Taqueria Los Barrilitos--Little Village

I've been sitting on this one for a while now, waiting to make sure it's the real thing. It is quite good.

I had the great pleasure of working nearby for this past semester, and of the many things I enjoyed about La Villita, Los Barrilitos belongs right up there La Chaparrita, though much more scaled down. It was often a struggle to pick one or the other. Indeed, it is rather fitting: if you reflected La Chaparrita west across Kedzie, you'd land more or less right on top of this place. Divine, really.



As the sign would indicate, they take their tacos al pastor very seriously here. As the sign also indicates, the trompo is about the size of a small barrel (excuse the crappy, sly cell phone pic):



They had just finished pulling a lot of crispy pork off for a sizable order--tortillas covered the griddle to the left--so don't be fooled by the apparent plainness of the trompo.

Wednesdays and Thursdays, tacos cost only a dollar, though only three varieties are offered: pastor, asada, and cabeza. On other days, chorizo is available. The menu consists exclusively of tacos. Today, I had three: two al pastor, and one of asada. The latter is quite good, but the former are excellent.



This next pic better captures what I love about these tacos. As with a fine example of shawerma or gyros, these are thinly sliced, so that they curl up a bit, along with the trademark striation.



The flavor on these is pretty solid, even ignoring price. Slightly sweet (pineapple juice? achiote?), plenty of toasty bits, even a noticeable cinnamon note. A red, somewhat hot salsa and a green, slightly creamy one are served, along with limes and this mix of lightly pickled onions and very thinly sliced habaneros:



I liked the wafer-thin slices of pepper, as they really helped customize the heat, being easy to pick out and appropriately dose your tacos. Salsas are perfectly good, but I only used a dab here or there. I've also had the jamaica a couple times--pleasantly strong-flavored, but a bit sweet.

Anyhow, I hope some others among the LTH world can corroborate my uninformed opinions and poor photographs. With La Chaparrita being closed on Thursday, just head west off Kedzie instead of the usual east, and I think you will be duly rewarded.

Taqueria Los Barrilitos
~3518 W 25th St
(North side of 25th St., just east of Drake)
Chicago, IL 60623
(See pic above for various phone numbers)

Great post. Thanks for sharing. On my VERY short list after holiday travel.

That onion/habanero mix looks just like the addictive stuff they serve on the side with your birria at Birrieria Reyes De Ocotlan (which I have recently re-discovered and am hooked on).


Edited to add pic.

Thanks for sharing this great find. I've passed Los Barrilitos a number of times but never gave much thought to stopping in. Pigmon and I went on Thursday so were able to take advantage of the $1 tacos (only steak and pastor, if I remember correctly). This has to be one of the best deals in the city. Clockwise from bottom: pastor, cabeza, asada (cooked on a flat-top griddle, I think).



The taco al pastor was the star but the others were solid. I liked the thin shavings from the trompo and also appreciated the light hand with seasonings. Definitely a different style than many. I don't know if I've ever seen such a finely constructed and carefully maintained trompo; it's a real beauty.



Note the tortilla impaled on top of the spit. Anyone have an idea what that's for?

Taqueria Los Barrilitos
3518 W 25th St
Chicago
773-673-0102

A yamulke?

I'm used to seeing pineapple on top . . . never seen a corn tortilla.

mtgl wrote:

I liked the wafer-thin slices of pepper, as they really helped customize the heat, being easy to pick out and appropriately dose your tacos. Salsas are perfectly good, but I only used a dab here or there. I've also had the jamaica a couple times--pleasantly strong-flavored, but a bit sweet.

The habenero/scotch bonnet escabeche here is indeed intense but is a welcome addition to the rather muted, underseasoned meats. A nice compliment.

Any place that's got a trompo will always be considered alright in my book. But with La Chaparrita right down the road, it'll be pretty damn hard to motivate coming here very often...even with their Wed/Thurs $1 pastor/carne asada taco special.

