Los Nopales

I figured that the best way for me to celebrate LTHForum's first birthday was to dine out at a place that I've never been to before or ever seen reviewed on this site. So, the Petite Pois and I walked up Western to a new Mexican restaurant called Los Nopales.

Los Nopales is about six weeks old. It has a bright, comfortable interior with a large bar in the middle of the room on the left. No alcohol is served (BYOB allowed), they use their bar mainly for serving jarritos, horchatas, licuados, hot chocolate, and espresso and coffee drinks.

Since I am a big fan of nopales, I was interested to see if they would have a greater representation of nopales on their menu than your average Mexican restaurant, being named after them. There wasn't much beyond a vegetarian taco with nopales, a nopale salad or a sope (or gordita) con nopales y queso fresco. We skipped the salad since the description wasn't too exciting, and instead went with a nopales sope and one taco al pastor as an appetizer.

Before these arrived, we had the ever-present chips and salsa. They served two homemade salsas both of which had a very thick consistency, as if very little liquid was added to the puree. I enjoyed the salsa verde significantly more than the rojo (I usually do). The salsa verde was tart, a little sweet, very fresh-tasting, and had a nice heat level. The salsa rojo tasted way too much like pureed tomatoes for me to really enjoy, it was almost like a spicy ketchup.

It wasn't until after we left that it dawned on me to ask if this thick style of salsa is indigenous to any particular region of Mexico. Does anyone here know the answer?

Our sope and taco were both enjoyable and fresh-tasting. The taco is no better than your average griddle-style al pastor. I could have used a little more caramelization on the meat, but it had good flavor, simply dressed with fresh white onion and cilantro. The sope was much brighter in flavor, since I believe the nopales were marinated in lime juice.

For our entrees, we split the huachinango a la veracruzana and the evening's special of grilled pork tenderloin in huajillo sauce. The snapper was nicely cooked in hot-enough oil to give it a very crispy exterior and tasty exterior. The sauce was essentially the same olive-tomato-pepper sauce I've had in many other places when I order this dish. This is one sauce that I generally never detect much of a difference in from place to place, not to say this is bad at all, since I keep ordering it.

The pork tenderloin was a decent cut of pork, grilled a little long for my taste but still very enjoyable. (We asked for it to be cooked "however they like it" and she did say that it should be cooked just beyond medium). The huajillo sauce had a much more complex flavor than the salsas. This sauce definitely tasted like the beginning component of a good mole. There were a couple grilled nopale paddles served on the side of the pork, which were very flavorful and a nice accompaniment.

The menu is packed with plenty of the standard things you'd expect (burritos/tacos/enchiladas/fajitas) along with a few other things I'd like to try, like carne asada tortas, tamales puerco, pollo en mole, huaraches, more sopes, caldo de mariscos, caldo de camaron, and pan-fried tilapia tacos.

Based on my first visit, Los Nopales seems like a nice little dinner or lunch option in the area, with an atmosphere definitely a cut above your average taqueria. There's plenty to choose from for lunch if you simply want some tacos or a torta, and there's plenty to try for dinner. I wasn't completely blown away by anything I ate, but I left satisfied by the ingredients chosen and care taken. I will return to try more. The flavors are fresh, the room is nice, the owners are very friendly, and I hope they succeed.

Los Nopales
4544 N Western
(Directly across the street from "The Cheese Stands Alone")
773-334-3149
10am-10pm Tue.-Sun.
BYOB

Best,
Michael / EC

I had lunch alone at Los Nopales in early May and had hoped to have another before posting. My wife and I were planning to go there for lunch Thursday. Unfortunately, the heat had overwhelmed their air conditioning. The air conditioning was working well at Spoon Thai (in the next block), so we ate there.

Based on my first visit, Los Nopales seems like a nice little dinner or lunch option in the area, with an atmosphere definitely a cut above your average taqueria. There's plenty to choose from for lunch if you simply want some tacos or a torta, and there's plenty to try for dinner. I wasn't completely blown away by anything I ate, but I left satisfied by the ingredients chosen and care taken. I will return to try more. The flavors are fresh, the room is nice, the owners are very friendly, and I hope they succeed.

My reaction was quite similar to EatChicago's. Los Nopales is a nice addition to Lincoln Square, particularly such a short pleasant walk from our house, but hardly a destination. The atmosphere and food sampled so far beat nearby taquerias. We'll be back after the weather cools off.

