CrazyC,

Great Picture! Makes me want to go back to LIM for dinner tonight, but I already have plans.

Enjoy,
Gary

We had lunch at the Grand and Cicero location today. With the menu spread open there is a note at the lower right corner of the right page saying that a 12% gratuity is added for parties of four or more.

Construction on Cicero including lowering the street beneath the railroad underpass makes access a bit tricky. One lane has been dig out, so disruption is likely for some time.

I had a large shrimp and octopus cocktail, which was quite adequate for a late lunch. I agree with a note earlier in the thread that the green table sauce is sizzling. Not much was needed. My wife's camarones al la plancha were cooked just right, neither mushy nor tough, judging from my sample. There were a few lima beans mixed in the rice, which seems a little unusual.

With the menu spread open there is a note at the lower right corner of the right page saying that a 12% gratuity is added for parties of four or more.

I'm glad it is clearly stated. Thanks!

ekreider wrote:We had lunch at the Grand and Cicero location today. With the menu spread open there is a note at the lower right corner of the right page saying that a 12% gratuity is added for parties of four or more.

Construction on Cicero including lowering the street beneath the railroad underpass makes access a bit tricky. One lane has been dig out, so disruption is likely for some time.

I had a large shrimp and octopus cocktail, which was quite adequate for a late lunch. I agree with a note earlier in the thread that the green table sauce is sizzling. Not much was needed. My wife's camarones al la plancha were cooked just right, neither mushy nor tough, judging from my sample. There were a few lima beans mixed in the rice, which seems a little unusual.

See me?

We were at the Grand/Cicero location on Friday as well. I also got the camarones ala plancha, which I did not like as much as the langostinos.

Anyone try the shrimp pate yet?

Still a great place.

Vital Information wrote:Anyone try the shrimp pate yet?

Twice, now, I've been discouraged by the waitstaff to order it.

I take that to mean something, whereas you may not.

Erik M.

I'd love to take my father here when he's in town and I would prefer this location. It seems most favor the Grand Avenue location. With my infant I prefer to be close to home but if there is a significant change in quality I'll go to Grand and Cicero. Anyone able to recommend Milwaukee?

Great pics. I'm fond of oysters and shrimps. I want to try the raw shrimps with lime. Anyone recommend the oysters?

My review, and most everyone's on the first page of this topic concerns the new Milwaukee Ave. location. All of the pictures on p 1 are from the new branch as well. It's just as good, kitchen-wise, IME but you need to know that they do not yet have a liquor license (some would call that a plus given BYOB) and, unless things have changed in the past week (I hope), they don't have their Nayarit-style grill, which is a big part of the experience

Thomas D wrote:Anyone able to recommend Milwaukee?

I certainly can. I have been to this location a number of times and it has been every bit as good as the Grand/Cicero location. Admittedly, I do favour the Grand/Cicero location, even if ony for the ambiance.

At any rate, given that I make my home in The Ukranian Village, I see no reason to schlep up to North Clark Street. I am quite happy to take my business to the Grand/Cicero and Milwaukee Ave. locations.

Darly wrote:Anyone recommend the oysters?

I have had them twice in the past month. While they were quite fresh and bright, they were completely devoid of flavour. I will likely hold out until Fall before trying them again.

Regards,
Erik M.

Note that the ambience in the Grand/Cicero location is rather rustic. The building used to be a hot dog stand. I haven't been in (as opposed to driving by) any of the other locations, but they appear to be much more polished. The Grand/Cicero ambience has some similarities to Taqueria Pueblo although the menus are almost totally different.

ekreider wrote:Note that the ambience in the Grand/Cicero location is rather rustic.

Precisely. And, to each his/her own, I guess. For me, it is the location that is most evocative of the beachside seafood shacks that I have visited on my 4-5 trips to the Mexican coasts.

Erik M.

Finally had dinner here! The seafood cocktail and the shrimp de ajo were scrumptious. I did have problems with how they billed though. I ordered a small seafood cocktail (menu price $6) and the shrimp de ajo (10.95) and a horchata drink (1.59).

