seebee wrote:

seebee wrote:

Anyway, here's something that struck me. Cesar came out from the kitchen area to take our order. Jr was kinda squirmy while he was taking the order and while we chatted about what some of the things were (Avena means wheat, by the way - if anyone wants to try an avena licuado.) .

Uh, avena actually is oatmeal. They don't cook it in Mexico the way they do in the US, in a licuado is one of the traditional ways. Wheat is either harina or trico, and I have yet to encounter it in a licuado.

Oatmeal, huh? I was just going by what they told me. Which maybe makes sense as well. At first, Cesar came back and said it was "fiber." Then, he talked with the lady and she clearly said "wheat." Then he came back and said it was "wheat." I didn't even think to look it up after he told me. Palabra nueva. Thanks.

First visit last night. One of each taco. All excellent, but my favorites were the suedero, asada, and tripa. My fiancé loved the mollejas and asada. Favorite sauce, the red w/o peanuts. Nice smokiness to it that lent a little more richness to the meats. Some sauce with asada crispy bites hinted at bacon. Yum. We also had a cheese and pepper tamale which we both enjoyed.

Met the owner Jose. Very friendly and warm man in love with what his family has put together. Very proud to be LTH GNR. Jose was gracious enough to share some homemade mole with us. It was the most luscious silky sauce that coated my mouth and had me closing my eyes imagining the love and history of Mexican food. Jose says they celebrate with mole on the day of the dead and share with customers. Yesterday was not the day of the dead, but I will be sure to be back on that day. Of course, there will be many more days at La Chaparrita before that.

Thanks Jose and thanks LTH forum for introducing us to this gem

seebee wrote:Oatmeal, huh? I was just going by what they told me. Which maybe makes sense as well. At first, Cesar came back and said it was "fiber." Then, he talked with the lady and she clearly said "wheat." Then he came back and said it was "wheat." I didn't even think to look it up after he told me. Palabra nueva. Thanks.

Avena is most certainly oatmeal and a common shake "flavor." Trigo is wheat, almost always denotes puffed wheat, and is a very common flavor or add-in among Caribbean cuisines, esp. Cuban. If a place in South Florida sells batidos (essentially the same as Mexican licuados), trigo will be an option. Honey Smacks, f/k/a Sugar Smacks can be used if plain puffed wheat isn't handy.

This is giving me an excuse to go back and let them know what avena means en ingles. And, well, maybe have dos o tres de tripas while I'm there

seebee wrote: They are not just sloppin out food here. They care, and it shows. I would love to ask them where THEY like to go for Mexican food around town.

Per Cesar - "Las Candiles" on Central Park bewteen 26th and 27th for tampiquena.

For the usual reason--Jury duty at 26th & California--I was in the neighborhood yesterday and was fortunate enough to be given an hour and a quarter for lunch. Some people aren't so lucky, as the Jury duty topic makes clear. Even though it was, literally, a hundred degrees, the walk was easy. Along 25th, an amazing stretch of old houses, Chicago cottages, many with yards down at the original level, the street having been built up and the entrance now on the second floor. Well maintained as a rule, although not fussily.

Well prepared by this thread, I found the proprietors having lunch, otherwise I had the place to myself. Though comically monolingual, I ordered Huarache con Tripa and an Agua Fresca: Limon.


It was great. I'm sure I was spotted and classified correctly as part of this group--who else takes pictures of lunch plates?

Asked if I wanted anything else, I chose 1 Taco con Lengua



Also great.

When I settled up, was given a free cup of Tepache. Delicious, with an amazing yellow/orange color.

Walking down Whipple, saw a house being repaired with very old-fashioned technique: New blocks along the roofline, the roof having been loosened and wedged up, the blocks being handed up by relay through an open window. Kids on the street speaking Spanglish with one another. Walked back along 26th next to the exercise yard of the Cook County Jail; all along the watchtowers.

Just started working up the block from here. I was ordering and a man sitting next to me said just get the tripas crispy, it's worth the $2. He was right. If you are on this board thanks for the recommendation. Also, the owner was very friendly. He gave me a glass of his Tepache?, which he makes and ferments in a barrel. He told me they wrote about it in the Trib last week. Delicious drink.

optionyout wrote:Just started working up the block from here. I was ordering and a man sitting next to me said just get the tripas crispy, it's worth the $2. He was right. If you are on this board thanks for the recommendation. Also, the owner was very friendly. He gave me a glass of his Tepache?, which he makes and ferments in a barrel. He told me they wrote about it in the Trib last week. Delicious drink.