One note: there was a third salsa available on request. This salsa has considerably more heat than the other two. It definitely livened up my tacos.

The wife and I have wandered over (it's only a couple blocks from the house) twice now since Los Nopales opened. It's always been satisfactory, though each time we were in the mood for standards (a nice steak taco plate, say).

We'll have to try some of the specials soon.

One thing I will highlight is the guacamole. This is made, from what I can tell, to order. Not in the fancy Adobo Grill manner, but back in the kitchen is someone who really knows how to balance the creamy and spicy into an excellent complement to your meal.

Hey Los Nopales must be very good.....plus I know the owner. I'll chek it out one of these days with my family.

I stopped into Los Nopales this weekend, as they are just around the corner from my apartment. I had two tacos al pastor and a chicken taco as well. All three tacos were seasoned perfectly and the homemade sauces (hot and mild) were a nice addition to the meal. The owner (at least I think) was very friendly and said that business had been picking up so I hope they make it. The woman said she and her husband used to work for LEYE and said they learned a lot in terms of quality of food, etc. That location seems to have trouble sustaining a business, but I hope Los Nopales is here to stay. It looks like they have some good fish on the menu, which I'm anxious to try.

Finally made it to Los Nopales Saturday night (sorry, no pix) – and I’m glad I did. Although the décor looks like so many other hole-in-the-wall Mexican places, the food was superb (especially considering the $21 per person price, including tip, not including the wine we brought, since it’s still BYOB).

But that price included three appetizers and four entrees for the four of us, plus the opening two salsas with chips. It was interesting that neither of the salsas looked much like anything at a typical Mexican place … both were somewhat thick and pureed to a smooth consistency – unlike the somewhat chunky tomato-based salsas at most places. The verde, as mentioned before, was nice, rather mellow, and even the rojo was more about flavor than heat – again, unlike many typical Mexican places. And the house-made tortilla chips were outstanding.

I thought it was particularly interesting that the guacamole appetizer was chunky – almost discrete pieces of avacado – rather than the smoother, more crushed style of guacamole I usually see. So the usually chunky salsas were smooth, and the usually smooth guacamole was chunky. Obviously, the chef here knows his stuff, and wants to go beyond re-creating the typical Mexican experience (despite the décor).

The entrees we ordered were mostly combination plates – agreeably chewy flank steaks, excellent butterflied camarones, a nice tilapia, others I’m forgetting … all served with a small portion of cactus salad (obviously, Los Nopales has to feature nopales).

We were too full for dessert, but the chef came out and insisted we try a complimentary vanilla flan (it was toward the end of the evening) – a near-perfect version of a dish I’ve always liked, but never been blown away by.

As a group, I think we all considered the food far better than anyone has any right to expect for the price, and we’ll return. But I’m thinking next visit, we might go heavy on appetizers (which could challenge Mr. Bayless), and share an entrée.

But I wanted to bring this thread back up to people’s consciousness, since it’s the kind of place that needs to be supported.

I'm surprised it's been so long since anyone has posted to this thread.

Stopped in for the first time tonight at Los Nopales, inexplicably missing it while I live 1 mile away, but able to hit it from 500 miles away.

Really, a delightful little place. While I understand and agree with the measured praise above, it really set my expectations pleasantly below my experience.

The guacamole and salsas remain as advertised by nr706, unique and delicious. I ordered the evening's special, described as a tilapia tamal. I understood this to mean tilapia in masa, but it was a nice piece of tamale, no masa, with some thin slices of pickled jalapeno, tomato slices, and epazote, wrapped and cooked in a dried corn husk. Served with some store-bought but well handled corn tortillas (or flour, your option) and topped with some of the salsa, this was a very nice meal.

My friend ordered the enchiladas suizas, which were really terrific, achieving a great balance of not drowning in sauce, but avoiding the dryness that plagues a lesser "traditional"-style enchilada. Drizzled with a nice bit of crema, prompting my friend (who grew up around Monterrey) to note these were definitely from the interior.

The restaurant was bustling, pleasantly so, we got the last table at 8:30 on a Tuesday night. And there is something so charming about being waited on by a perfectly mannered child of 10-12...it's really a family enterprise (despite the slightly odd situation of asking said 12-year-old to bring you an opener and limes for your Modelo).

