Jefe wrote:El trompo was looking mighty fine and charred

Looking good on our Sunday visit as well.

Tony Anteliz Jr with trompo



Wife's first time at Cemitas Puebla, wanted to make sure she had a solid representation so we over ordered for lunch and snacked on leftovers as light late dinner.

Bride is a guacamole fan, not sure I've had Cemitas Puebla's, but I liked their rich chunky version.

Guacamole



(L) Guac enhanced with a dab of house made chipotle in adobo. (R) Quesadilla de Chicarrones were particularly good, best bite of 2011



Chalupas, Taco Arabe, Taco al Pastor and, of course, the magnificent multi-layered miracle know as the Atomica.

Cemita Atomica



In the past I've been a straight-up Cemita Milanesa kind of guy, feeling the Atomica out of balance. I've since seen the light, but reserve the right to downshift to the Milanesa.

Busy with no wait when we arrived at noon, slight wait when we left. Papa Antonio took great pleasure in giving the Cemita/Arabe lowdown to my wife, which she enjoyed. And Tony Jr was his usual charming friendly efficient self.

Busy as they may be Cemitas Puebla has not lost a step, if anything they have gotten even better with popularity.

Cemitas Puebla, count me a fan.

Enjoy,
Gary

Great pics!!! Makes me want to run over there today and pick some up.....

Guac is not really anywhere on the menu, so the few times we have ordered it (wife is also a big fan) they have made it up fresh as we ordered. Your addition of the chipolte sauce enhances it even more.

G Wiv wrote:(R) Quesadilla de Chicarrones were particularly good, best bite of 2011

In case anyone still has chicharon on the brain after G Wiv's recent post, the Filipino food blog Market Manila has been chronicling chicharon-making this week, including some drool-worthy photos.

The Chicharon Chronicles, Part I – “The Simmering”

The Chicharon Chronicles, Part II – “The Rendering”

In case anyone is looking for a soundtrack to accompany their swine skin snacking, check out the hip-hop duo The Chicharones.

-Dan

It seems as though everyone was craving the chicarrones quesadilla last weekend. Since our last visit when we tried them my wife has been seriously craving those! This Saturday we were with a group of 5 adults and 1 child, we started with 3 quesadillas cut in 3, 2 Taco"s Arabes cut in 3 and the Chalupas with Carne Asada. Everything was firing on all cylinders!
We went back for 2 more quesadilla's, and 2 cemita's cut in 4. Some Chips, rice and beans for the little one and what a great meal! The folks we brought were blown away. All this food and a drink for everyone with a $6 tip in the jar came to 12 bucks each. Man was I stuffed. We love this place!! We have gotten there just before noon on a Saturday the last 2 visits and not a problem getting a seat. When we leave the place is packed just so you know.

Danny

Stuffed! Wonderful lunch at Cemitas Puebla with the little brother. (Happy belated birthday, Daniel!). The Cemita Atomica and Taco Arabes are two of my favorite foods period. I also got the Gov. Precioso Taco (carne asada and chorizo) which was great great great. I LOVE their bottled sauces!


Cemita Atomica.


Cemita Atomica.

Cemitas Puebla says " We will be closed on Monday Feb 7th and Tuesday 8th. We will be taking care of some remodeling in our dining area. We are really excited and hope you like the changes we make to our taqueria."
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/page ... 8116943941

Great lunch today with jimthebeerguy at Cemitas Puebla. Chicharron quesadilla, cemita Atomica, and tacos arabes were all fantastic (though it confirmed that I prefer the simpler cemitas).

They had a sign up for something neither Jim nor I recognized, so we asked and found out that it was a spicy green atole with corn. I had just tried atole for the first time a two weekends ago, at the van across from Cafe Mariano and was extremely curious to try this one out. Spicy, savory, and studded with corn kernels, this hybrid soup/beverage was the perfect thing to take off the chill after a cold bike ride. Definitely give it a try while it's on offer.

-Dan

Seconded on the chile atole, it was very good, especially with a little shake of salt and a little squeeze of lime. I'm told that most atoles are sweeter and that this one is somewhat unique; it was definitely just the thing for a cold winter day, warm and filling and with a good amount of heat from the jalapenos.

