The King is Dead, Long Live the King (24 hr tacos in RP)

Last week, I reported in the Openings etc. thread that El Rey del Taco was being resurrected in Rogers Park. It turns out I was mistaken. There is a newly opened restaurant called El Rey del Taco just up the street from the old El Rey location, however, it is not the same El Rey. It is merely a coincidence that they share the same name, so I guess my craving for Tacos Pioneros will go unsatisfied. As I stated in the Openings thread, the new El Rey is in the "cursed" space at the corner of Touhy and Clark. This building has housed at least 5 different restaurants since it was built about 5 years ago (including a very short lived and very mediocre BBQ place complete with a brand new "aquarium smoker"). The sad thing is that the space is really very nice. It is sunny and bright with lots of natural light and an outdoor patio with parking, which means that the restaurants failed on their own merits. Actually, the last occupant, "Panchito's" was rather good for a Jewish deli/ Taqueria mash-up.

Anyhow, tonight I decided to give the new King of the Taco a try. I must say, I was pretty darned impressed. Because of the frigid weather, We decided to order food for delivery. My tactic for judging a new Mexican establishment is to order tacos. I figure that if a Mexican place can't sling a decent taco, it does not bode well for the rest of the menu. Luckily, that was not the case for the Nuevo El Rey. The tacos were excellent. The price was $2.05 per taco and up, which was slightly costly by Clark street standards, but they were well worth it. The tacos (and other items) were available in a choice of Carne Asada, al Pastor, Chicken, Tongue, Tripas, Tilapia, Chiles Rellenos, Chorizo, Bistek and Suadero. The rest of the menu consisted of pretty typical items such as tortas, tostadas, quesadillas, burritos and sopes, as well as dinners featuring enchiladas, pollo en mole and carne tampiquena. It was pretty standard fare, though they advertise daily specials. There were several shrimp and fish dishes also, as well as breakfast. The prices were pretty reasonable, though a bit pricey by neighborhood standards.

The delivery took a little longer than the promised 30 minutes, but the food arrived hot. The first foil wrapped package I opened contained several large but sweet and tender grilled knob onions and fiery hot Jalapenos, a promising touch. There was also a copious amount of quartered limes. The next thing to catch my eye was the salsa, which I was elated to see was of the "creamy" variety, in both green and orange (which I assume was habanero) colorations. I love this style of salsa, and these renditions were as tasty as they looked, packing just the right amount of heat.

We ordered a variety of tacos, including carne asada, al pastor, tongue, suadero, as well as a chicken sope. The meats were all very good, tender, but with just enough char. The fillings were well seasoned. The only quibble I had was that the meat was finely chopped. I don't know if the al Pastor was from a spit, but it was quite good, with a slightly sweet glaze, charred edges and a few bits of Pina. The tongue was exceptional. What really made the tacos special though, were the tortillas, which were light and fluffy, gently griddled and most likely handmade (or at least freshly pressed). All in all, the tacos were very very good. The sope was quite tasty with a slightly crispy but moist, masa base. We washed the food down with a couple of frosty and delicious liquados, one banana and strawberry mixed, and my favorite flavor, Mamey.

At any rate, we were quite impressed with the quality of the food, especially the fluffy tortillas and the delicious salsa. Though the menu was pretty limited, the execution was excellent. It is great to have a 24 hour Taqueria in the neighborhood that offers delivery (for only $1). I sincerely hope the quality of the food is consistent with our first experience and that this restaurant outlasts its predecessors in that location. I can't wait to try a late Saturday night/ early Sunday morning Chilaquiles breakfast delivered to my door.

Long live the King.

El Rey del Taco
7138 North Clark
Chicago 60626
773-274-9004
Open 24 hours

After trying this place last week, I can add to the praise and fill in some details. Dining in gets you a basket of chips and a pretty decent cup of soup. That's already a fair amount of food and the tacos are pretty large, so order accordingly.

The tacos are excellent. The tortillas are factory-made, but nicely griddled, not microwaved. The tripe is a beautiful mix of tender, creamy and crispy pieces -- almost as good as La Chapparita's. The pastor is sliced directly from a very nice-looking cone... then immediately griddled . Not as heavily seasoned as some, it is nonetheless very tasty. The creamy salsas are not my favorite.

