Taqueria San Juanito [LTHForum Taqueria Project]

LTH,

Taqueria San Juanito is the first, of hopefully many, posts by LTHers about Taquerias in the Lawrence/Montrose area. Of the initial list of ten Lawrence Ave taquerias what drew me to Taqueria San Juanito was the picture of a chili pepper in the window.

Taqueria San Juanito


Though on closer inspection it turned out to be an al pastor cone, not chili pepper. Either way, cool window sign.


Just walking in I had a good feeling, clean, bright, with appetite inducing aromas in the air from grilling carne asada and the al pastor cone.

Taqueria San Juanito Al Pastor cone


Complimentary chips, nice and fresh, and three kinds of table salsa, the brick colored sauce on the right had a strong chile kick, de Arbol most likely, with slightly bitter top notes, Steve Z thought evocative of tobacco, either way, quite good in moderation.


Steve Z had a couple of al Pastor tacos on commercial, but well managed, tortillas, and a chile relleno.


Mike G had an al pastor, carne asada, same well managed commercial tortillas, and a carne asada gordita which appeared to be made with hand patted masa.


My chilaquiles w/chorizo were very enjoyable, of the saucy type, as opposed to Nuevo Leon's crisp, served with rice, beans and a generous dollop of crema. The chorizo, which was an add-on, was particularly tasty with nice crisp bits and good flavor. The rice and beans, while well prepared, didn't have the richness that comes from using lard, healthier I'm sure, but a little lard love goes a long way for flavor.

Chilaquiles w/chorizo


Relatively full menu with menudo and barbacoa on the weekends. They even have dessert, including tres leches, cheese cake and a surprisingly nice looking slice of chocolate cake. Service was very good, water refilled etc, with one efficient waitress easily handling the small restaurant.

The LTH Lawrence/Montrose Ave scouting is, with Taqueria San Juanito, off to a fast start, though I have a feeling most of the taquerias we try will not reach the bar set by Taqueria San Juanito.

Enjoy,
Gary

New Location as per Kenny Z
Taqueria San Juanito
4714 N. Kedzie
Chicago, IL
773-583-0304

G Wiv wrote:Complimentary chips, nice and fresh, and three kinds of table salsa, ...

Gary,
How was the center green salsa? There was a Taqueria in Prospect Heights which made one looking just like that, and it was ideal on Pastor -- hot, herbal with a hint of creaminess. They wouldn't tell me what was in it, but denied avocado. I suspect it's a "salsa de lechuga" but I'm not sure.

Sadly, that place Taqueria Los Morelos is gone.

I love the pastor poster. The poster depicts the exact same shape as the actual meat. How were the tacos al pastor? I am a sucker for anything cooked in one of those gyros rotisseries.

JoelF wrote:How was the center green salsa? There was a Taqueria in Prospect Heights which made one looking just like that, and it was ideal on Pastor -- hot, herbal with a hint of creaminess. They wouldn't tell me what was in it, but denied avocado.

I really liked the green salsa pictured above on my pastor. I'm not sure what is in it either, but it tasted much as you described. I was thinking avocado, but that was just a guess on my part. I've seen this same salsa served in several places, so it must be something fairly accessable to the culture.

The creaminess certainly suggested avocado to me, too. It didn't seem dairy-based from flavor, quite apart from the other issues involved in keeping dairy at room temperature like that, so I'm not sure what else it could be.

I agree with everything else said about this place, a nice stop for carne asada or pastor.

the green salsa may be lettuce. i make one in a high speed blender or food processor with jalapeno's, cilantro, lettuce, drizzled cold o oil and s and p. you emulsify it all together, which gives it a creamy consistency. also has the herbal overtones, plus looks like guac. for added heat, you can use a habenero instead.

I just got back from having dinner at Taqueria San Juanito and in spite of the one hour bus ride it took to get there, I had a very enjoyable meal. The food, service, atmosphere and price were perfectly balanced for a relaxed Sunday dinner alone. Like Mike G, I had the taco al pastor, taco carne asada and gordita carne asada. I also went with the pastel tres leche for good measure. Including tax and tip, I spent less than 12 dollars. When I compare tonight with my only other taqueria experience at de Cero, San Juanito takes the cake. With respect to the green sauce -- I could have sworn it was avocado-based. Thanks for starting the project, G Wiv. I look forward to trying the next one.