Tony Jr. continues to be one of the friendliest, most inviting hosts you could ask for. I've rarely felt as welcome anywhere as I've felt at Cemitas Puebla. When I pulled up on my bike, he was on the sidewalk and he invited me to bring my bike inside and lean it against the gumball machines in the front of the store. Then he comped me a bottle of jarritos "for coming out in this weather."

I think next time I'll have to try the straight-up carne enchilada cemita though; as much as I like the atomica it is a bit much. The milanesa, my other go-to, is fantastic as well but you have to try new things right?

dansch wrote:They had a sign up for something neither Jim nor I recognized, so we asked and found out that it was a spicy green atole with corn. I had just tried atole for the first time a two weekends ago, at the van across from Cafe Mariano and was extremely curious to try this one out. Spicy, savory, and studded with corn kernels, this hybrid soup/beverage was the perfect thing to take off the chill after a cold bike ride. Definitely give it a try while it's on offer.

-Dan

I asked Tony about the Chile Atole yesterday and they didn't have any, but he said to try today. I went in to pick up a slew of tacos and asked Tony's dad (Tony was off today) about the atole. At first he said they didn't have any, but when I looked disappointed, he said "medium or large" and pulled the stash out from the back where it was hidden.

So, they do have it again today, but you may have to plead bit to get some. Totally worth it, very delicious, I hope they keep offering it the rest of this winter. Thanks Dansch & Jim for tipping me off!

spiffytriphy wrote:Stuffed! Wonderful lunch at Cemitas Puebla with the little brother. (Happy belated birthday, Daniel!). The Cemita Atomica and Taco Arabes are two of my favorite foods period. I also got the Gov. Precioso Taco (carne asada and chorizo) which was great great great. I LOVE their bottled sauces!

Gov. Precioso Taco.

We were in yesterday and the updates they just did to the interior look great - it still looks and feels like Cemitas Puebla, but the new floor/ceiling brighten the place up quite bit.

Spiffy, as many years as I've been going in, I had never ordered the Gov. Precioso taco before and your post inspired me. I've had it four times now and I think it might just be my favorite taco period in Chicago.

Fun non-food related note, Tony is in a competition on the White Sox website for biggest Latino White Sox fan in Chicago, check it out: http://mlb.mlb.com/cws/fan_forum/cws_fan_vote/form.jsp

Ursiform wrote:biggest Latino White Sox fan in Chicago

Let me know when they have Pisa Tinoisamoa in the Biggest Other Pacific Islander White Sox Fan in Chicago poll and perhaps I'll vote.

Santander wrote:

Ursiform wrote:biggest Latino White Sox fan in Chicago

Let me know when they have Pisa Tinoisamoa in the Biggest Other Pacific Islander White Sox Fan in Chicago poll and perhaps I'll vote.

I thought Pisa was a Padres fan?

Finally got to Cemitas Puebla yesterday and was absolutely dazzled by the food! Highlights for me were the chalupas with salsa verde, the Arabe, and the Atomica. But transcending everything, were the chicherone quesadillas. Taking such humble ingredients and producing that dish... I think there's some alchemy involved. Now, just imagine what they could do to fish tacos???

I finally made it here on Saturday for my first visit. Wife 1.0 loved the place, but she knew exactly what I was thinking, which was: Those cemitas were probably WAAAAAAY better back when they cost 5 bux. They are up to 6 fitty now (for the regular ones.) We both absolutely loved the salsas though. Every one of them. It's obvious that this place takes great pride in the product that they are sending out.

Can someone tell me the difference between the taco arabes and the Orientales which is described as (Spit roasted pork and onions) ?

The arabes is a larger portion of the same meat, in a thick flour tortilla instead of the normal corn tortilla.

Count me as another who finally made it to Cemitas for the first time.
I'm not sure I can think of another sandwich as filling as the Atomica. If you are famished on a cold day, this bad boy is the one for you. Just enough toppings to provide some balance to the formidable portions of meat. I was impressed by the quality of the ingredients. The agua fresca was tasty and the service was friendly. Enjoyed seeing the dad standing near the door, eager to help first-time customers with the process.

TomInSkokie wrote:I'm not sure I can think of another sandwich as filling as the Atomica.

The Torta Cubana at La Oaxaquena is, IMO, fairly over the top in this regard.