Great find, d4v3. Unless I'm overlooking some hidden gems, these are the best tacos for miles around. I'll be back many times.

NB: CASH ONLY

cilantro wrote:The tacos are excellent. The tortillas are factory-made, but nicely griddled, not microwaved. The tripe is a beautiful mix of tender, creamy and crispy pieces -- almost as good as La Chapparita's. The pastor is sliced directly from a very nice-looking cone... then immediately griddled . Not as heavily seasoned as some, it is nonetheless very tasty. The creamy salsas are not my favorite.
Great find, d4v3. Unless I'm overlooking some hidden gems, these are the best tacos for miles around. I'll be back many times.

Thanks, it is always nice to get some backup validation.

I was not sure about the tortillas. They did look too uniform to be handmade, but they were very fresh and moist for factory made. They didn't have the chewiness I usually associate with commercial tortillas (maybe I got them shortly after they were delivered). I will have to ask what brand they are. Perhaps they get them from Supermercado Morelia (which presses tortillas in-house).

I didn't mention, as you pointed out, that the tacos were enormous (the tacos al Pastor were especially generous), certainly large enough to be split into two. I ordered 4 (my usual) and found it difficult to finish them. If they weren't so darned tasty, I would have given up.

I am glad that the al Pastor was sliced off a trompo, I was hoping that was the case. If it was griddled after slicing, it was not enough to make the meat rubbery, just enough to make the surface glaze.

I really enjoy the creamy style of salsa, and el Rey's rendition is the best I have had, but to each his own (I remember once my nephew mistook a creamy habanero sauce for orange nacho cheese sauce and applied it liberally to his food. I did nothing to stop him. If looks could kill...). they gave us 8 containers of salsa for our smallish to go order. We only used 3 of them. For the last 4 days, I have been putting the salsa on everything. The creamy orange sauce is really good on eggs.

I do agree that El Rey del Taco makes the best tacos I have had on the far North Side (from the Sope I had, it seems their Masa based items are quite good also). In fact, I plan on ordering more tonight. I think I will try the Chile Rellenos tacos, the Bistek and the Talapia.

...just some insight on why everything in this location fails:

Guy that owns the building, owns East of Edens. He built the space as a 2nd location of EofE (but called it something else). He is older/retired/not interested in doing food anymore, so he sold the F, F, & E to the guy that opened the BBQ place for $250k (through a direct private loan), re-paid on top of rent each month. Rent is $5k/month, plus NNN (about $7k total, plus the $1-$2k on the loan, plus juice, etc.).

We looked at the space when it was up for rent one of the many times, which is why I know all of this - and the owner of the building makes whoever takes the lease assume whatever he is owed on that original $250k for building the space. He wouldn't (when we spoke about 2 years ago) back down on that 250k purchase price (way out of line for the buildout & area), saying that's what it cost him to build the space.

You'll never pay your bills with those numbers (without liquor), though I wish the best to anyone that tries...and I'll check the new place out, sounds good - always up for new food in the 'hood.

rubbbqco wrote:...just some insight on why everything in this location fails:

Thanks for the info. That certainly explains why restaurants never last more than a couple of months at that location. The building sits empty for many months between occupancies. I have the feeling that many of the owners of the failed restaurants were newcomers to the industry, and may not have realized what they were signing up for. Too bad. I hope the new owners do well, they seem like a very nice family. Even at a 1% food cost, they would still have to sell a buttload of tacos just to make the rent.

rubbbqco wrote:

Guy that owns the building, owns East of Edens. He built the space as a 2nd location of EofE (but called it something else). He is older/retired/not interested in doing food anymore, so he sold the F, F, & E. . .

Translation of FF&E : furniture, fixtures & equipment.

Rent is $5k/month, plus NNN (about $7k total, plus the $1-$2k on the loan, plus juice, etc.).

Translation of NNN , from investopedia.com: "a triple-net (NNN) lease makes the tenant responsible for paying property taxes, insurance and maintenance."

