Rique's & Sweet Occasions

Last Sunday, after taking our daughters to see Blue Man we went to Rique's Regional Mexican Food. Rique's had some mentions on CH, but the posts seemed to indicate that things started out great and went downhill. We had a really good and extremely inexpensive dinner. I read someone compared it with Frontera and the Ixca/Chil duo which is not fair, based on pricing. At these prices, I'm not sure there is anyone this ambitious in the kitchen. There also seemed to be some vegetarian options.

Our favorite item was the complimentary black bean frijoles. Wow. Rich, deeply flavored, and wonderfully textured. The best beans I've had in a long time. We could have made a meal of these with the excellent, fresh from the fryer chips. The beans, chips, and salsa were quickly replenished.

Next was queso con chorizo. Light on the sausage, but tomatoes and onions really rounded out this dish. The very ordinary corn tortillas were the weak point of the evening.

The salad of mixed greens over shredded iceberg, julienned jicama, jalepeno, and mango, with diced avacado was a nice combination.

Nancy had Achiote chicken, which came with sauteed zucchini & onions, along with really good pintos (perfectly cooked with quite a few whole beans) and rice. I had chicken with an almond mole and the same beans and rice. The girls had besides a couple orders of cheese quesadillas, a chicken taco, and a couple of steak tacos. The strips of grilled chicken looked really good and I did try a piece of the steak from a taco and it had a nice char on it. The three girls also had sodas and the total was forty-one bucks and change. No corkage fee. A great value.

The waiters were extremely friendly and very attentive. While the room was decorated with a modest budget, it was nicely done and has a lot of character. We look forward to returning.

After dinner we stopped for ice cream at Sweet Occasions on Damen. They serve Chocolate Shoppe ice cream from Madison. I was the lone dissenter from chocolate/peanut butter cup with espresso almond fudge. It may not be the best ice cream I've had, but very good flavor and texture. The pricing was very inexpensive, especially with the increased milk/cream costs.

Rique's
5004 N Sheridan Rd
Chicago, IL 60640
(773) 728-6200

Sweet Occasions
4639 N Damen Ave
Chicago, IL
(773) 293-3080

Al,

if you enjoyed the black beans at Riques- which was probably my favorite thing there as well - you might want to try the black beans at rinconcito hispano 2 in Des Plaines

through a quirk of fate I happened to eat at Riques and Rinconcito Hispano on the same day and while I liked the frijoles at Riques, the beans in des plaines blew me away. full of that scraped from the bootom of the pan bits of crunch and goodness

Rinconicto Hispano 2
1669 Oakton
Des Plaines
847-803-6180

Zim,

I've saved your previous posts on RH2 and have been meaning to try it. Our tastes seem to be pretty evenly calibrated. A few times, it almost worked out, but unfortunately it never did. Knowing about the beans, I'm going to have to make an effort.

Thanks for the tip.

Best,
Al

Al - thanks for the post. I live a block away, but still haven't been back since they first opened, all the while saying to myself, that I must get back there.

I had posted on CH when they first appeared and had found them very promising, friendly, and obviously trying hard. Then, most of the subsequent posts by others seemed to be shrugs, or even more tepid. The feeling seemed to be that they couldn't quite play in the Ix/Chil/Front. league, nor were they a simple, rustic hole-in-the-wall.

I really wish them well, both for their own sakes, and for the neighborhood which I think really profits from the addition of Tweet and Riques in the midst of all the Pho.

FYI for those who participate, Riques is also an IDine/Rewards Network participant. So you can check them out at a discount. I'm really going to get back there soon.

mrbarolo wrote:The feeling seemed to be that they couldn't quite play in the Ix/Chil/Front. league, nor were they a simple, rustic hole-in-the-wall.

Mark,

I think that's a very good point about the not quite this, not quite that status of the place and maybe why they get shrugs. I also commented a few times on CH when they first opened. But folks looking for eyeball tacos and such may be disappointed by the simple somewhat standard choices done well and for very cheap that Riques does.