The bill came at $25. I questioned it and the owner said he thought I had ordered the large cocktail ($9). But what he thought I ordered was added seafood for $10.95.

He did go back and recalculate the bill, but the whole thing made me feel a little uneasy. The recalculated bill was 18.95 and I gave a 20% tip on top of that.

The food was great. But watch the bill. He didn't say anything about tip being added either.

Evil Ronnie and I visited this past Wed night and were not very impressed. We started with the vuelve La vida and asked for it cold..what we got was tepid and tasteless with nary a piece of avocado in it. We used ketchup, (yes, ketchup) and about three of the hot sauces to try to get a flavor going. The fact that it was lukewarm didn't help. We moved onto the aguachilles..only ok. The langostinos were the best of the lot. We were there at around 6 and it was empty. Ever the optimists, perhaps it will improve.

Sounds like an off night or perhaps it has gone downhill? It usually has ketchup as a main ingredient, so you were being authentic. Sounds bad though. That's distressing.

The Lovely Donna wrote:Ever the optimists, perhaps it will improve.

Lovely Donna,

Sounds as if you and Evil caught Las Islas Marias (Clark) on an off night. Ellen and I, along with Peter D, were there last evening and had a very nice meal.

Large shrimp cocktail was spot on, tender shrimp with chunks of avocado, shrimp empanadas were filled with whole shrimp and quite good.

Las Islas Marias Shrimp Empanada


Camarones a la Plancha (Big Shrimp grilled style) were so succulent we found ourselves sucking the juice out of the heads New Orleans crawfish style.

Camarones a la Plancha (Big Shrimp grilled style)


Pescado Sarandeado (Grilled Red Snapper) was spot-on, large tender fish, crisp bits from the grill, perfect with the green table sauce and hot, fresh, though not house-made, tortillas.

Las Islas Marias Pescado Sarandeado (Grilled Red Snapper)


We really enjoyed the snapper as evidenced by this 'after' picture.


Micheladas were refreshing, gratis fish ceviche tasty as always, service was quite good and we had the added bonus of running into the Zim family, which is always a treat in and of itself.

Enjoy,
Gary

Hi,

As evidenced by the fish, can it be assumed the fish grill has arrived?

Regards,

as Gary mentioned we were at LIM last night as well. Don't really have all that much to add as our orders were fairly similar (and similarly tasty)

In regards to the grill, I'm pretty sure they use gas, for other grilling methods, short of heading to mexico you have to go to Des Moines?

Cathy2 wrote:As evidenced by the fish, can it be assumed the fish grill has arrived?

Cathy,

Yes, the fish grill has arrived.

First thing I did, upon walking into LIM (Clark) last evening, ok, second, first I said hello to the Zim family, was walk to the back and inquire about the grill. I had thought, from a previous conversation with Mario, the owner of LIM (Clark) it was going to be charcoal of which, to say the least, I'm a fan.

Turns out no, it's not charcoal, but a gas grill. Grilled fish was very good, they have a nice touch, but I was hoping for charcoal or, better yet, burning wood.

Enjoy,
Gary

Ate here for the first time tonight. Man, what a great place! Best new (to me) seafood spot since I first made it to La Oaxaqueña.

Las Islas Marias Restaurante Familiar is not playing exactly the same seafood game as TLO (Nayarit as opposed to Oaxaca), but they are in the same league for sure.

The owner even came out to chat with me for a bit. Real nice guy. They are still waiting on their liquor license (he said they expect it to take 6 months to a year). Luckily I already knew this (thanks to this thread) and brought my own.

Started out with the excellent Botana Playa y Mar. What can I say? Huge amounts of fresh seafood - lightly cooked shrimp, raw oysters, lightly cooked octopus, what looked like chopped clams, raw scallops, all on a bed of very thinly sliced red onion. The only ingredient I could have done without was the fake crab.