Really a wonderful, neighborhood Mexican joint. Based on this visit anyway, it strikes me that it belongs in a class with La Oaxaquena, and I'm hard-pressed to name a better North Side family-run, no-Bayless pretension Mexican joint than these two.*

While the place was quite busy, I walked past it once without recognizing it because the whole facade of the building is under construction. I don't know how this is affecting their business, but in my estimation, it's all the more reason to get there and give them some support.

After dinner, we adjourned to Bistro Campagne, where I'd been for dinner once before, but never before to sit at the bar for a couple beers. An extremely nice venue for such an activity, and one easily overlooked (at least by me) among the myriad watering holes in Lincoln Square. They've eliminated the Hanssen's Oude Gueuze from the menu, however, due to lack of interest (and too much disappointment when there actually was interest), and somewhat to my dismay.

*Oh, and Sol de Mexico, thought that's pretty far west to be easily north side accessible by CTA train.

Hi LTHers,

I wrote last month that I was looking for a great Mexican restaurant to help cater a southside dinner that I was organizing for 50 people. Although the suggestions I got from LTHers were great (thanks!), I decided to go with a fantastic restaurant in my area, Los Nopales. Adan Moreno, the chef and owner, cooked his usual delicious food--tilapia en salsa verde, ensalada de nopalitos (my favorite), carne asada, pollo en salsa ranchera, amazing guacamole, and their excellent green and red salsas. Adan is from Guerrero, but the food has influences from many states. I can't say enough about how delicious the food was, and how fortunate I feel to live close to the source (now the Hyde Parkers will have to come north). I was too busy to remember to take photos, but the presentation was beautiful as well.

-ravenspark

Los Nopales
4544 N. Western
Chicago, IL 60625
(773) 334-3149

All,

LN is a fine little Mexican sit-down restaurant along what I like to call the “BYOB Corridor” on Western Avenue just a block west of downtown Lincoln Square. The Corridor starts just south of Leland with Opart Thai, then Thai Oscar, Spoon further down and lastly Los Nopales just south of Wilson.

With its welcoming and humble green awning with white lettering the SO and I entered this past Saturday night for a good Mexican meal. This was our second visit having previously stopped by for a weekend lunch several weeks past. We must have forgotten this place was BYOB so we excused ourselves for a few minutes and walked up a block to the nearest liquor store for some Seagram’s bottled Daiquiris (yuck!) and a few double (24 oz.) Modelo Especials (yummy!).

Upon our return, our table was saved and fresh chips and salsas had been brought to the table. A nice welcome back. The staff promptly brought out a bucket of ice for our beverages and quickly sliced some limes and provided a salted small glass for my Modelos – the perfect way to drink them!

As an aside, the next time you are jonesing for Mexican lager, look past the Corona and glance over at the Modelo Especials and grab a few, or a few too many (note: NOT Negro Modela – this has its fans, I am not one). Obtain a small (glass) glass; run a fresh cut lime around the rim; apply salt to rim; squeeze lime in glass; dump lime in glass; pour in beer; the repeat, repeat; repeat; again; again; again…relax…repeat; again; etc. You’ll thank me later!

LN is bigger than one might expect from peering in the front windows. The long and narrow front room is matched by an equivalently-sized back room. The front room is centered with a festive wooden hut bar with 5 or 6 seats seats. This bar is adorned with a string of multi-colored jalapeno lights adding further ambience to place.

Ahh, but toward the food we roam. The server greeted us with a warm smile, genuinely happy to see us and ripped through the specials, all of which were starters. The two complimentary salsas that came with the chips were very different from what I’m used to and very good. The verde (green) salsa was hotter than the red/orange salsa. The green salsa tasted very fresh and had a smooth texture with a little heat that lingered on tongue for just the right amount of time before subtly fading away…my fav of the two good salsas. The red/orange/chipotle(?) salsa was a bit more flavorful and milder. Again, awfully fresh, the SO loved this one – I’d say I really liked it. An auspicious beginning.

I hardly ever order steak at a Mexican joint unless it’s fajitas or in the tacos, enchiladas, etc. But there seemed to be 4 or 5 really tempting offerings, I limited it down to two finalists and the server choose for me the Los Nopales Skirt Steak Special.