PIGMON wrote:Any place that's got a trompo will always be considered alright in my book. But with La Chaparrita right down the road, it'll be pretty damn hard to motivate coming here very often...even with their Wed/Thurs $1 pastor/carne asada taco special.

The thing I love about Barrilitos, as compared to other places with trompos, is that it's pretty consistently good regardless of time of day. I've been for early lunches, later lunches, after school (but not really dinner), and it's pretty much always like that. Much as I love Tierra Caliente, it does have some consistency issues depending on when you go.

Great find. I stopped in here on Friday coming back from further South and it was a real treat indeed. I concur about the dedication and precision of the trompo and it's handlers. On Friday they had a pot of tripas going but I dont really like those unless they're fried crisp. So I stuck with the al pastor. I started with two and wanted cheese on one but they dont offer that which is fine by me. It's refreshing to see a taco place pick a thing, do it and do it well.


She really is a beauty

I prefer my al pastor cut thin and crisp and they do amazing job with the knife getting it as thin as those electric gyro slicers elsewhere do. The meat reminded me of Saltisa sausage, an old Italian grind that made its way into WI and the UP with immigrants, it has a cinnamon/pork taste to it. I liked the addition of the hot pepper and onion concoction. On top of all that the people behind the counter are really freindly and appreciative for stopping in. I'll make this my dessert stop after going thru the rounds at nearby La Chaparrita. Thanks for sharing.


Though it wasn't on the spit, I got some pineapple bits included on my visit

BR wrote:I'm used to seeing pineapple on top . . . never seen a corn tortilla.

I'm guessing it serves symbolic purposes (standing in for the pineapple and/or onion).

Rene G wrote:Note the tortilla impaled on top of the spit. Anyone have an idea what that's for?

Hmmm...maybe it's used as a deflector of sorts, to distribute pineapple juice running down from a pineapple (now removed and cut up?) placed above it - distributing the juice over a wider area of the trompo.

SCUBAchef wrote:

Rene G wrote:Note the tortilla impaled on top of the spit. Anyone have an idea what that's for?

Hmmm...maybe it's used as a deflector of sorts, to distribute pineapple juice running down from a pineapple (now removed and cut up?) placed above it - distributing the juice over a wider area of the trompo.

I think it might be to deflect the grease, but to keep it from gumming up the spindle. Then again, maybe it is just a tasty treat for the cook.

Rocked a one-two punch of La Chaparrita, and Los Barrilitos today. Don't hesitate to order your tripas "doradas" here. No eyebrows raised when I did, and they were crispy/crunchy on the outside, but creamy on the inside. This was TRIPAS, in all its glory. Served in rings like calamari, even. The pastor is definitely as described. Shaved thin, lightly flavored. I dug it. Also really like the fresh tasting salsa verde. Tasted mostly of blended cilantro, chiles, and lime. Their salsa roja is a smokey one, but tastes more of canned chipotle in adobo than chile arbol. Good find.

Wow. Thanks for the heads up on Taqueria Los Barrilitos. Did a double with a small plate of birreria at Zaragoza then headed over to Los Barrilitos for their al pastor.

I only planned on ordering one taco but felt guilty as they have a Wednesday special for only a dollar a taco so I ended up getting two. Just like the other comments; thin sliced, crispy ends, good balance of flavors, brightly flavored salsa verde and pickled peppers/onion relish. I especially liked that they didn't add the thick, sweet sauce to their al pastor like a lot of places are doing these days, didn't pre-slice and did not use a flat top to finish cooking the meat.

Very friendly and warm staff at both Los Barrilitos and Zaragoza.

I just moved to Chicago about 2 months ago, and recently discovered this site. I mainly post/lurk on Chowhound, but I've been a little disappointed with the Chicago board (coming from DC most recently, but ultimately CA - LA and SF). I found this site linked in one of the posts, and am very grateful for it, because of this thread.