JoelF wrote:I suspect it's a "salsa de lechuga" but I'm not sure.

Joel,

After reading your and Jazzfoods response I'd guess salsa de lechuga (lettuce salsa) as well. I also seem to remember a past thread where Amata weighs in on this subject.

I found a number of recipes for "salsa de lechuga" with a google search, but they are all in Spanish, which is not one of my languages. Actually, I only have one language, English, and am barely proficient at that.

Enjoy,
Gary

when i first came across the salsa verde in question, i was w/extramsg @ a place in vancouver washington he took me for guisado. it quickly became my favorite restaurant that i experienced (frequently) while i was up in the n w for 8 months last yr.

we weren't quite sure what it was besides delicious, and thought all of the same descriptions provided here. creamy, herbal, guac (maybe, but maybe not). anyway when we asked them they told us a couple different things that we may have just misunderstood due to misinterpetation. the good part is that i ended hiring a couple of the employees there to work for me and had them show me how it's made, which i watched and learned and described in my previous post.

when you emulsify @ high speed w/cold xtra virgin o oil you get the creamy thing going for you. the color was a pastel green as in guac and the herbal and heat come from the lettuce, cilantro and pepper d'jour.

i'm using this technique w/great relsults to avoid heavy cream these days. a much more pure and healthy alternative. looks and tastes great as well. works w/nearly everything. i've recently used it w/watermelon, mango and asst herbs (all juiced) peppers and tomatoes. juice it, reduce slowly in double boiler, let cool, emulsify w/cold xtra virgin, finish w/s and p.

shakezula wrote:I just got back from having dinner at Taqueria San Juanito and in spite of the one hour bus ride it took to get there, I had a very enjoyable meal.

Shakezula,

Big sigh of relief here, as you spent an hour on the bus going to Taqueria San Juanito based, in part, on my post and not enjoyed your meal I'd have felt horrid.

Next Taqueria I plan on trying is Taqueria Morelia, 3943 W Lawrence. I also plan on jotting down a list of Taquerias East of 2700 on Lawrence, which is as far as I got last time.

I hoping someone will take up the cause for Montrose and Kedzie.

Enjoy,
Gary

stevez wrote:

JoelF wrote:How was the center green salsa? There was a Taqueria in Prospect Heights which made one looking just like that, and it was ideal on Pastor -- hot, herbal with a hint of creaminess. They wouldn't tell me what was in it, but denied avocado.

I really liked the green salsa pictured above on my pastor. I'm not sure what is in it either, but it tasted much as you described. I was thinking avocado, but that was just a guess on my part. I've seen this same salsa served in several places, so it must be something fairly accessable to the culture.

i've made a salsa that looks like this by throwing a few quartered tomatillos, a jalapeno, some garlic, and a little water in a blender... you can put it together in just a few minutes.

LTH,

Stopped into Taqueria San Juanito for a quickie lunch the other day. Huevos rancheros, which came with rice, beans, tortillas and three nicely cooked easy over eggs on a couple of griddled tortillas with a surprisingly flavorful red sauce lightly ladled over the eggs.

Taqueria San Juanito is good enough that I've found myself there a few times since the initial visit when I really should be going to additional places on Lawrence for the Taqueria Project. But, then again, this is what the project is all about, finding good, reliable neighborhood taquerias.

Enjoy,
Gary (who promises to try at least one new taqueria this week)

Taqueria San Juanito
3808 W Lawrence Ave
Chicago, IL 60625
773-583-0304

I love you all for undertaking this project and will do what I can to help. I just moved to the vicinity of Lawrence and Kimball and have yet to find a local Taqueria to take the place of my beloved Taqueria Trespasada on California just south of Belmont.

We took the advice of this forum and dined at Taqueria San Juanito Saturday evening.

We had tacos de chorizo (very good - tangy with crispy bits), carne asada (I did not care for this - the meat tasted gamey and was chopped into tiny pieces), chile relleno (delicious, as stated above - you should try a meal of these), pastor (this was ok, even if it was from a cone, it had little porky flavor and was kind of greasy).

We also had a torta de pastor - good torta (great puffy bun) but, again, i wasn't crazy about the pastor, i might try a cubana or milanesa there next time.