Then moved on to the beyond excellent Langostinos a la Plancha - huge fresh water shrimp sliced the long way & prepared in a delicious garlicky butter sauce. These things were messy as hell to eat, but well worth it. I ordered mine "con arroz y ensalada" (with rice and salad). I'll skip the salad next time, but definitely not the rice - it soaked up the leftover buttery goodness from the Langostinos & was quite delicious in and of itself.

My waitress didn't speak much English at all (although the owner did), but I speak enough Spanish (solamente un poco) that I was able to communicate with her. Got there a little after 7 p.m. and there were only two other tables occupied. I'm sure that will change. This place is WAY too good to be sitting empty like that for long.

I'm really looking forward to eating my way through the menu here.

I went to the new Clark Street Isla Maria's toinight for the first time. As others have noted, this place isn't all that crowded compared to the Cicero & Grand location (the only other location I have been to). At 7:30 on a Saturday night, there were only 4 tables occupied, compared to the usual madhouse on Grand Avenue. Although the food is quite good in both places, there are marked differences:

Seating is much more comfortable on Clark Street. The large oak chairs and tables are many steps above the Burger King style plastic benches on Grand. However, I think I slightly prefer the preparation and presentation of the food on Grand, even though both serve basaically the same dishes.

Tonight I ordered a small coctail de camerones (and got a little surprise*) and a small order of langostinos ala plancha. The langostinos were served on a plate with rice and the usual salad, but when I have ordered the same dish on Grand, it's accompanied by a few slices of avocado as well. It's not a big thing, but a little avocado would have been a nice touch. The preparation of the langostinos was basically the same, though.

I'm glad I checked out the Clark Street location, and it is a welcome addition to the neighborhood, but I think I will brave the crowds and go back to Grand Avenue from now on. It's just a personal preference. They are both equidistant from my house.

* After ordering my coctail de camerones and waiting for a while, the waitress came back to the table and asked me if I wanted it hot. I took that to mean spicy, and I told her that I wanted it very hot. What I didn't realize was that she was talking about the temperature of the shrimp cocktail, not the spice level. She brought out a version of coctail de camerones that was the temperature of a bowl of soup. I had no idea that they served it that way as an option. It actually was kind of good (although not what I really wanted on a summer night). The usual tomatoey ceviche style marinade was more like a weak tomato broth, chock-a-block with (many) warm shrimp and a good amount of diced avocado. This version is something I will remember to get again this winter, but will make sure not to get again when the weather is warm and a nice ceviche is in order.

Hi Steve,

Amazing coincidence, I was talking to Gary just last night about the Shrimp Cocktail served warm at Tacos del Pacifico for $10.99. I was unaware a shrimp cocktail could be served any other way than cold, until I saw it warm on Friday evening at another patron's table. Gary advised you could get it warm at Las Islas Maria's, also.

I'm glad I am not the only one who was surprised to learn of warm shrimp cocktails this weekend.

Tacos del Pacifico
3544 E. 106th Street
Chicago IL 60607
773-221-1143
10 am - 7 pm Tuesday - Saturday
10 am - 5 pm Sunday
closed Mondays

Went to the Las Islas Marias on Clark Street last night for dinner.

Had the small shrimp and octupus cocktail. Massive points for uniqueness. I've never really been a "fruita del mar" guy and that is what this cocktail reminded me of. It did taste very fresh but quite franklty was luke warm. I would have liked it cold...like it just came out of the fridge it had been in for a couple of hours or so. I think this appetizer could have been very good if it was chilled properly. But for 6 bucks what a deal. Probably 8 decent-sized shrimp or maybe even 10; chucks of octupus - which I love; avocado; onion; crushed tomatoes?; cucumber; etc. Let me be clear: the shrimp and octupus in and of themselves were very good and fresh - I would have just liked to see them in another dish.

I do love raw seafood though too - maybe I'll go that route next time.

The corn tortillas and seafood spread and limes are a very nice touch to have at the table to munch on before ones ordered food arrives.

