ISO: Places serving cuisine of Michoacan

ISO: Places serving cuisine of Michoacan

I’m working on an article concerning cuisine of Michoacan, and I’m having a difficult time locating restaurants there serve typical foods of this region. Carnitas are easy to find, of course, and there are lot of great places offering these tasty pork chunks – in fact, I’m toying with focusing most of the piece on carnitas in their various manifestations (tortas, tacos, etc.), but that seems kind of limited.

I’m really looking for somewhat more esoteric varieties of chow Michoacana, such as corundas (meat-filled pyramid-like shapes, made with corn boiled with ash rather than cal), or chakikurindas (same thing, I think, only with beans), or churipo (sp?) stew. Any leads would be very appreciated.

Hammond

Los Mogotes de Michoacan
4959 North Kedzie Avenue
Chicago 60625
773/463-5612
Daily: 9 AM - 10 PM

They also have a Highland Park outpost.

I recall a story on Channel 7 about the immigrants from the Michoacan region - here's the associated article.

http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?sectio ... id=1627025

They refer to the Michoacan Federation in Pilsen - they may be able to assist you with your project.

Good Luck!

I do a fair bit of grocery shopping at Lindo Michoacan at Lawrence and Kedzie. There is an attached restaurant that I have yet to try but may be of help.

Lindo Michoacan
3148 W Lawrence
773 539 6627

Are you interested in looking as far as Aurora?

A poster on Chowhound who lives in Mexico, maybe Michoacan--Christina, I think--emailed me a couple years ago recommending a Mexican grocer in Aurora called La Michoacan. Don't know for sure if it's a uniquely Michoacan place, but Monica Eng did a nice piece on Aurora Mexican maybe a year ago, and you might check that out, or ask her, if there is a distinctly Michoacan bent to the Mexican population in Aurora.

Of course, the fine folks at Carnitas Uruapan, the place with the oh - so intriguing mural of cannibalistic pigs mentioned, pictured, and discussed in This Thread are from Michoacan.

I've only had the carnitas and nopales there, not sure what other specialties of Michoacan may be on their menu.

ChiNOLA wrote:Of course, the fine folks at Carnitas Uruapan, the place with the oh - so intriguing mural of cannibalistic pigs mentioned, pictured, and discussed in This Thread are from Michoacan.

I've only had the carnitas and nopales there, not sure what other specialties of Michoacan may be on their menu.

ChiNOLA,

Actually, I was just at Carnitas Uruapan on Monday. Killer carnitas...and I really liked the nopales, too (I realized, eating them, that in the past I'd been eating the bottled/canned varieties; fresh nopales are a different -- and much more delicious -- animal). They serve menudo and frijoles on weekends, but I think that's pretty much the whole menu.

Hammond

Though there's not a carnitas specialist in the neighborhood (Man Do i wish one wouold open up) the michoacan places are thick on the ground in Rogers Park. For example The various mi pueblo/el pueblito places serve tamales de ceniza and Chorritos at devon and clark has corundas

zim wrote: For example The various mi pueblo/el pueblito places serve tamales de ceniza and Chorritos at devon and clark has corundas

zim, thanks a lot. I've never been to Chorritos but will give it a try.

David

Next to the Red Line stop at Sheridan/Irving Pk. is Caminos de Michoacan. It looks like it may well be just carnitas and other staples - I've never investigated. I merely point it out as a potential data point if you're in the hood doing research. (Although, I do seem to recall some intriguing hand-lettered signs in the window offering specials on certain days and claiming hand made tortillas.) Maybe worth a look.

Next to the Red Line stop at Sheridan/Irving Pk. is Caminos de Michoacan. It looks like it may well be just carnitas and other staples - I've never investigated. I merely point it out as a potential data point if you're in the hood doing research. (Although, I do seem to recall some intriguing hand-lettered signs in the window offering specials on certain days and claiming hand made tortillas.) Maybe worth a look.

If you are disapointed, then at least you are a few store fronts away from TAC to lift your spirits.

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:Los Mogotes de Michoacan
4959 North Kedzie Avenue
Chicago 60625
773/463-5612
Daily: 9 AM - 10 PM

They also have a Highland Park outpost.

