesadillas (Huitlacoche is a great treat, and hard to find out here), with their thick and chewy tortillas

D,

I went back there last Thursday to give the huitlacoche another try. Mind you, that this was only my second attempt, but I must say that I severely erred in my first. Last time, after dining on the tips from Salt Creek BBQ in Glendale Heights, then a pork sammy from King James in West Chicago I was too full to eat my quesadilla. So I took it home, BIG MISTAKE, this quesadilla (huitlacoche) needs to be eaten fresh IMO. The Spicy goodness of the mixture is a pure delicacy. Thank you for pointing me to this place in the past.

Flip

we had the huitlacoche quesadilla saturday, along with tlacayo (masa moreno) with carne asada and nopales as well as gorditas and tacos for the kids

Though the asada itself was nothing special, I must say that huitlacoche was terrific, much better than Dona Lolis's, and I also really enjoyed the tlacayo with its thin filling of black bean. Unfortunately, they forgot to bring out my bowl of goat soup, and by then we had to get moving.

All in all, though it was very good and much better than I was expecting to eat out in West Chicago.

One other advantage - it is very near the Cascade Drive-in

Glad you enjoyed it, Zim. They really have an incredibly ambitious menu, given the tiny kitchen and front room. I have not had the Huitlacoche of late, having moved on to other items in recent visits. But I always am pleased with my meals there, and am always trying different things.

Still need to get to El Tesoro in the neighborhood, but ByBys siren song is just too strong for me.

Took me a while to find this thread! Anyway, thought you all might appreciate a recent update on this place.

I should have posted about this on Tuesday when I went, because it was an unbelievable experience, and I'm afraid time may have spoiled my memory a bit.

I remembered this place because we stopped here during the LTH [West Chicago] taco crawl that I participated in a couple years ago. It was one of the places I had enjoyed the most. Last Tuesday, I had to drop off a watch to be repaired at Gloria's (excellent option; they are very inexpensive) -- and decided to stop for lunch here.

The one thing I like about their menu is that they offer a lot of different options that you don't see at your typical taqueria. I'm not particularly well-versed in Mexican food (not to the degree that many folks here are), so there were a few items on the menu that I'd never heard of. I didn't ask about them at the time, because I was focused on one thing: their quesadillas. I don't know why, but I remember someone from the taco crawl commenting on the fact that the quesadillas were the "thing" to get there.

What I like about Byby's is that a quesadilla isn't just a cheap corn tortilla with cheese. You have options -- they had chicken, pork, chorizo, steak, cactus, among other options for ingredients to add in. (Unfortunately, they didn't have pork the day I went there. Fortunately, what I ordered instead was just as good or better.) I ended up with a cactus and chorizo quesadilla.

If you've never had cactus, the closest thing I can attribute it to is zucchini. It was cooked nicely, not being overly mushy. The quesadilla was literally stuffed with meat and cactus in so that it looked more like a massive taco than a quesadilla. The best part, though, hands down, was the thick, soft, chewy, wonderful tortilla this was sandwiched between. It had wonderful flavor, uneven edges -- all the signs of a handmade wonder. After I finished, I asked the girl if they made their own tortillas, and she said everything had been made right after I ordered it. It showed. Everything tasted fresh. It was everything I look for in a meal.

It also came with rice (or lettuce & tomato if you preferred - I suggest the rice, personally). I had a horchata with it, and including a good tip, paid around $10.

Don't be fooled if you stop by, expecting a large place. It's a tiny storefront with approximately 6 tables, each with 6 chairs. They had a specials board with four things on it when I was there -- I remember munudo, pozole and barbacoa off the top of my head. I will probably be back on Thursday to pick up my watch if anyone would be interested in a lunch there... if you're in the area, it'll be worth your while.

Any recent trips here? Going to Sonny Acres farm tomorrow and was thinking this might be a nice spot to grab lunch afterwards.

Probably too late to help, but ByBys has been closed for a while.

dicksond wrote:Probably too late to help, but ByBys has been closed for a while.

Good to know. Thanks