Yesterday morning I had an EPIC breakfast from this place. The set-up was perfect - my day started at 5:00am: I stopped in to my Pit Room to check on the meats that had been smoking overnight, and add a few pieces of wood to the fire. There was about 4-6" of snow on the ground, and it was still comin down pretty heavy, so I cleared the sidewalks of the restaurant - and feeling surprisingly energetic, I cleared both neighboring storefronts to get my daily good deed out of the way early. Now, it was 6:30am and I was mildly worn out from shoveling - I needed a heavy meal. Where to go? I didn't want breakfast-y food, so I chose Mexican. Rather than using my phone (LTH, Yelp, Etc.) I decided to be old school and just started driving down Clark st looking for lights. It was dark, cold, snowing, and nothing was open...until: I saw El Rey Del Taco's 24 Hour flashing neon sign - and like a beacon of light it drew me in from the cold streets (is this dramatic enough?)....
Having a parking lot is such an asset for a restaurant, especially when the weather is awful....I parked right in front

I walked into a mildly remodeled, clean, (yet somewhat generic), empty dining room with a novela soap on the TV. 2 20-somethings working the counter/grill seemed excited to see me (not sure how the 24-hour thing is gonna work out for them, but God bless 'em for being open at 6:30 yesterday for me ) . I ordered 2 orders of chilaqiules to go: uno con jeuvos y uno con bistek

Chatted the guy at front up a bit, he didn't seem to be the owner/manager - but was nice and eager to please. The menu says "Free soup every day", and apparently that includes while you're waiting for takeout. The counter guy gave me a bowl of (simple, yet DELICIOUS) chicken noodle soup. He also gave me a basket of chips with their delicious "creamy" salsas - which I would have eaten more of, but I was filling up and my main course was still coming. The salsas are amazing - I have never had salsa like that before. Anyone know if that is a "style" or a regional thing somewhere? I'm guessing there is Avacado in the salsa to make it so creamy...really good with just the right amount of heat. The red one was good too, but my preference was the green. The free soup was also very good, and I grabbed a large cup of it to go for later - it was chock full of fresh carrots, celery, potato, noodles, chicken, and a perfect broth: well seasoned, but not too salty.

Red and Green "Creamy Salsas"



Chilaquiles were fantastic!
Con Juevos

Really good version of this dish, Chilaquiles top notch - eggs cooked perfectly (for my liking)
Con Bistek


Generous amount of well-seasoned Bistek on top of a MUCH spicier version of the Chilaquiles.

I liked both, but the Chilaquiles con Bistek were fairly spicy for a breakfast dish (and I like heat).

I wanted to add of pic of the layering, even though half-eaten food isn't always appetizing - I like this shot showing the layers and texture of the dish: these guys know how to make good chilaquiles!


I was also impressed with everything they included in my to-go bag: Extra salsas, 2 huge pieces of griddled/buttered bread (like a split mini-loaf, 2 ends pressed together), very generous amounts of fresh chopped cilantro, and quartered limes.

I grabbed a few more orders of chilaqiules around 9am for my kitchen crew, and they gave the authentic seal of approval from the non-gringo crowd....

I'll be back to enjoy more of there menu, and will be rooting for their success in this hard-to-make-it space!

RubBbqCo,
Thanks for posting about the Chilaquiles. I love that dish, and was hoping that El Rey's were good. The pictures look tasty. Being able to grab a Chilaquiles breakfast just up the street in the wee hours of the morning, is awesome. I tried more tacos from there and they were just as good as the last time. I don't want to be sacrilegious, but this place is somewhat reminiscent of La Chapparita in the style of tacos, the grilled knob onions and the salsa(LC also has "creamy" salsas in addition to the "chunky" style). I believe the owners of El Rey del Taco are also from D.F. At least some of the menu items make reference to D.F. I have a new camera on the way. When it arrives, I will post some pics of El Rey's tacos.

I stopped in last week after talking tacos previously in the evening. I couldn't quite figure out if this is related to the El Rey Del Tacos on the southside but will ask the friendly folks next time. Al pastor spit was in action which was nice to see considering it was after 10p on a weekday night. I tried a taco with some of it (cut from spit and crisped up on griddle with pineapple) as well as a steak and also a suadero. Enjoyed all three very much. Especially the suadero which had a more intense beef flavor. Both it and the steak were finely chopped and well crisped. They give great attention to each small little detail that goes into making a great taco. The super sweet lady serving me hooked me up with a green jello as I was leaving. Hadn't had any of that crap in years. It's been added to the index and should stay in the rotation. Thanks for the heads up.