I am always on the hunt for the elusive al pastor on a spit, and ultimately a proper taquero to go with it. In LA, I had a lot of great tacos, and a few excellent al pastor taqueros that would slice it right off the trompo onto the tortilla (as it should be done - not cut off the trompo and griddled). I had been very disappointed with the unanimous al pastor top dog from CH - Tierra Caliente. The (not even cooked) meat was cut off in big chunks and cooked on a griddle and then stored in steam table inserts. No way to do al pastor. Not to mention that the tacos were just average at best (best part about the place was the grilled jalapenos). Luckily, I stumbled across this thread, because we were going to La Chaparrita (the second place that was rec'd from CH), and found out about Los Barrilitos. After seeing the pics, I had my hopes shoot way up. And it didn't disappoint. The al pastor was thinly sliced right off the spit and onto the tortilla, and the tacos were good sized. These place a close second behind the best al pastor I've had (Taco's Leo truck in LA), and I was thoroughly impressed. Only complaint was that they didn't include a thin slice of pineapple (might have been out - I didn't see pineapple on the spit or anywhere else in the taqueria). The asada was pretty good too. Definitely my favorite taqueria in Chicago (granted, I've only been here 2+ mo); La Chaparrita and L' Patron are 2nd and 3rd.

It looks like there are a ton of other taquerias around that area - has anyone done exhaustive research of them? I suspect there has to be a few other gems...

Thanks again!

Not far from La Chaparrita/Los Barrilitos is the excellent Birria purveyor La Barca, which has been somewhat forgotten by this forum after the (well-deserved) praise heaped on Zaragoza. I think La Barca is just as good, and they have some real menu oddities, including small birds (quail?) and catfish egg tacos. But the birria, man, good good stuff. They even do machito, a sort of casing-less, sliced sausage of intestines. Delicious, funky side to some excellent roast goat.

Birriería La Barca Jalisco
4304 W 26th St
(between Kildare Ave & Kolin Ave)
Chicago, IL 60623

Here's the La Barca (and Zaragoza) thread: Link

Also, I realize that coming from L.A., you might not have high expections for Chicago's Mexican food. But, as well documented here, and elsewhere, Chi-Town at the top of the heap when it comes to good Mexican food North of the border. Not one or two, but literally dozens, if not hundreds, of gems await in Chicago and its suburbs.

mdpilam wrote:...al pastor taqueros that would slice it right off the trompo onto the tortilla (as it should be done - not cut off the trompo and griddled)

This is how it's supposed to be done (cut off the trompo and griddled) since it does not cook all the way on the trompo. I'd imagine if it's cooked all the way on the trompo it's either been rotating too long (not enough customers) or pre-cooked before being put on the trompo. Either way the result would be a much drier product. You'll find all places that put out a high quality al pastor do it this way.

I have no problem with finishing otherwise underdone pastor on a griddle, but the foregoing statement plainly is not correct in my experience.

The best pastor places I've experienced in Mexico and the US don't necessarily even have a griddle on premises. Skilled pastor slingers, same as gyros, doner, or shawerma vendors, can and do serve excellent product shaved right from the spit, making sure to get charred bits in with less-charred (but still cooked) pieces. Do quality gyros or shawerma require griddling? It looks like an art and skill to keep the mix right while making sure the char gets renewed. High volume (such as the lunch rush) can lead to little or no char and, perhaps, the need to finish cooking on the griddle. I for one consider this much less desirable. The spit isn't only there for show any more than a smoker is for BBQ. One definitely can long-cook something on a rotisserie or spit at a relatively lower temp and then "finish" with more flame to get the char/crust that makes for great texture and contrast. As has been well documented here, Tierra Caliente is often best early when there is more well-done surface area on the trompo ("rotating too long" in your view, I'd assume). NB: when Tierra Caliente was still called Carniceria Leon and was being "discovered" here, it had absolutely no griddle -- only a spit, a small open-grate grill for the asada, and a caso for carnitas.

And I agree that Chicago stands up quite well to LA (plenty of experience and admiration for me there) in terms of taco options. As in LA, you need to know where to look. I'd give T.C. another shot, at 10:30 or 11:00 when the trompo is usually in the best shape of the day. The place is a victim of its own success in some ways, and you need to be ready to go with the flow and eat what's "in season" which might not be the same as what you came looking for.