In some ways, I think Thai Aree suffers the same status, obviously not a Arun's but also not a secret Thai menu place. Though I should add, if asked they will make off-menu favorites ( I often ask for gaeng som, and pak bung/water spinach). I was there Monday and disapointed to see only one other customer.

zim wrote:[I was there Monday and dissapointed to see only one other customer

<Talking about Thai Aree>

Zim,

I, as you know, love Thai Aree, it's one of my favorite Thai restaurants, fully in the league of Spoon and TAC. As do you, I sometimes worry about Thai Aree and wish they were just a bit busier. Actually, I attempted to go there for lunch last week with 7, but they were closed for vacation.

The focus of the lunch was going to be hot, as in spice level, and no one does hot like Thai Aree. I was also looking forward to seeing their back of the restaurant garden in full bloom.

For those who have not seen, I took a few pictures of Thai Aree's Garden last year while there having lunch with Zim.

Enjoy,
Gary

Al Ehrhardt wrote:Our favorite item was the complimentary black bean frijoles.

Al,

Had lunch at Riques for the first time*, though I have been meaning to try it for a while, quite good, especially the beans served with house-made chips.

Riques


Ceviche de Colima, orange juice giving it an ever so slightly sweet undertone, was good.


Huarache w/Tinga (shredded chicken w/oregano, onion, chipotle sauce) was fresh and nicely prepared, but neither the Huarache or Ceviche are something I'm ever going to crave.


On the other hand, Chalupa de Chicharrones (pork rinds, cactus, chile de arbol) was killer. Pork rinds retaining just a hint of crunch/internal density, spicy without overpowering, cactus providing counterpoint, radish for pop, just a terrific dish. Could have used just a dab of crema, next time 'll ask for a little on the side.

Chalupa de Chicharrones


Through a slight miscommunication, though our waitress was excellent, even to the point of sharing her personal stash of Valentina hot sauce with us, we doubled up on Tinga. Once on the huarache and then again as an entree.

Tinga w/rice


Baja Fish Tacos, the special of the day, were ever so slightly blah, possibly due to the fact they used Tilapia instead of the usual Catfish, maybe I simply prefer Tacos de Pacifico's (RIP) fried version. I did like the side dish beans, Riques does beans well.

Baja Fish Taco


As has been mentioned Riques offers a 4-course dinner featuring a different region every Saturday and Wednesdays there's a vegetarian menu available.

Nice place, I'll be back.

Enjoy,
Gary

*I believe Riques is/was another Zim RBI

G Wiv wrote:Chalupa de Chicharrones (pork rinds, cactus, chile de arbol) was killer. Pork rinds retaining just a hint of crunch/internal density, spicy without overpowering, cactus providing counterpoint, radish for pop, just a terrific dish. Could have used just a dab of crema, next time 'll ask for a little on the side.

Chalupa de Chicharrones

Great pictures -- The Chicharrones are easily my favorite dish at Rique's. I think that the food at Rique's is consistently very good and the service is extremely hospitable. The fact that Rique's is BYO is the icing on the cake.

BR wrote:The Chicharrones are easily my favorite dish at Rique's. I think that the food at Rique's is consistently very good and the service is extremely hospitable. The fact that Rique's is BYO is the icing on the cake.

There must be names for different styles of chicharrones, but whatever style they serve at Riques is the style I like: many textures, some strips of fat but also cooked down hunks of bacony meat, quite delicious. This is probably my favorite, too, though I feel Riques has the capacity to please in many ways.

Service is, indeed, downright gregarious.

Hammond

A friend told me this place is under new management. Anyone been there recently?

You may want to take a look at this thread.

Riques is back open after a bunch of mediocre to terrible replacements. The online menu looks to have a couple unique-ish options and mentions "fresh homemade tortillas". The immediate neighborhood is desperately lacking in Mexican options so I'm hoping for the best. Probably going to try and swing over for dinner this evening.

http://www.riqueschicago.com/
5004 N Sheridan
Chicago IL 60640
773.728.6200

That is great news - thanks for the post Alek!

AlekH wrote:The immediate neighborhood is desperately lacking in Mexican options so I'm hoping for the best.

Indeed! Mr. X and I were just talking about this as we passed the building that used to house El Norte. I've never been a fan of Taqueria Uptown on the other corner of Bryn Mawr and Broadway.