There WILL be a next time, because the gorditas are very good. We had the unusual Gordita de rengas y Queso (sliced jalapenos and cheese) This was delicious - tangy warm heat from the peppers blended with the melted cheese - topped with all the fixings. And the gordita held up well (they usually fall apart on me)

I will also concur, that creamy green table salsa - I could take a bath in it.

Thanks for taking on this project - I will gladly QA/QC behind you, ya know, for research purposes.

kafein wrote:I will gladly QA/QC behind you, ya know, for research purposes.

Thanks for the offer, but you could advance the project even faster by checking out a new Taqueria on your own and reporting back. This project was designed to be a group effort, so c'mon. Jump in with both feet and check out one of the many untried places on the list and tell us what you think. What's the worst thing that could happen?

Hi, went to Taqueria San Juanito tonight, with the recommendation of others in the past. Really a great little place, 3 types of Salsa, good chips, excellent service, clean, inexpensive, I highly recommend it. I had a cheese quesadilla, and two pastor tacos, plus a drink, with tax, about 5.00. I wonder if others have been there lately, or if there are any other recent recommendations for taquerias in the area.

The Taqueria San Juanito empire (?) has expanded. The recently opened #2 at 3312 W. Foster.

So, now while waiting for a table for brunch at Tre Kronor (a half-block to the east of TSJ2) you can have a chilaquiles snack to tide you over.

I had the al pastor torta and it was excellent. Everything seemed to echo what was said about the mothership on Lawrence, include the green "lettuce" salsa, which went really well with the crispy off-the-cone pastor.


Oh, and the walls are a very, very, very vibrant orange.

Really terrific tacos al pastor this afternoon at San Juanito on Lawrence, with tasty and plentiful charred bits of pork:




They've fancified ("Gone Hollywood" as Stevez likes to say) the salsa serving presentation:



Per the charming hostess/waitress/cashier, there is no lettuce in the green salsa - just cilantro, tomatillos, jalapeños, a very fine chinois, and - yes - avocados.

My third lunch here in the last few months, and I definitely plan on more.

here's a one liner:

I'm going there.

pastor? green salsa that looks (and hopefully tastes) like el pollo regio? i'm there.

MBK wrote:I'm going there.

excellent! If you've got room, try the tres leches cake. The server told me that it's made in house and delicious - I just didn't have the stomach capacity at the time. I really like a good tres leches, so I'd love to hear how it is.

Had dinner last weekend at San Juanito and liked it overall. It was my first visit.

First, I really enjoyed the salas, especially the green one, which had intense flavor, interesting texture and a subtle hint of spiciness.

I ordered a bunch of different tacos and of the 5 varieties I sampled, my favorite was the lengua which was rich, tender and beefy. I also liked the chorizo, which had nice spice and lots of crispy bits. 3rd favorite was the al pastor, which was flavorful but a little dry. Chicharron was very flavorful but I was hoping for a mixture of soft and crispy. These chicharrones were entirely soft, which just didn't do it for me texturally. The carne asada, I didn't care for. It was dry and had a somewhat livery flavor.

I also tried a few bites of chilaquiles con bistek en salsa verde. I enjoyed the chilaquiles but the bistek was not something I'd likely order in the future. Friends ordered a (gigantic) burrito, which was ok. This one contained lettuce, beans, tomatoes and sour cream; all ingredients I consider extraneous on a burrito (which is not my preferred conduit to begin with).

The possible highlight of the meal was the menudo, which was as deeply flavorful as any version I can remember having. It was really addictive and the pieces of tripa were just the perfect texture -- not too firm, not to mushy. This is a weekend-only item, which made me especially happy that we were there on a Saturday.

I'll definitely return, and hit the lengua tacos and menudo hard. I'm also eager to try a few other items that I didn't get to try this time around, like the chiles rellenos and one of the tortas, to name a couple.

=R=

Kennyz wrote:Per the charming hostess/waitress/cashier, there is no lettuce in the green salsa - just cilantro, tomatillos, jalapeos, a very fine chinois, and - yes - avocados.

Last week the charming/hostess/waitress/cashier, who I imagine is the same person as your post, said yes there is lettuce in the light green salsa. I'm willing to bet her answer depends on how one phrases the sentence. Either way the green salsa is terrific.