I'll second JeffB on this. On multiple visits over the years, I don't recall ever seeing a griddle being used by al pastor vendors anywhere in Mexico City, where a lot of the vendors I've observed wouldn't have room for a grill if they wanted it. However, I also don't think griddling the meat after cutting it from the trompo is necessarily a bad thing, even if not canonical, because to my taste, al pastor is mainly about the marinade and the meat, less about the crispy burned bits. What I won't excuse, however, is places that serve "al pastor" but have no trompo, just a griddle; that's just not right (and indicates al pastor is a menu after-thought for that kitchen, so probably not worth ordering).

But what is the point of the trompo if the al pastor isn't even cooked on it? I gave TC another shot (first time it was just plain bad, second time it was just decent), and still was unimpressed (I went at 11:20am as rec'd over at CH). I watched as he scooped my meat for my taco out of a steam insert sitting on the grill, and later watched as he cut big chunks of (seemingly) raw meat off the trompo and threw it on the griddle to cook (and later chopped up on a cutting board and threw into the steam table insert). I understand it is a bit snobbish of me, but if you're going to have a spit, do it right. IMO the only time (pure) al pastor should touch a griddle is if you ask for it extra crispy. Here's a good link for what makes great al pastor (from streetgourmetLA - from LA CH fame):

http://www.streetgourmetla.com/2010/09/ ... os-al.html

And to comment on my expectations of Chicago coming from LA... I actually had fairly high expectations for Mexican food here, because I've heard great things, and expected it to be behind LA and SF. Initially a bit disappointed (mainly with my TC experience, and everyone proclaiming it "the best in Chicago"), but I'm seeing there are some great taquerias here. Unfortunately, I live in Lincoln Park and don't own a car, so I can't do as much exploring as I would like.

PS - I've already got La Barca on my list, right after Birreria Zaragoza (I love birria).

Welcome. I don't know where you lived in LA, but if it was the equivalent of LP, you probably had to travel for good tacos. Same here. Not sure why you'd expect Chicago, with its massive (2d only to LA with no one else close) and highly geographic-origin diverse (second to none) Mexican population, to lag behind San Francisco in the taco department. Take some time to look around and get your local footing. I think you will find very good tacos eventually. For example, if you try the birria and hand made tortillas at Zaragoza and find them inferior to what's commonplace in CA, then, well, there's not a discussion, just wholesale dismissal. Do not let your one disappointing trip to a popular taco stand lead you to conclude that the collective wisdom of this board is bogus. A dude from this board "discovered" 1/2 the truly noteworthy Thai on Hollywood and Normandie (not me, but that is "my" LA neighborhood, via inlaws, for many years) and another, TonyC, has contributed a ton of noteworthy info to his LA brethren after departing Chicago. Not all board faves are truly astounding and/or consistent, but you have not identified collective culinary tone deafness among the local rubes.

Timing is everything; as good as our places are, they just don't always have the volume to keep the trompo going.

Two places with excellent spit-roasted pork tacos (at the right moments) are Cemitas Puebla and La Lagartija Taqueria.

At Cemitas Puebla, you'd want the tacos arabes or orientales, checking to see if the spit is on and crispy. They may still finish on the griddle. These are estilo poblano with a homemade chipotle jam that includes pineapple sugar, but no slivers of pineapple.

At La Lagartija you have traditional tacos al pastor, with charred pineapple on top of the spit slivered and served over the taco. Again at the right time, they are wonderful, and close to Mexican street food than, for example, Big Star, which also has fruit-topped pastor.

Does it sort of suck that you have to time visits for peak product? I suppose, but we're already used to it with barbecue, and I'd rather these places keep the lights on, than constantly overcook or have to discard meat. We don't have the robust binary street food culture of some other cities, but what happens in our kitchens soars.