Taco de Suadero

d4v3 wrote:I guess my craving for Tacos Pioneros will go unsatisfied.

I hate to hijack though slightly different in ingredients and prep than the ones you loved, I find the Tacos Pioneros from the torta driven Rocky's Tacos down the block to be quite satisfying...when feeling up to the challenge. Steak, Bacon and Ham goes on whats literally a bed of cheese joined by grilled onions and cactus. Served in platter form ($10) with rice and beans. Tortillas come on the side. It's pretty much the same thing as alambres aka good stuff.


Tacos Pioneros from Rocky's Tacos

Rocky's Tacos
7043 N Clark St
Chicago, IL 60626
(773) 274-4555

The super sweet lady serving me hooked me up with a green jello as I was leaving. Hadn't had any of that crap in years.

I, too, was given the free jello after my meal - and I said the exact same thing, "When's the last time I had jello?" It was oddly enjoyable. I also dig the free soup and all the extra stuff they give you. Great little place!

Da Beef wrote:They give great attention to each small little detail that goes into making a great taco.

That is an interesting statement. There is hardly any effort that goes into making a taco. Griddle some meat, throw it on a couple of warm tortillas and top it with some cilantro and onions, that's it. Yet it is all of those "small little details" you mentioned, that make the difference between a lousy taco and a work of art. In your photo of the Taco de Suadero, one can clearly see some of those details. The tortillas look thick and moist. The meat looks charred at the edges, but still tender. Finally, the cilantro and onions are obviously fresh and properly chopped, but even with perfect ingredients, it is still possible to combine them into a lousy product. I guess it is some sort of inborn talent that enables master taqueros to take a few rudimentary ingredients, and in a few simple motions, assemble them into a masterpiece. I suppose the same thing applies to master pizzaioli or noodle stretchers or even fry cooks. How can some people take potatoes and oil and conjure up a culinary delight, while others (myself included) turn those two parts into an inedible mess? Moreover, while there are only a few ways to turn out a perfect french fry, there seem to be endless ways to mess them up. Baguettes are another good example. A skilled baker can take flour, yeast, water and salt and turn them into an airy delight with perfect crust and crumb. Yet I can take the same ingredients, use precisely the same recipe and techniques and make a chewy dense brick. While I do think that people can be taught proper technique, and with sufficient practice, hone their skills to produce an acceptable product, there are also certain natural abilities, like the bow stroke of a virtuoso violinist or the brush stroke of a master painter, that just cannot be taught. Those are the abilities that separate the simply skilled performers from the maestros. From now on, I will have to pay closer attention to the way my tacos are produced.

Also, thanks for the tip about Rocky's Tacos Pioneros. I like Rocky's tortas, but have never really explored their other offerings. Tacos Pioneros should come with a side order of Lipitor, but they sure are delicious.

Had another really good delivery from here. This time the order arrived ahead of schedule. As before, the tacos were all very good, but the standout was the tongue. These were the best Tacos de Lengua I have ever eaten, the meat was nicely spiced, but the texture was amazing. Often Lengua can be sort of mushy and gelatinous, but this meat was dense and toothsome (yet far from chewy) The tongue was probably brined and baked or braised rather than boiled or steamed (I should ask them). I highly recommend the King's tongue to those who appreciate the organ. We also sampled an order of Pico de Gallo and Chips. The chips were light and crisp. The serviceable Pico de Gallo was made with flavorful and ripe tomatoes. The Pico de Gallo was a tad salty, but the saltiness played well with the tartness of the tomatoes, to which a touch of vinegar and/or lime juice had been added.

It seems that El Rey's policy of adding extra goodies continues. In addition to a generous portion of grilled onions and peppers, we received a free (~20 oz.) sample of their agua de Pina, which was surprisingly light and refreshing, though predictably sweet.

I have further cause to check them out ASAP - while shopping earlier today at the Evanston Trader Joe's, someone tucked an El Rey de Taco menu under my windshield wiper. Either a delivery or a visit is in my near future, as I am intrigued by the concept of the chile relleno taco.

sundevilpeg wrote:I am intrigued by the concept of the chile relleno taco.

