G Wiv wrote:

NAV MAN wrote:Sure, but if you attempt to position yourself as the Top Taquer�a, you need to have the type of rock solid consistancy worthy of 5/5 Sombreros at any given time.

Nav,

I disagree Baja Fresh offers rock solid consistency, Carniceria Y Taqueria (was Carniceria Leon) offers terrific tacos, albeit at different times of the day. For drop-dead gorgeous Al Pastor go on an off hour when the wheel has time to crisp up.

11am Al Pastor wheel plump, juicy, crisp, glistening



12:30 lunch rush, Carne Asada hot and fast on the grill, lovely char. Al Pastor wheel in heavy play, no char/crisp





General rule, in the mood for al pastor, go at a slightly off hour, in the mood for carne asada, lunch rush is for you.

Enjoy,
Gary

oh man

love the char on that asada. And great photos of the al pastor spit and the meats.

i wonder if they go through that much pork in a day or if they keep it refrigerated and then just mount it the next day.

I've seen the pastor master loading it on in the morning several times. My suspicion is that the pastor master at (was) C. Leon has a good feel at this point for how much they sell; nothing in my experience or in the long history of comments here suggests that the store is reusing the pastor remains of the day.

One thing that I don't think has been mentioned is what a laborious pain in the ass loading a spit, piece by piece, layer by layer, is. Whether it's real tacos al pastor or shwarma from Salam, it's amazing to think a couple of bucks buys all that hard work as well as tasty meat.

Are you going to leave us hanging NAV MAN? Will my crowning of the KING WING have to take the place of TOP TACO?!?!?

General rule, in the mood for al pastor, go at a slightly off hour, in the mood for carne asada, lunch rush is for you.

Just to illustrate the vagaries of taco construction, I stopped by Tacos El Jaliciense @ California/Grand twice recently, since I drive by it frequently and it'd been recommended upthread.

The first time, I ordered pastor tacos after the lunch rush, as this generally wise rule-of-thumb would dictate. I was not impressed by the pastor, though to be fair, I didn't see whether it was carved directly off the spit or was in the holding pen. At any rate, the pastor was middling, overly saucy, and under-crunchy.

The second time, also post-lunch rush, I decided to get cecina and asada tacos, which runs contrary to the Taco Ordering Advice. I'm not sure either one is in my top 5 tacos, but both were decidedly above-average. The asada tacos were the best I've had since a visit to Las Asadas, while the cecina had a lot of character.

Last week again I went to Carniceria Y Taqueria 1400 N Ashland and again was very impressed. Got there right about noon. The place was not crowded and the Al pastor was great. The bits of crispy meat are just so good. I like to pick them out and eat them alone before I bite into the taco whole. It is funny that they microwave the tortillas. Had three this time and that was too much. This place may replace Hot Dougs as my go to place when I am driving back to the office from downtown. Off at Milwaukee and back on at North. Next time I might try the Burrito. I see the tongue and Cabeza tacos anyone have any comments on those?

2146,

The tongue and cabeza are both very tasty. The cabeza is my favorite of the two with more textural contrast. As great as the tacos are, just imagine if the tortillas weren't nuked.

I posted this in another thread, but for the sake of TOP TACO completeness:


I stopped by Tierra Caliente today, and it's a solid spot. I always get a good feeling walking into those Mexican grocer-dry goods-carniceria-taco-torta shops. I got the pastor at a good time, so there was a fair amount of Maillard that had built up on the log. I will say, however, that the pastor here lacks what is, to me, a definitive part pastor experience: the pineapple. In Mexico it's pretty common in my experience for a whole pineapple to be slowly roasted above the spinning pork log. With each top, a slice or two of pineapple. At TC, that sweetness wasn't present.

The asada was solid, but it came form a hotel pan, not from the grill as it did during the lunch rush at Pasadita last week. The carnitas en salsa were probably the weakest item. A special of the day, I thought this dish could've used more body and, again, more sweetness. Loved the large bowl of salted, roasted jalapenos. Scarfed down a few of those. Again, for $5 and change I'm not complaining.

2146 north wrote:Last week again I went to Carniceria Y Taqueria 1400 N Ashland and again was very impressed. Got there right about noon. The place was not crowded and the Al pastor was great. The bits of crispy meat are just so good. I like to pick them out and eat them alone before I bite into the taco whole. It is funny that they microwave the tortillas. Had three this time and that was too much. This place may replace Hot Dougs as my go to place when I am driving back to the office from downtown. Off at Milwaukee and back on at North. Next time I might try the Burrito. I see the tongue and Cabeza tacos anyone have any comments on those?

After looking through this thread I went yesterday, and had 2 Ap tacos, and 1 tongue. Both were excellent. Thanks for the rec!