Crisping guts is, I believe, definitely the way to go.

The Trib piece was written by our own Pigmon; a fine piece of food journalism.

David Hammond wrote:Crisping guts is, I believe, definitely the way to go.

Personally, I like my guts suave. Nothing like a bit of chewy funk to switch things up.

I'm with Habibi--in a side by side comparison, the crispy tripas weren't as flavorful (to me) as the regular version. I want to be able to TASTE my offal

Finally made it in a week ago.

I won't make this overly involved. I loved the Tripa, Cabeza, Lengua, Pastor and Longaniza. All the love for the Tripa is deserved - it was really exquisite, one of my favorite tacos in town. Was almost bacon-y, less some smoke.

Only misses were the Molleja (sweetbreads) and Sesos (brains). The Sesos were soft, mushy and bland. I used this taco as a vehicle to really test out the delicious homemade salsas (smothered it, the salsas were great, but the tacos I really enjoyed shone on their own). The Molleja was in a word: gross. I love me some crispy sweetbreads, but these were mushy, granular and practically inedible. I finished the whole thing in an effort to try to see what I was missing, but I won't make that mistake again. It was not a preparation I'm used to or that I favor. Not sure if this is par for the course, or not.

Only other quibble was everything could have used various degrees of additional sodium, with bites ranging from delicately seasoned all the way down to flavorless. Luckily there was a salt shaker for us to rectify on our own.

I will definitely be back to La Chaparrita, and with a trip under my belt, a more focused order.

David Hammond wrote:Crisping guts is, I believe, definitely the way to go.

Fans of tripas doradas should consider trying a taco at El Anzuelo in Melrose Park. Really tasty and about as crispy as any guts get.





El Anzuelo
1501 W Lake St
Melrose Park IL
708-410-1766

Man this place is terrific. Maiden voyage that I owe to getting tapped for jury duty - had to sweat out the voir dire battery of questions (not selected) so decided I needed a treat - and really glad that I took the time. 1 tripa, 1 pastor, 1 longaniza and 1 cecina, each seemingly better than the last, although the tripe was my favorite (semi-crispy). Also had a limon, which was delightful, cut the fat, and the spice of the sauces. No chips, and it's a relief as I would have crushed each squeeze bottle's worth of green and red. As it was I loaded up every stray radish slice. Pretty good late lunch crowd, and helpful folks behind and in front of the counter - asking how things were, if I needed anything else, etc... Great find/place, and I will have to come up with other excuses to head sw (only about 10 mins from the California exit on the Eisenhower tho'-), perhaps with out of towners on a zaragoza/chaparrita/uruapan diagonal track.

Definitely the best tacos I've ever had - hands down.

I stopped by for a quick lunch today and felt totally welcomed by the owner and her husband. Their young (10yr?) daughter actually brought all the food out to me. Every single person I interacted with spoke english just as well as I do - definitely no feeling of wishing I spoke spanish or any sort of translation issues whatsoever (although I do have my food-related spanish down pretty well...just in case).

I ended up sampling the asada, longaniza, al pastor, and suadero tacos, some grilled cebollitas, and a guanabana agua fresca (which the owner described as sort of a white guava-type fruit).

The red and green table salsas definitely had some kick, but it balanced perfectly with the cool agua fresca.

Every tacos got a small squirt of each sauce, a squeeze of lime, and 1-2 grilled cebollitas.

Heaven.

Stopped by again for lunch today and had another great meal.

The suadero was actually maybe the best today, just such a rich beefy flavor and tender meat. The longaniza was also a standout, with a little more crunch and char on the outside than last time.

Tried a lime agua fresca which was really good, but I think I prefer the guanabana. I'm not really sure what I like about the guanabana or what it even tastes like, but it goes so great with their food.

I also tried a tamale which was among the better I've had, though it was a little over-steamed and fell apart. But it had a nice sweet corn note I normally don't find in that style of tamale - very enjoyable. But the best part is they sell frozen, uncooked tamales for 12/$10 - guess what I'm having for dinner tonight?

I learned yesterday from Jose that beginning next week, La Chaparrita will be closed on Thursdays. I'm not sure if this is permanent or just through the winter (or holidays), so best to call first.

=R=

La Chaparrita is now serving their wonderful tepache from a small wooden barrel and is on display up front.

La Chaparrita is closed for vacation until January 17th. This has been a public service announcement.

stevez wrote:La Chaparrita is closed for vacation until January 17th. This has been a public service announcement.