The Skirt steak was chargrilled with frijoles barrachos (gotta love the drunk beans!!) which contained red beans, bacon, sausage bits, and various spices. I have to say, when the entrees arrived, the Skirt steak plate looked fabulous but I was a bit worried about the fact that my steak looked drowned in the pool of frijoles borrachos. I am generally not a huge fan of meat served in a pool of sauce…but my concerns were alleviated once I took my first bite. The 5 or 6 pieces of Skirt steak were perfectly grilled to my satisfaction which is to say just to the rare side of medium rare…beautifully textured, red, ever-so-slightly bloody, juicy heaven…

…second aside, call me crazy but you give me a quality cut, perfectly cooked, choice of any steak I want, now remember PERFECTLY cooked and I’ll promise you that Skirt steak will get my bronze medal most of the time (and sometimes even the silver) behind a Filet Mignon and N.Y. Strip...

…the Skirt steak was really good matched ideally with the drunk beans. In the middle of this entrée sat a piled-up grilled cactus salad. Nice accompaniment to the dish and my first cactus ever. While the taste was pretty good I’m not sure how a big a fan I am of the slimy, slippery texture of cactus – but glad I tried it! The plate was topped off by sprinkled fresh cheese. A really good dish!

The SO had the Grilled Pork Tenderloins Medallions which she loved and I would say I kinda liked – but I’m not a big pork tenderloin fan. The pork was served with grilled cactus Patel , white rice, in a guajillo, chile be arbol & tomato sauce. The mix of flavors was good, SO again loved the dish, I could appreciate the dish but it isn’t my cup of tea.

We split a pedestrian fried ice cream that unfortunately tasted like it was made last week then thrown into the freezer – the only negative of the meal.

Service, again, was flawless and the entrees came out almost too quick – which never gets a complaint from me.

At about $32 after tax and tip, a very good meal and good value. I probably would have paid $45 for this meal without batting an eyelash. We will definitely be back. What a nifty little Mexican joint in Lincoln Square…be interested if any others have tried LN lately.

Bster


Los Nopales
4544 North Western Avenue
773.334.3149

Here's the other thread about Los Nopales.

deleted

Next time you're there try the Tampiquena! It's awesome.

OK OK I'm obsessing on the Tampiquena I know.

It's just a phase I promise.

Bster wrote:perhaps a moderator could move my post

Done.

Very nice to read and concur with the enthusiasm. We are temporarily renting directly across the street and LN was the first place we tried after our somewhat traumatic move. Had been meaning to post, but life is just too crazy lately.
The woman most often serving is the chef owner's wife, and she is always very willing to answer questions about ingredients and preparations, above and beyond menu and special descriptions.
We love that green salsa, which somehow is a tomatillo based salsa, yet has a completely different texture from the slighly viscous character one expects and usually gets from the tomatillo. It's almost like a watery pesto, gorgeous green, smoothly pureed, and with the perfect amount of lingering heat to compliment but not overwhelm the very fresh cilantro taste that dominates. The red salsa is fine, but doesn't move me.
The last time we were there, one of the specials was scallops in a chipotle cream sauce. It was beautifully prepared and nicely plated. And a very generous portion to boot. Scallops were seared outside, still not cooked at the very center. The cream sauce was enough, but not too much in both quantity and the finely judged amount if heat. In the center of the plate was a small mound of salad that was made exceptional by being topped with purslane (I can't remember the spanish word, but that's what it was), and a handful of very thin strips of crisp tortilla -- a great combination of flavors and textures very simply accomplished.
Stuffed zucchini boats are a frequent app. special and those are very nice. The light tomato sauce on which they sit is very fresh and delicate.
I am also very fond of the spinach/mushroom quesadilla app. Somehow they get a fairly deep mushroom flavor going there---though I don't think the're wild.
I have also had the tilapia tacos---simple and good. Nicely roasted, flavorful fish, and all the fixins.

Can you buy individual tacos?

Also, does anyone know if the three tilapia tacos appetizer is the same as what you'd get if you ordered the dinner?

TIA!

In general they are very accomodating, so I imagine you could ask to purchase anything ad hoc and they would work it out. But I can't say for certain. In the same vein, I'd have to assume that the dinner is more food, but whether that's the addition of sides around the same basic tacos, or more tacos as well, I can't recall.

The dinner includes rice and beans is all. I'm not a fan of their frijoles.

I know what nogales are, but what are nopales?

prickly pear cactus paddles

This thread has been quiet for a long time, but thankfully Los Nopales has not. With Mixteco closed tonight due to apparent air conditioning issues, I headed out to Los Nopales to find it packed with a wait. As usual, the food was very good and the service friendly and relaxed as usual.

I like the thin salsas they start you off with -- tomatillo/jalapeno and chile de arbol. They're nothing great, but they're good and the chips are fresh, tasty and crisp.