Jeff

I might be ostracized for this one, but I have eaten at several of these places and they all taste pretty similar to me. Maybe my pallette just isn't dialed in enough to taste the subtle differences in the taco world.

You can also keep the pastor, barbacoa, and asada...I'm never eating another taco that doesn't contain chorizo.

The rankings in the OP have included tres new establishmenitos.

How would the NAV MAN size down these pics? They are huge.

NAV MAN wrote:How would the NAV MAN size down these pics? They are huge.

What I have been doing is uploading the photos to Webshots (the 7000 photo free capacity is attractive!) and then the website will give you options as to the size you would like to post. Usually 500 or 600 pixels is a good size.

Glad to see the NAV CAM functioning again. I will be checking out that "Chief Chorizo" spot in the near future.

NAV MAN wrote:Los Accoutrements:

Easily the funniest two word phrase I've read in quite some time.
Awesome post, Nav Man!

Now, about those pictures...

seebee wrote:Now, about those pictures...

Resized.

NAV MAN has been loving the best tacos Chicago has to offer (possibly: "Chitacos"). Cant even imagine how good actual authentic tacos are. NAV MAN is gonna have to book a trip to Puerto Vallarta or Ixtapa to get me some real tacos.

I am thrilled San Jose placed - that's my find from my college days, and has the Rene G. stamp of approval for cecina and the stewed / griddle style al pastor.

Santander wrote:I am thrilled San Jose placed - that's my find from my college days, and has the Rene G. stamp of approval for cecina and the stewed / griddle style al pastor.

Yes. Almost a tie for 2nd place. Its just that 3.5/5 roberto bolano y octavio paz breaks the tie over 3.5/5 panchos. Its a pretty intracate scoring rating system, I wouldnt try to wrap your head around it.

I wouldn't dismiss the authenticity of Chicago tacos, NAV MAN. I've spent a fair amount of time in Mexico, and while I've had plenty of great tacos there (sometimes I dream of these beauties I got from a street cart right near a hospital in Celya), I don't feel like I'm getting anything but the real deal at the best places here in the Windy City.

godspeed, NAV MAN, godspeed.

culinary quests should only be undertaken if one intends on completing them.

Had some great Taco's today from Atotonilco's Worth location. Steak, cheeze, onion and cilantro.
Sauce and hot carrots were rocking good to!!

Great mid day munch. Tacos were great for sure.





Atotonilco
6922 West 111th Street
Worth, IL 60482
708 448-8242 ‎

I love the steak torta at Atotonilco. I think I still like the steak taco with cilantro and onion at Zaca Taco by a very small margin over Atotonilco, but you can NEVER go wrong with Atotonilco.

Howdy,
Lookin for updates, suggestions. I'm trying to devise a list of 10-15 of the best tacos in Chicagoland. I'm not trying to steal any of the NAV MAN's thunder, even tho the NAV MAN has thunder to spare in spades as we all know. I just jumped on this thread cuz it's a similar quest, and I'm sure there are a few new places that have been found since the TOP TACO thread was started.

So, what I seek is, well, maybe an updated list of TOP TACOS. I'm looking for a specific taco from a place. I'm not looking for the best taqueria in general. 10-15 tacos for the list. So far, here is what I have, in no particular order. I'm not looking to rank these just yet:

1. Tierra Caliente - Carne Asada / salsa verde
2. Tierra Caliente - Al Pastor / salsa verde
3. Las Asadas - Carne Asada / salsa negra
4. Zacatacos - Carne Asada / Salsa de Chile Arbol
5. La Chaparrita - Tripas Doradas / Salsa Aguacate (not sure what that salsa's real name is, but you know which one)
6. La Chaparrita - Longaniza / Salsa Aguacate
7. Taqueria El Asadero - Carne Asada /Salsa Verde
8. Taqueria El Asadero - Pollo / Salsa Verde
9. Birerria Zarragoza - Birria / salsa cruda (that warm stuff in the molcajete.)
10. ?
11. ?
12. ?
13. ?
14. ?
15. ?

Upcoming trials:
Carniceria Leon on Ashland for Asada
Atotonilco on 26th for Al Pastor
El Jaliciense for Carne Asada
Las Brisas - Pastor tacos & Asada tacos in handmade tortillas.
La Cebollita - Pastor

Need not apply:
Nuevo Leon - Tacos Sabinas
Tio Luis -Carne Asada - just didn't hit the same highs as Asadas, Zacatacos, Asadero or T.C, imo.
Cemitas Puebla - Tacos Arabes. No longer for me.
Tierra Caliente - Campechanos - Chorizo is generally just not my thang.

