Casa del Pueblo - Best Chile Relleno in Pilsen!

Casa del Pueblo Restaurant - Best Chile Relleno in Pilsen!

For a Mexican girl, chile relleno is comfort food. If any of you have ever tried to make them you know that the ensuing mess to clean up is enough to scare off any dedicated cook. But sometimes Mom or Tia or Abuelita would do it for you.

For any of you who read my thinking on enchiladas, the cheese thing is an issue with me. I don’t know why every Mexican dish at a restaurant is smothered in cheese. This just isn’t the way it was in my household.

My mother never made chile rellenos stuffed with cheese. We were a working class family in Pilsen, and my parents just couldn’t splurge on cheese. My mother used a much more affordable stuffing ground meat.

I know most of you food snobs out there have had chiles stuffed with everything from huitlacoche or shrimp or any number of fancy foods. But I just need to repeat, chile rellenos are comfort food. I found the perfect substitute for the homemade, not snobby, comfort food chiles rellenos that my mother used to make. They are served everyday at Casa del Pueblo Restaurant.

This restaurant is across the street from the grocery store bearing the same name. It is a cafeteria style restaurant that features daily specials, but the chiles are made everyday!

They are stuffed with ground meat, potatos, carrots and RAISINS! They are the perfect, distinct combination of foods to make this treat. The roasted taste of the chile mixed with the salty taste of the ground meat, potatos and carrots topped excellently with the light mix of raisins.

Though usually not overwhelming sweet sometimes the flavors are not consistent. Hard to get a chile with the same amount of heat, I like being surprised by my chile. And, let’s face it some cooks like it sweeter and add more raisins. I will reiterate I like the surprise every time.

There is a lot of competition in Pilsen for the prize of best chile relleno stuffed with cheese, but if you want something a little different this is it!

Buen Provecho!
Good Eating!

Casa del Pueblo Restaurant
1834 S. Blue Island Ave
Chicago, IL 60608
312-421-4664

I am not a fan of the cheese-heavy chile relleno (viewtopic.php?f=14&t=32362), so I’m with you on that point. Cheese seems like a super-easy, no-thought filler, and although I’m sure a chile filled with cheese can be good (I’ve had some), they’re kind of one-dimensional.

I’d be interested to know how you define “comfort food.” I know it’s “food that brings one comfort,” but is that because it was traditionally prepared in your family? Can a preparation become “comfort food” instantly, upon the first taste?

Can a preparation become “comfort food” instantly, upon the first taste?

It can for me if it evokes a memory or feeling. That's the common ingredient in all comfort food.

I'm a major fan of LaCDP. If you get there early, they make tamales closest in masa to my own. IMO,it's a great little joint to get "somma this, somma that." GREAT for takeout. LOVE their tinga, pico de gallo, tamales (gotta get them early before they get heat lamp dried out,) some things are gonna be better than others, but you can do extremely well there for the price. I know I've had the chiles rellenos de queso, but I'll have to try these other ones now too.

I love chile rellenos, and generally order the meat filled variety or sometimes, when I'm feeling wild, one meat and one cheese. Finding the ones that include raisins (and occasionally nuts and/or olives) is rare. I really like them prepared this way. I'll have to check out Case de Pueblo soon.

I happened upon this place almost by accident last time I was in town. I loved the selections they had and their chicarron in green sauce was very tasty, not to mention the ladies behind the counter were quite amused at my attempt at Spanish.

Longtime Pilsen resident wanting to chime in to sing the Cafe de Casa de la Pueblo. Great, unpretentious place. Wonderfully complex sauces and friendly service. Also, they offer a wider variety of taco filling options than just about anywhere in the city.

Thanks for reviving this thread. One of my favorite Tex-Max places in Dallas, Mia's, serves a picadillo stuffed chile relleno special every Tuesday night. The stuffing includes raisind and slivered almonds.
Can't wait to try Cafe de Casa de la Pueblo's version.