Those are not all that rare and are available at many the various taquerias talked about on this board. They sure are good when done well (and a soggy mess when they aren't). I hold out high hopes for The King.

Another great meal at Taco Del Rey...

3 taco Dinner (Lengua, Suadero, Chili relleno)

Again, wonderful attention to detail, loved the simple grilled vegetable garnish (jalapeños and mexican green onions)

One thing to note when wanting to sample - their tacos are HUGE! They put twice as much meat on their tacos compared to a lot of other small taquerias. I can barely finish 2, even when starving - 1 (w/the free soup, chips, rice/beans, etc.) is usually enough to satisfy. This kind of annoys me, because I like to have a couple (2/3) tacos to sample - and I can never finish them all. However, makes a great buy for the thrifty...

Service again very friendly/attentive, Chili relleno was a hit...and some more good news about their longevity:
I noticed that they had built a bar in the back of the space, and I asked our waiter if they were considering a liquor license - apparently it's already in process. Selling booze is the only way a location with such high bills will make a long run in this business. I'm super excited that their odds of success will increase exponentially selling tequila and tacos rather than just tacos. To echo the title of this thread, "Love live the King"! This place has definitely found a place in my eating rotation.

I don't want to seem like I am shilling for this place, but I had to comment again on the tongue tacos. I have been eating the Tacos de Lengua from the king on a regular basis, and I have to say that El Rey serves the best Tongue I have ever eaten, hand down. Unlike the other meat fillings from El Rey that tend to be chopped fine, the tongue comes in long fat slices that are about 3 inches long, a half inch wide and about 3/8 of an inch thick. As I stated in a previous post, the tongue is firm and a little crisp around the edges. Unlike most places where the tongue is soft and likely boiled or steamed, El Rey must bake theirs to make it so toothsome and flavorful. The tongue tacos are also huge with an extremely generous helping of meat, especially when ordered as part of a taco dinner.

I have also become obsessed with the Chiles Rellenos tacos, which are indeed very good. Each taco contains a large pepper stuffed with loads of cheese, dipped in batter and fried until golden brown. The CR tacos are topped with lettuce, tomatoes and onions. They are a real bargain, and make a great option for vegetarians.

Another quick note. The tortillas that came with our first order from El Rey, were extremely fluffy and fresh, but the tortillas that came with subsequent orders, while still very good and relatively fresh, were not nearly as light and moist. I suspect that we happened to place our first order shortly after fresh tortillas were delivered. When a tortilla is still warm from its initial cooking, it is very light and fluffy, but once it cools off, the texture becomes denser and chewier. Once a fresh tortilla has cooled, it is impossible to return it to its original state no matter how you cook or even steam it. I first noticed this with tortillas from Supermercado Morelia where they are made fresh throughout the day. There is nothing like a freshly cooked tortilla, and if El Rey made their tortillas fresh to order, their tacos would be perfect (but probably much more expensive). Regardless, El Rey has won a spot as my favorite Taqueria on the North Side.

We stopped in here for dinner last night. As others have reported, a bright, clean spot with very friendly welcoming people working there. A bonus is that they have parking.

I had three tacos-al pastor, suadero and lengua. Of these, the lengua was the star. I have not had this before so I can't offer a comparison to how it is prepared elsewhere, but I will be back for more of these. Very smooth and beefy tasting. I second the post above.

My wife had the fish tacos. The waiter asked if she wanted jalapeno on these and she said yes. These turned out to be too spicy for her and she does not have a low thresehold.

The complimentary soup and grilled onions and peppers were a very nice touch.

One of our children has some serious food allergies. They keyed into this right away and were very understanding.

Only one other table occupied at 7:00 on a Saturday evening, though there did seem to be some take out activity going on. I hope they make it as the tacos are very good. I think they will need to stay a notch above the competition in quality as there is a place just down the street offering serviceable tacos for a buck a piece.

I had a quick but very good lunch at El Rey del Taco this past week. Let me echo the praise for the friendly staff and good food.

Heeding the warning that the tacos were large and the extras were plentiful (and the fact that I was scheduled to have a huge dinner at Northern Taste that same night), I ordered two tacos, Al Pastor and Suidero. As soon as I sat down, the smiling waiter brought a basket of chips and squeeze bottles of the creamy salsa that has been mentioned before. He also brought a small cup of a more tomato-based salsa that packed a decent amount of heat.