I've yet to go to Big Star, De Cero, or Antique Taco. My prejudice says that I can do better for cheaper at the "joints," but I am definitely going to try them before completing this list to see if they rank. I do need suggestions for the best of the best at those places. Also, I've never really encountered a carnitas taco I didn't like, so I'm not very schooled in the "best" carnitas. Any thoughts on a place that would have a carnitas taco that would rank in your best taco in Chicago list? Input greatly appreciated if you have any. I'm looking for those tacos that, after you eat four of them, you think about ordering more for later. Like right now, as I'm writing this, I'm wondering if there is any chance in the world that I am NOT going to be at one of my top 9 listed above to get some in the next few days just from mentioning them here. LOL -the only reason I DIDN'T hit up Las Asadas for lunch today was because I was still stuffed from breakfast's homemade huevos rancheros which featured some of Chaparrita's longaniza that I purchased immediately after the first time I tried it. Anyone got anything to add for a Best Friggin Taco In Chicago type list? Again, I'm looking for a specific taco that stands up as one of the best in the city. I know we all have opinions, and plenty of folks will disagree with my list of 9 above, but I'm lookin for leads on the craveworthy tacos. The ones you'd travel well past the neighborhood taqueria for, even though you've figured out how to order a great meal at that local spot, and the cook even knows how you want it.

No tortas, or huaraches, or sopes, etc. Strictly taco talk.

seebee wrote:Need not apply:
Nuevo Leon - Tacos Sabinas
Tio Luis -Carne Asada - just didn't hit the same highs as Asadas, Zacatacos, Asadero or T.C, imo.
Cemitas Puebla - Tacos Arabes. No longer for me.
Tierra Caliente - Campechanos - Chorizo is generally just not my thang.

Sebee, the campechanos I've had and enjoyed very much at Tierra Caliente were made with carne asada and al pastor. No chorizo was involved in the making of those tacos. You might want to revisit, because they would certainly be on any "best of" taco list in my book.

Thanks, and noted.
For some reason, I thought they were carnitas and chorizo or some such.

seebee wrote:Thanks, and noted.
For some reason, I thought they were carnitas and chorizo or some such.

I think sometimes on the weekends, they switch to carnitas and al pastor, but during the week, which is when I generally visit, it's always steak and al pastor.

Went to Carbon on 26th today, don't bother. The tacos were the equivalent of the 2004 film Flight of the Phoenix starring Dennis Quaid. In other words very forgettable.

I'd say pork belly/panza at Big Star, and "carnitas" at Antique Taco.

In the non-meat category, La Lagartija (132 S Ashland) has the best shrimp tacos in town.

stevez wrote:

seebee wrote:Thanks, and noted.
For some reason, I thought they were carnitas and chorizo or some such.

I think sometimes on the weekends, they switch to carnitas and al pastor, but during the week, which is when I generally visit, it's always steak and al pastor.

The Gober(nador) Precioso tacos at Cemitas Puebla are a chorizo-asada mix, and I think better than that arabes / orientales currently (though when you get the fresh pita on the arabes, pretty damn awesome, even if the pork isn't the same as it was a few years ago).

I do think Antique Taco is pretty special, a notch up from Big Star for me. But as you've identified, that's harina de otro costal from neighborhood taquerias. For the latter, Birrieria Reyes should be compared with Zaragoza, and I'm partial to Carnitas Don Alfredo in Melrose Park (homemade tortillas on weekends).

Wildcard: tacos de cecina de venado at Casa de Samuel (ordered I think only as the full platter). At their best, deer and avocado might be my ultimate taco filling.

Seconded La Lagartija on the shrimp, though they do use canela in their batter, so my cinnamon-averse wife doesn't dig.

stevez wrote:

seebee wrote:Thanks, and noted.
For some reason, I thought they were carnitas and chorizo or some such.

I think sometimes on the weekends, they switch to carnitas and al pastor, but during the week, which is when I generally visit, it's always steak and al pastor.

Steve's right. Although it says on the menu on the wall that the compechano comes w/ chorizo, I've never had it any other way but w/al pastor and asada. My go to taco (although Chaparrita's crispy guts con aguacate salsa is my numero uno).

Jazzfood wrote:Steve's right. Although it says on the menu on the wall that the compechano comes w/ chorizo, I've never had it any other way but w/al pastor and asada. My go to taco (although Chaparrita's crispy guts con aguacate salsa is my numero uno).

Perhaps that's where my mind got the idea of it being some mix with chorizo. Also, although I would have sworn I would never love a taco more than a great grilled steak taco, Ceasar's tripe is just as droolworthy. Add in those always piping hot tortillas, and that salsa...DAMN. These are the types of tacos I'm lookin for. The stuff you can just keep eating until you bust, and then want to grab more for later.