The cactus salad is really impressive, even if the quality of the couple tomato slices in the salad was not so great. Cactus, jicama and avocado make up the bulk of the salad and the mango-chipotle dressing offers a great spicy-sweet kick. Guacamole is also a very good starter, and the portion is plenty for four to share.

The baby back rib special tonight was delicious -- the ribs themselves were a little bit tender for my liking, but nonetheless very flavorful, particularly due to the sauce. I wish I could remember the sauce they used, but it really was fantastic (spicy-sweet -- tequila? chipotle? pineapple? -- can't really remember well) and it was served with grilled pineapple and cactus paddles.

Nonetheless, for those wanting to try the very best of Los Nopales, I would recommend the carne asada, which is always excellent, particularly the version with the frijoles borrachos and grilled cactus salad.

In any event, when looking around Lincoln Square for a very good meal, don't forget about Los Nopales . . . it won't disappoint and its BYO.

Los Nopales

I was just there again as well, and they seem to be a model of consistency. It was very busy and we were deep in the back room, but our very friendly waitress kept very close tabs on us, refilling water, making sure things got bused quickly.

Tilapia tacos were excellent and I enjoyed my tacos al pastor, though I am not a connoisseur of that dish. The frequent special of zucchini botanas in a tomato sauce was also very nice, and the guac. which accompanied various plates was fresh and good.

I am extremely partial to the green salsa on the table. It has a bit of hit, some tang, and a great fresh cilantro kick. Chips were also very fresh, well salted, and crisp.

I went with two guests for dinner to Los Nopales this past Friday night. Boy, was I underwhelmed! First off, when I pulled out my seat to sit down, there was a dirty napkin resting in it... not a good sign. The service to follow was indifferent at best, and only went downhill throughout the meal.
Although our waitress offered to bring glasses for our canned beers, she never did. Even after asking another waitress, I still had to go up to the bar myself and insist on some glasses. Our entrees of sopes and enchilladas en mole were good enough, but not enough to save the night. I love the sopes: soft little cornmeal pillows on which my chilled diced nopales and queso fresco rest. However, the bland rice and the way-too-watery refried beans are not nice accompaniments by any means.
By the end of the meal, our check took forever to arrive. We had to pull aside a young bus-girl twice and practically demand the check. It's not like they were even busy that night either; after all, while we heard our waitress chit-chatting with another table, she was moaning about how slow they were that night.

Had my first dinner at Los Nopales yesterday and was really impressed. I heartily second the enthusiastic descriptions of the Los Nopales Skirt Steak special above, and also ordered the appetizer of fish (tilapia) tacos and thought they were really nicely prepared: I was happy that they weren't the breaded style which is more common. The guacamole was also excellent, with a nice subtle heat to it, and I thought the thick salsas served with the chips were both really good: I didn't catch the ketchup notes that EC mentioned in the maiden post in this thread, although I also preferred the verde, as I usually do...

I look forward to going back and trying more of the menu.

I had dinner with my BF on Saturday night, and it was amazing! We tried the Queso Panela, grilled panela cheese with poblano strips and onions, served with tortillas. It is a huge portion and so tasty! The cactus salad was a hit, especially the mango dressing. Just after these 2 appetizers, I was already full! I had ordered the tilapia taco appetizer for dinner, and when it came, regardless of how full I thought I was, I was able to find some room for these! They are wonderful as always. BF had the carne asada sopes, and seemed quite happy. Our server was extra nice, and we were seated right behind Phil Ponce from WTTW! Love this place!

Walking by yesterday, I noticed this sign on the door:

Teresa wrote:Los Nopales, at 4544 N. Western, has permanently closed

Terrible news. A neighborhood favorite. I wonder if their rent went (way) up.

Man, this is terrible news!! I probably have eaten there 100 times and being BYOB, it will definitely be sorely missed.

The decision was actually a long time coming, according to Darcy Moreno, daughter of owners Adan and Mirella Moreno, who spoke with DNAinfo Chicago on her parents' behalf.

http://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20150610 ... oln-square

NOOOOOOOOO!! This is horrible news!!

I doubt that rent had anything to do with the closing as they owned the building. Higher Lincoln Square property values might have been a factor.

The DNA Info story indicated that the stress of operating two restaurants was too much. Moving from one to two restaurants is a huge jump. We are concerned about Forno Rosso for this reason as we eat at the Harlem Avenue location with some frequency but are very unlikely to go to the upcoming West Loop location.