JeffB wrote:Welcome. I don't know where you lived in LA, but if it was the equivalent of LP, you probably had to travel for good tacos. Same here. Not sure why you'd expect Chicago, with its massive (2d only to LA with no one else close) and highly geographic-origin diverse (second to none) Mexican population, to lag behind San Francisco in the taco department. Take some time to look around and get your local footing. I think you will find very good tacos eventually. For example, if you try the birria and hand made tortillas at Zaragoza and find them inferior to what's commonplace in CA, then, well, there's not a discussion, just wholesale dismissal. Do not let your one disappointing trip to a popular taco stand lead you to conclude that the collective wisdom of this board is bogus. A dude from this board "discovered" 1/2 the truly noteworthy Thai on Hollywood and Normandie (not me, but that is "my" LA neighborhood, via inlaws, for many years) and another, TonyC, has contributed a ton of noteworthy info to his LA brethren after departing Chicago. Not all board faves are truly astounding and/or consistent, but you have not identified collective culinary tone deafness among the local rubes.

I lived on the border of Santa Monica and WLA. Yeah, I had to drive for tacos, but you have to drive for everything in LA. One of the few things I hated about LA. Unfortunately we don't have our car out here (yet).

Of my expectations... I really didn't know anything about Chicago before coming out here, but had heard that they had a great food scene and had a couple of my friends mention they had great Mexican. I just assumed it was behind SF since CA - and the Bay Area - has a huge Mexican population and I didn't really know much about Chicago's demographics. I definitely acknowledge that the Bay Area's tacos are well behind LA's, but I love Mission burritos.

Trust me, I am not discounting the collective of this board, in fact, the opposite. I might not have discovered Los Barrilitos without LTH. I've just been disappointed with Tierra Caliente in my two visits (which I had heard about on Chowhound as the consensus taco king).

Lastly, just want to say that I do really like Chicago, and it does seem to have a great food scene. I have spent most of my research time on Chowhound - Chicago, which tends to focus on more of the higher end dining, whereas I tend to prefer more hole-in-the-wall ethnic places. I really like the board here, and it seems to have a wide range of discussions, and look forward to gleaning all the culinary nuggets I can.

I've never had much luck with Tierra Caliente myself. (Or SF Mexican, for that matter.) I'm sure you already know this from Chowhound, but definitely check out Maxwell Street Market -- perhaps even tomorrow. Pretty easy to get to by public transportation.

3pm Saturday Tierra Caliente, I pointed at the trompo said "por favor" and had one hell-of-a delicious al pastor taco. In fact, was so good I had another.

3pm Saturday Tierra Caliente




Not taking away from Taqueria Los Barrilitos or La Chaparrita, which I love, but oftentimes all it takes is a simple polite request to insure deliciousness.

I was @ TC this afternoon as well, around 1 30. Similar trompo char pastor as GWIV pictured mixed w/some asada for compechano, my go to order. Safuckinbrosso. Chaparrita is the benchmark for me, but also, not walking distance from my house as TC is.

G Wiv wrote:3pm Saturday Tierra Caliente, I pointed at the trompo said "por favor" and had one hell-of-a delicious al pastor taco. In fact, was so good I had another.

Yeah, I thought about this, but both times, the spit looked nowhere near what it does in your picture, so I was a little nervous about requesting meat straight from it...

I guess I've just had bad timing. I'll eventually give them another shot, but there are a number of other places I'd like to try first (Maxwell Market being at the top).

I love that this board is so active.

If G Wiv's pic wasn't enough, here's what I love about TC.

As long as this thread is active I should point out that I saw a second location of Los Barrilitos has opened up on the 4100 block of West 47th street.

Welcome aboard mdpilam I think you're going to be very pleasantly surprised with just how good the Mexican food we have here in Chicago is. If not the best, one of. It's always one of the first things I mention when giving explanation on what makes it such a great food city. I agree with your assessment of TC compared to Barrilitos which are the closest thing I've found to the best al pastor tacos I ever had down in Mexico.

laikom wrote:If G Wiv's pic wasn't enough, here's what I love about TC.

Amen. Seriously, mdpilam had a bad streak and needs to give that another shot.