Townhog actually has a 50% off deal for Cemita Puebla today! Didnt think theyd get into these kinds of promotions.. but Iam delighted to be able to get a couple of my cemitas at half-off

(For those interested, it can be found at http://townhog.com/referral/47947/coupon/2603 )

c8w

c8w wrote:Townhog actually has a 50% off deal for Cemita Puebla today! Didnt think theyd get into these kinds of promotions.. but Iam delighted to be able to get a couple of my cemitas at half-off

(For those interested, it can be found at http://townhog.com/referral/47947/coupon/2603 )

c8w

Thank you very much for sharing this!

c8w wrote:Townhog actually has a 50% off deal for Cemita Puebla today! Didnt think theyd get into these kinds of promotions.. but Iam delighted to be able to get a couple of my cemitas at half-off

(For those interested, it can be found at http://townhog.com/referral/47947/coupon/2603 )

c8w

Thanks again for sharing, I got one as well and used it today. The place was silly packed, but my takeout order was ready quickly and I'm always happy to see a great local business thriving. Cemitas Milanesa/Carne Asada, tacos Gov. Precioso, Carne Asada and Arabes terrific as usual. The Gov. Precioso remains my favorite item on the menu, it is really a spectacular little bundle of flavor.

It had been a few months since I'd visited, so last week I decided that an Atomica would be the perfect late-afternoon, pre-Whistler meal. It was great to see Tony. We chatted for a bit and he was very upbeat about how consistent business has been lately. As much as he acknowledged all the national attention Cemitas Puebla has garnered, he very sincerlely insisted that it all started with the love he'd received here at LTH.

I was so focused on the food that I neglected to take pictures of the (now not-so-recent) remodel but the new wood flooring was very nice and didn't detract at all from Cemitas Puebla's homey, store front feel. As I sat down, Tony brought me out a house-made salsa that was a combination of CP's chipotle salsa and their home-grown papalo, which had been put up at the end of last season . . .


Chipotle and Papalo Salsa
I loved this salsa, which was sweet, fiery and mildly bitter. You could really get the papalo aroma in the finish.

The star of the show was the Cemita Atomica, which scratches the itch for me like almost nothing else . . .


Cemita Atomica
I just love this sandwich. For me, it's the ultimate trump card of Chicago sandwiches. In fact, I joked with Tony that this sandwich is so firmly my favorite in Chicago, the next best one, whatever it is, is actually #3.

=R=

Yum yum yum! I love Cemitas Puebla! This was my first time having papalo in the cemitas, and I thought it was fantastic! It added a welcome fresh bite to the rich sandwiches.


Cemita atomica.


Carne asada cemita.


Taco arabes.

I absolutely love Cemitas Puebla's amazing sandwiches, as I did on Tuesday last week with spiffytriphy






I have to say though, their Chalupas are not my favorite.



These are falling apart even before they hit your lips.

Puebla tonight: perfect cemitas, poorest tacos arabes I've had there. This one item has been in decline on my last several visits, with no caramelized onions, chewy pork, and dry tortillas so thick they're approaching pitas. They used to be a lovely elastic thing halfway between a standard flour tortilla and an unctuous paratha with crispy spit-roasted shaved pork and searing heat even before sauce application. I'll bypass entirely for the wonderful sandwiches.

Ironically, incite's chalpuas above look better (possibly homemade masa cakes again?) than they had for a while. I sort of like the disintegrating sogginess in their good salsas.

That sucks about the tacos arabes. That was one of my favorite things there, it inspired me to make my own version in fact (which aint too shabby.) I haven't been over there in a while but my wife has a couple of groupons we have to use by like April so we'll be over there soon.

I had some pretty amazing arabes about 6 weeks ago at a weekday lunch. Not a single complaint about them. Hopefully my experience is the norm, not Santander's.

I have to agree with Santander, the last few recent visits the tacos arabes have morphed into an inferior version of the original. I noticed there are some new workers behind the grill and wondering if that has something to do with it, or if the tortilla wasn't warmed up thus no "gummy" elasticity. However, there absence of caramelized onions is unfortunate. Does anyone know what the difference now can be? Being a frequent visitor to this establishment it's disappointing to say the least, maybe someone who is friendly with Tony can mention this and get his feedback? I so miss the arabes the way it used to be, argh! If this continues I may just have to order the cemitas sadly.

I discovered this evening that Cemitas Puebla now delivers to my address through GrubHub. I find this is a remarkable and gratifying state of affairs.