I've never had much luck with pambazo's, even went on a bit of a pambazo hunt 5-6 years ago, disintegrating bread, low-rent filling, acidic out of balance chile sauce, greasy beyond my ability to adapt, so it was with trepidation I ordered San Juanito's pambazo.* Chile sauce infused bolillo with a nicely crisp exterior that retained just enough structural integrity to eat out of hand, though I soon went knife and fork euro style. A simple traditional chorizo/potato filling along with a side of rich refried beans and rice rounded out the overflowing plate. Torta Milanesa and chicken tacos for my dining companions, along with a flavorful lightly charred cactus salad completed our satisfying lunch.

San Juanito's service is consistently efficient and friendly, interior, including lavatory, spotless, and prices reasonable. San Juanito gets high marks for reliability and is an excellent choice for lunch or low-impact dinner.

Enjoy,
Gary

*I took a cell phone picture of my San Juanito pambazo which corrupted making the electronic journey from cell phone to computer.

LTH,
San Juanito on Lawrence closed a coupla months ago. Don't fret - they have reopened in a bigger space closer to my home. Same good salsas and well tended pastor trompo.

Taqueria San Juanito NEW LOCATION:
4714 N. Kedzie
773-583-0304

Fantastic al pastor tonight right off the trompo. Service was courteous and attentive. It's going to be hard driving by and not stopping whenever i see that trompo going.

Kennyz wrote:Don't fret - they have reopened in a bigger space closer to my home. Same good salsas and well tended pastor trompo.

Kenny Z,

Thanks for the heads up on the San Juanito move, took me a while to get there but it won't be long until I'm back.

Taqueria San Juanito 4714 N Kedzie



Bigger, brighter, spotless, hunger inducing toasty masa aroma as I entered, familiar three salsas, fresh fried chips and ice water the moment we were seated.

Taqueria San Juanito





Latest issue of Saveur had me in the mood for enchiladas, San Juanito scratched the itch like a Makita drill with back-scratcher bit.

Enchiladas Verdes w/chicken



Lunch companion went Huevos Rancheros, three basted eggs still had runny yolks.

Huevos Rancheros



We split a Sope w/cactus, crisp masa, tender cactus. Maybe a bit more crema than I'd like, but that's a quibble.

Sope w/cactus



Being Saturday they had a few soup specials, pollo, res and 7 mares plus menudo. No goat, but our pleasant, efficient and quite pretty waitress mentioned borrego/lamb consomme.

When we arrived at 11am the trompo was empty, noon a chubby wheel of al pastor was spinning away.

Al Pastor, noon on a Saturday



Since my original post on Lawrence/Montrose Taquerias I've tried quite a few and am prepared to crown Taqueria San Juanito the clear winner or, at the least, my far and away current favorite.

Happy to have San Juanito back bigger and better than ever, looking forward to an al pastor taco off the trompo.

Enjoy,
Gary

Taqueria San Juanito
4714 N. Kedzie
Chicago, IL
773-583-0304

Taqueria San Juanito, along with Cuetzala on Clark, have become my go-to for Mexican style plate lunch. Typically breakfast type items at Juanito and skirt steak combos with a side of Tamales Nejos at Cuetzala.



Taqueria San Juanito
4714 N. Kedzie
Chicago, IL

Cuetzala
7360 N Clark St
Chicago IL 60626

In my new hood. Is this the place w/the soup you told me about?

Jazzfood wrote:In my new hood. Is this the place w/the soup you told me about?

Yes, San Juanito for menudo, pozole and Caldo de Pollo, though the first two might only be available on the weekend. Also like La Oxenquena for Caldo de Pollo

Taqueria La Oaxaquena
3382 N Milwaukee Ave
Chicago, IL 60641

Just came back from there. Enjoyed the sope de hongos and salsas most. Could of ordered better but can see I'll be back.

Jazzfood wrote:Just came back from there. Enjoyed the sope de hongos and salsas most. Could of ordered better but can see I'll be back.

There being San Juanito, right? Did you order tacos? I almost never order tacos at San Juanito, soup as mentioned, and plate lunches of breakfast items. Ellen has had the shrimp soup a few times, which she dug. For straight up tacos, lengua, carne asada, chile relleno, good guac w/crisp fresh chips etc in the area I typically to go to Taqueria 5 De Mayo, sister restaurant of Taqueria Asadero.

Don't get me wrong, Taqueria 5 De Mayo is no La Chaparrita but its pretty damn good without the 45-minute drive from the Northwest side.

Taqueria 5 De Mayo
2415 W Montrose Ave
Chicago, IL 60618