El Rey del Taco Chips & Salsa


While my tacos were being assembled, my "free soup with every meal" was brought out.

El Rey del Taco Chicken Soup


They say still waters run deep, and that is true of this cup of soup. While it looks pretty nondescript from the surface, it contained nice chunks of chicken, carrot and potato with a few noodles thrown in for good measure. The broth itself was very full flavored and had a nice backnote of heat. I'd be happy with a big bowl of this next time I get a cold.

El Rey del Tacos


The tacos themselves came with a roasted jalapeño and a grilled knob onion, a very nice touch. The suidero was beefy tasting and hit the spot. The Al Pastor, while not cut directly from the trompo (a new trompo was being assembled while I was there) was nevertheless nicely crispy. I thought the adobo marinade they used was a little milder than some, but I enjoyed the Al Pastor nonetheless with its hint of pineapple and nice crunch.

Thanks to d4v3 for bringing this place to my attention. The fact that it is located directly across the street from GNR Romanian will make for a nice one two punch in the future.

El Rey del Taco
7138 North Clark St.
Chicago 60626
773-274-9004

Romanian Kosher Sausage Company
7200 N Clark St.
Chicago, IL 60626
773-761-4141

Da Beef wrote:I couldn't quite figure out if this is related to the El Rey Del Tacos on the southside

I asked today. No connection to the South Side places of the same name.

I tried the lengua and pastor tacos.
The lengua was a good portion that was moist and tasty, but it was missing the gaminess I am accustomed to with the lengua in tacos. Perhaps it was from grain-fed beef.
The achiote paste used to make the pastor was so heavy in clove that I found it overwhelmed the pork. The pastor meat I got also had not been crisped up.

Pretty good for the neighborhood, but a step down from Chaparrita and Chapin, IMO.

TomInSkokie wrote:The pastor meat I got also had not been crisped up.

That is quite odd, because every time I have gotten al Pastor there it has been extremely crispy, maybe even too crispy. Maybe they had just put up a new trompo. Look at Steve's Picture above (on the left), you can see how much char there is on the meat.

stevez wrote:Thanks to d4v3 for bringing this place to my attention. The fact that it is located directly across the street from GNR Romanian will make for a nice one two punch in the future.

El Rey del Taco
7138 North Clark St.
Chicago 60626
773-274-9004

Romanian Kosher Sausage Company
7200 N Clark St.
Chicago, IL 60626
773-761-4141

A pork and corned beef taco-wich?

Stumbling upon this thread doing research for my extended neighborhood, I had to try it (I love tacos). I ordered an al pastor and chorizo taco and a sope de asada. Chips and salsa were provided (no soup though), and I was a little leery of the creamy salsa, as they tend to dampen the heat, but the orange salsa had a good subtle spice, and was delicious. I ended up going through a third of the bottle. The green (yellow is a more apt description) was not good. The chips were decent a little too "done" for my tastes, but some probably prefer this. The food took a little time to arrive, which I don't mind, because it usually means it is fresh. And it was. The al pastor was straight off the griddle, and for being off the griddle, it was pretty good. The chorizo was even better. The sope was a bit of a disappointment, in that the tortilla/masa was very hard around the edges of about half of it. A steak knife wouldn't even cut through it. My guess is it was made previously and then re-cooked. It actually tasted pretty good otherwise.

Very happy with this place, as I would put it in my Top 5 of Chicago, plus it is open 24 hrs! Oh and the tacos had lots of meat in it, actually I'd prefer a little less meat, so it wouldn't overflow out of the taco. I was surprisingly full after this meal.

PS - do you have to order the 3 tacos plate (w/ beans n rice) to get the grilled onion and jalapeno? I don't like beans and rice, but I love grilled onions and jalapenos...

They have a new extended breakfast menu here. Omelets, pancakes, and breakfast sandwiches etc. One item I noticed on the menu was a ribeye, three eggs and hash browns for $8.95.

Since they are open 24 hours a day, a morning stop here on a weekday is an actual possibility.

Are they still open 24 hours? Stopped by at about 9:45 this morning and they were closed. Drove by a while later and they were open. I wasn't sure if they changed the hours or we just caught them on a bad day.