C2,

I checked out the Kedzie location tonight, and could not quite find any distinctly characteristic platas Michocana, but I did get a knockout cecina and a very good huitlacoche quesadilla (tortilla hecho a mano, and the corn smut was laid on heavy, with tiny little onions mixed in; better than Maxwell Street, I'm surprised to hear myself say -- and the flor de calabaza was pretty darn good too).

Hammond

David,

I don't know what may represent the cuisine of Michoacan. Generally when I go there I get either the huitlacoche quesadilla or the flor de calabaza, a huaraches with al pastor and grilled cebollitas (green onions). For my neck of the woods, I am pleased to have them as a contrast to other Mexican restaurants near by. While they offer different Mexican food, I was never sure if was Michoacan or not.

I recently bought two pounds of frozen huitlacoche. I'm waiting for things to calm down before I begin playing with those, which is likely after Thanksgiving. Once I get launched on those puppies, I'll be sure to report back.

So back to the Michoacan grinding stone for you! Sorry!

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:I don't know what may represent the cuisine of Michoacan.

It may be that Michoacan represents more generalized Mexican cuisine. The only absolutely definite regularly available element in the cooking of that region seems to be carnitas.

Then there are corundas and uchepo, which I have not had in Chicago, but I have some leads on locations.

Hammond

I think tamales de ceniza are michoacan stuff as well. The various mi pueblo/el pueblo/el pueblito places up on in Rogers Park, have these on the weekends. From the ones I've been to I think the one across the street from salamera's decor would probably most be to your liking - two very large color paintings of a mayan (Aztec?) strongman holding maidens in various stages of deshabille bracket the dining room in a kind of funky 70's mexican vibe. They sit next to a series of painting that I have vague memories being advertised on late night ads for expos near O'Hare - you know the ones that look like they were painted by the public television painting guru with the red afro.

anwyay, I also had what may be the single spiciest taco I've eaten in the past year there - the cochinita pibil came with serious habanero juiciness. They also have a good selection of bottled hot sauces (tapatio, valentina, tamazula) and three decent table salsas - the standard red and green (above average) and a third orange one with a nice sweetness that I couldn't decide whether came from bell peppers or carrots.

David/LTH,

Any luck finding Michoacan specialties you'd recommend? I'm going back to Paris next week with at least a few dozen handmade corn tortillas for a friend from Morelia but would love to surprise her with a Chicago take on food from her home region.

Thanks,
Louisa

Louisa,

Not to butt in, but your pal would probably really love a travel cooler full of fresh masa to make her own tortillas. I love the idea of something so ephemeral being consumed out of its place.

JeffB,

Thanks for the suggestion. I would love to bring my friend masa - if for nothing else to have her hand-make tortillas just for me - but I can't manage a cooler pack this time. Plus she'd have no time to make them. She'll barely have the time to make me quesadillas as it is.

Thanks,
Louisa

Louisa,

how about bringing your friend some fresh chiles? Michoacan is one of the areas in which the chile manzano, aka chile peron, is used. Here is a link to a post of mine:

http://lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=4223

I found them last year in La Casa del Pueblo in Pilsen; I haven't been in any of the Mexican markets lately but they may well be available right now. If you can't find the fresh ones, you could take her a bottle of the salsa made from this chile, made by El Gallito and discussed here:

http://lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=2315

Would you be able to bring along a piece of (aged) cheese? Queso cotija is named for the town of Cotija in Michoacan. There are some rather indifferent commercial varieties sold under this name in the Mexican groceries, but the best source I know of for Mexican dairy products in the area is the Santa Maria Lacteos store in La Villita.

Santa Maria Lacteos (y Cremeria)
3424 W. 26th St.
773-277-1760

If you go there, another unusual item you could bring your friend might be guamuchiles, which look something like small tamarinds:

http://lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=3065

Have a good trip back to Paris, Louisa!

Amata

Amata,

Thank you! You must have read my mind - I was thinking chiles and cheese - also essential and easy to transport. The chile manzano/peron and queso cotija sound perfect - and now I know where to find them. In the past my friend's had to make do for various dishes with chiles from Le Chinatown and creme fraiche. She'll love these.

Thanks again,
Louisa