NOOOO!

Have any of you guys gone next door to the bakery? We went there by accident the first time, but stayed when we realized they serve tacos on that side too. Much different tacos. Tacos de guisados are meat, usually bone in, stewed in a salsa or mole and served with rice and beans on a couple of corn tortillas. These are definitely knife and fork tacos, but they're cheap and crazy delicious.

The mole rojo is the standout for me every time. I don't care what the protein is, I just want that sauce. Having eaten the best moles in the city, I'll comfortably say this is 90% as good for $2. The chicharrones in salsa verde are exceptional too. I'll usually stop into both sides these days, but if you're at the grill side, ask Cesar what they have over at the bakery. He's usually willing to help out.

Their champarrado is excellent as well.

stevez wrote:La Chaparrita is closed for vacation until January 17th. This has been a public service announcement.

Fortunately, my jury duty at 26th and Cal is on the 18th.

gram wrote:Have any of you guys gone next door to the bakery? We went there by accident the first time, but stayed when we realized they serve tacos on that side too. Much different tacos. Tacos de guisados are meat, usually bone in, stewed in a salsa or mole and served with rice and beans on a couple of corn tortillas. These are definitely knife and fork tacos, but they're cheap and crazy delicious.

The mole rojo is the standout for me every time. I don't care what the protein is, I just want that sauce. Having eaten the best moles in the city, I'll comfortably say this is 90% as good for $2. The chicharrones in salsa verde are exceptional too. I'll usually stop into both sides these days, but if you're at the grill side, ask Cesar what they have over at the bakery. He's usually willing to help out.

The tamale/bakery side is on vacation, too.

Maaaaaaan, the devil really is in the details, isn't it?

I'm so ticked off. This thread started right when I was last in town, and I didn't manage to get there, so I had to keep watching this thread knowing I'd just missed it. Torturous.



Lives up to the hype. Yes. I didn't get a chance to try them all -- man can only do so much by himself with two little kids in tow -- but I got to most of them. I think my favorites among the ones I tasted were the suadero, as much for the texture as the flavor, both tender and crisp at the same time. And that longaniza, crumbled and griddled and so flavorful without going over the top on the sausage seasonings. The thing that gets me here is the detail. The fine dice on the onion, the feathery shredded cilantro... it's almost absurd. And the salsas. Where does that almost creamy texture come from on the red? The peanuts? High speed blending?

It's so awesome to see this kind of attention to detail. Loved this place.

Dmnkly wrote:Maaaaaaan, the devil really is in the details, isn't it?
...And that longaniza, crumbled and griddled and so flavorful without going over the top on the sausage seasonings. The thing that gets me here is the detail. The fine dice on the onion, the feathery shredded cilantro... It's almost absurd. And the salsas... It's so awesome to see this kind of attention to detail. Loved this place.

AMEN!

Aaaand the fact that every taco is served piping hot with freshly griddled tortillas (no, not homemades, but they are fresh, and hot off the griddle)

I previously neglected to post about another fantastic meal I had here a few weeks back. We took friends who had never been and we were all blown away by the sheer deliciousness of the meal we had. When I get the itch for tacos, nothing satisfies it like Chaparrita. We ate until we could barely stand, just enjoying the offerings that have become the solid standards for me -- including the 3 sensational salsas. Jose, Angelina and Cesar were their typically hospitable selves, elevating our experience into one that somehow managed to transcend the food. If I lived closer to this place, I'd be there all the time.

=R=

Visiting an incarcerated friend on Sundays, has me spending a lot of time in Little Village. Love the huaraches at Chaparrita. Great with a Mamey Liquado followed by a tepache para llevar for the train ride home. The guy outside selling cold Coconuts for $2 is great on a hot day too. I love that stretch of 25th street. Have you been to the trailer/stand that sells Carnitas? I think it is just called Carnitas estilo Michoacán. It is worth a stop. So is the tamale place next door to La Chaparrita. The other day I saw a woman crossing 26th street with the most amazing looking thing. It was a plank of fried masa rectangular and curved in the middle. It was maybe 12" by 5" and full of shrimp, cheese, peppers, crema, tomatoes, onions and who knows what else. I tried to ask here what it was and where it came from, but the language barrier was too much, She had one in each hand, and nodded towards the strip mall on the south side of 26th street west of whipple. I need to find out what the heck it was. It looked amazing.

I really have get my butt down there to try these tacos.

AlekH wrote:I really have get my butt down there to try these tacos.

I'm in this sad group too.