Had the camarones al ajo - garlic shrimp. Very good. A large helping of shrimp smothered in garlic and olive oil or butter. Shrimp were fresh, tender, well-seasoned but not overly so, cooked perfectly - not overdone at all, and extremely flavorful. Simple side salad of lettuce, small tomatoes and onions was nice. The light yellow rice was also a very good companion to the shrimp. I will definitely be back for the garlic shrimp.

Used a mandarin jarrito to wash down my meal - which is always a good drink.

Hi,

I went to Islas las Marias on Clark this evening for dinner. I shared large shrimp cocktail, which I ordered warm. The broth of the shrimp was like a lovely seafood soup. I then shared a fried red snapper with garlic sauce, which was heavily represented by the garlic. From a garlic lovers vantage point a heavenly dish.

When we arrived, there was only one customer. While we were there another couple came to have dinner. The sign over the door advised "Under new management," though it seemed to be the same guy. The same guy I suppose is owner and/or manager was not only the cook, I saw him washing the dishes as well. He came by to our table to inquire if we enjoyed our dinner, which our picked to the skeleton fish certainly revealed. He said business was very slow and encouraged us to advise others to come.

The only defect I find at this location are the choice of waitstaff who consistently have poor to almost non-existent English comprehension. Otherwise I do wonder why this location is not catching on like the other two Islas las Marias, while I have never visited has long been known to be well patronized (i.e. crowded). My gut feeling if this situation on Clark is not turned around soon, it will be history.

Regards,

I ate here Monday night with a group of expat New Orlenians that have transferred from Loyola N.O. to Loyola Chicago due to Katrina.

They absolutely LOVED the place, especially the Langostinos, which are actually large head-on shrimp, not Langostines as most anglos think of them.

The owner also commented to me that business was terribly slow. Let's all make an effort to support this gem!

Cathy2 wrote:Hi,

The only defect I find at this location are the choice of waitstaff who consistently have poor to almost non-existent English comprehension. Otherwise I do wonder why this location is not catching on like the other two Islas las Marias, while I have never visited has long been known to be well patronized (i.e. crowded). My gut feeling if this situation on Clark is not turned around soon, it will be history.

Regards,

You know I don't think it's the waits staff lack of english that is holding business back - in fact I think the english is better there than at cicero and grand (at least that's been my experience). And other than us, spanish has always been the language I've seen being used by other customers on clark. Folk's have speculated in the past that it might be lack of liquor license. I know there are few spots in the area with a license, it is sort of close to a school, but I don't know the exact regulations on that.

Either way, I would love for it to stay in business, its an awful trek out to grand for those langostinos, but if it weren't on clark I would be forced to make it.

HI,

There is a liquor store just a few store fronts away. Islas las Marias has been making drinks for people as long as they brought the liquor. For some people BYOB is a big plus.

When I ordered my shrimp cocktail caliente the other day, I got the blank look of no comprehension. I then pointed to the specific item on the menu, then pointed to caliente before it was clear to her. While I can patiently put up with situations like this, I know lots more who won't. You might want to try an English only dialogue with the restaurant to get an idea of what's going on.

Regards,

Was here last week and had a very good meal. Unfortunately, at 630 on a Tuesday, we were the only patrons. Spoke to the owner (who was very friendly, although a bit despondent at the lack of patrons) who said that business has been slow.

Hi,

There is supposed to a general downturn in restaurant receipts at this moment likely caused by the increase of costs pumping the car. Though I believe every fall there is a slight downturn until the holiday parties rev up. However Islas las Marias is just too quiet and I wonder about that location surviving as well.

Regards,

In addition to being concerned about the lack of patrons, in a restaurant like Las Islas Marias I'm also starting to get concerned about the quality/freshness of the seafood since no one is there to eat it. I've taken to returning to the Grand Ave location for my LIM fix.

So far Steve, I have not detected an off bit of seafood there. I guess by your standards I really threw caution to the wind when I ordered a dozen raw oysters there recently.

Somethings just may be fresh from the freezer like the langostinos.

Regards,