Texican - Tex-Mex in Cabrini-Green

This place has been on my radar for quite some time, ever since Sula wrote about it back in May of 2017. My son and I had a bit of extra time earlier this week and decided to check it out . . .


Pozole
This daily special was a stand-out. The lip-smacking broth had a delectably rich flavor. The hominy was tender but not mushy. This was a great soup.


Fixings (for the pozole)
I'm not sure why the lime juice is in a little cup versus being in a sliced wedge of fruit. Also here were Mexican oregano, cabbage, onion, cilantro, sour cream and tostadas.


Bowl Of Texas Red Chili (cheddar cheese, sour cream, and scallions, no beans)
Really well made and a generous portion. In the end, though, this just wasn't my thing. It had some fairly pronounced sweet spices/components that are just not to my liking.


Cheddar Grits
I loved these grits, some of the best I can remember having in town.


Cowboy Beans
I was expecting whole beans but these refritos, amped up with chorizo and cotija, were excellent.


Brisket Tacos & King Ranch Casserole (half-serving of each, combined on plate)

Unfortunately, I don't remember the details about the brisket tacos (another special), but they were tender and really flavorful. The King Ranch Casserole (baked chicken enchilada, avocado cream, pico de gallo) was also great. Since each dish came with a choice of lime slaw or potato hash, they put a little of each on the plates for us, which was a nice touch.

As I hope I made clear, we really enjoyed our lunch, though it was not without a few challenges. If you want to try Texican, and you don't live or work nearby, you'll probably have to work a bit for it. First of all, unless you're coming from the east, this is a tough part of town to reach. Even our short (~4 mile) jaunt over from Logan Square took a bit of time. And once we arrived, we circled for quite a while before we gave up looking for street parking and opted for a spot in the pay lot at the corner of Larrabee and Chicago Ave, where the minimum weekday buy-in is $12 for 2 hours!

Once inside the small space, we were greeted by a visible haze. I'm not sure if the vent hood just wasn't working or if this is the norm. On the plus side, it smelled like nicely cooked food but on the down side, hours after our meal, the smell was still very much all over my clothes. Yikes!

But there were way more pluses than minuses, and our experience left me wishing that I lived closer to Texican. The food was carefully prepared, thoughtful and tasty, and fairly unique for Chicagoland. Service was remarkably friendly, even going so far as to split all our dishes into two separate servings, even though we didn't ask, because they knew we'd be sharing.

=R=

Texican (website)
869 N Larrabee St
Chicago, IL 60610
(312) 877-5441

ronnie_suburban wrote:And once we arrived, we circled for quite a while before we gave up looking for street parking and opted for a spot in the pay lot at the corner of Larrabee and Chicago Ave, where the minimum weekday buy-in is $12 for 2 hours

Hmm, one of the things I like about visiting Texican is the ample (free!) street parking available along Larabee, Crosby and Oak north of Chicago Avenue. I think you were just unlucky on this particular day. Even the metered parking along Chicago is less than the pay lot and there is an endless number of parking spaces.

Thanks for the comprehensive review. This restaurant offers a very good value, portions are large and admirably fills a niche for Tex-Mex and Gulf Coast dishes.

Lerdawg wrote:

ronnie_suburban wrote:And once we arrived, we circled for quite a while before we gave up looking for street parking and opted for a spot in the pay lot at the corner of Larrabee and Chicago Ave, where the minimum weekday buy-in is $12 for 2 hours

Hmm, one of the things I like about visiting Texican is the ample (free!) street parking available along Larabee, Crosby and Oak north of Chicago Avenue. I think you were just unlucky on this particular day. Even the metered parking along Chicago is less than the pay lot and there is an endless number of parking spaces.

Unfortunately, we found no spots on any of those streets and even the garage was nearly full. Something must have been happening on the day we went.

Lerdawg wrote:This restaurant offers a very good value, portions are large and admirably fills a niche for Tex-Mex and Gulf Coast dishes.

Yeah, agreed. Our meal -- one app, two mains, two sides, two beverages -- was around $50 with tax and tip, which I thought was a good value.

=R=

I spent several years working a job across the street in the old Montgomery Wards warehouse building. There is nowhere near enough parking (free or paid) in the area for all of the people who work there during the day. A few times I'd arrive in the area in the late morning and find all of the parking lots full and no street spots available within half a mile.

Lerdawg, did you get there toward the end of their open hours? I noticed they close at 3 pm.

Giovanna