I dunno what the hours are, but I've only been here pretty damn late. Like, post-3am. My friend talks me into it every time. This place might never close. Generally I just want to go to bed, but I order a torta al pastor. I've never tried anything else, cos as soon as I saw the al pastor spit, I figured nothing else would be as good. It's pretty tasty, in a post-3am sort of way.
Service is friendly, and maybe saintly all things considered. If you're eating in (and why not, get the free chips n salsa, might just save you) a server will come to your table for your order. Cash only, but I think they have an ATM in there somewhere... get up and pay at the counter when you're done.
I don't really get the obsession with Mexican food being "authentic" - I really don't care either way (and honestly, if it's not Taco Bell, how is it not in some way). What people are really asking: is it good? Yeah, it's good!
Came here after work with a friend last night. We were going to go to Los Comales, but El Taconazo was closer (we were too lazy to walk/take the bus from our meeting spot), so we ate here instead. Food was decent and they give you a ton of chips and salsa. First time I've received a cup of sour cream as well. The salsa verde & roja were both decent, but not very spicy (I like it HOT). My friend ordered two barbacoa tacos with avocado and I ordered a barbacoa torta and a horchata. My torta was decent--the bread was nice and toasty (and NOT stale like another establishment's). The meat was very fatty but definitely hit the spot. Horchata was good--the consistency was thicker than Los Comales' horchata. My friend liked his tacos, but they were definitely skimpy on the meat. I guess you can't really complain though since the tacos were pretty cheap. This taqueria was pretty chill and a bang for your buck (GET THE TORTAS), but not the cleanest of establishments. I don't really want to know what goes on in the kitchen, but the bathrooms were definitely in need of some major cleaning. -1 star for that. I didn't get sick from the food, but the other reviews definitely made me rethink returning here...I'd probably pick Los Comales over Taconazo any other day.
Review Source:Finally drove out to Pilsen in search of good tacos. Â What a disappointment.
I went into the restroom to wash my hands before eating and saw a man leave the restroom in a filthy state before returning to work in the kitchen..... I then checked in on Foursquare and saw 2 tips encouraging patrons to avoid this restaurant as it has been shut down multiple times. We took a bite (meh), reconsidered, and left...our food mostly untouched.
Their tacos are rather tasty. For $1.80 a taco isn't bad at all and they are also nicely sized compared to other taco restaurants in the neighborhood.
Personally, I usually don't sit down in this restaurant but take it to go.
If I have a piece of advice for this restaurant, it's to clean their bathroom...
waitresses are rude. No prices listed anywhere and then they get annoyed if anyone asks them how much anything is. The food is not done with love and the area looks like a dump. Everything is also overpriced! For a small or "medium" cup of horchata/tamarind/hibiscus/lemon water they charge too much!
Also they are not really clean. We asked for a glass of water, received it, drank it, asked for more water and ice---the lady dipped our cups into the tub of ice they have. Now if they did that with our used cups- how many other used cups have they done this with?????
gross
I have never been to place were we they charged for the cups. Â The food was great, but the service was bad. Not once did the waitress go up to the table to ask if we needed anything and I had to take my food up to the counter to ask for a box. Not to mention when we went up to pay, I asked about the some charges and she explain to me that its for the cups. What restaurant charges for the cups!! That is outrages the food is good, but I wouldn't go back because of the service and uncalled for charges
Review Source:I used to live right above this place across the alley! Hector behind the grill will make you a burrito the size of your forearm (he has an alkaline trio tattoo also). Chorizo tacos are amazing and the milanesa torta is AMAZING.
Every time we rolled in there wasted I'm positive this was the one thing that prevented me from getting alcohol poisoning. 4 outta 5 for no credit cards and for the fact that I could see in the backdoor from my apartment and didnt like what i saw, oh yeah, and hector used to drink all our beer.
This place is Super! And pretty authentic.
After one crazy summer living in Cuernavaca, México, I fell in love with the City of Eternal Spring and its famous puerco al pastor. This joint is the first I've found in the United States in SIX YEARS that does al pastor the REAL way - on a spindle. ¡Riquisimo!
Al pastor is a kabob-style way of cooking pork. Like the Greek gyro kabob and the German donor kabob, pork al pastor is traditionally cooked vertically on a huge spindle. A mexicano al pastor kabob is made of a hundred or more thin layers of marinated pork with juices dripping down the sides. A full al pastor kabob is the size of a small to medium sized billygoat.
For a look inside este paradiso, check out mis fotos.
I had chips and salsa, 3 tacos and waitress service, and my tab was $5.95 with tax.
P.S. You may want to be extra specific when ordering the Rib Eye Taco. My ribeye taco came with taste buds.
Cash only.
daaaaamn yo. awesome tacos. i had a torta de carne asada (a grilled meat sandwich you monolinguals) and a couple of tacos. im sure they are good but at 130am... damn, that was some good stuff. i also love their side salsas and all the lucha libre flyers by the door.
the only thing i didnt like was the fact that they dont take debit/credit cards. other than that, this place is money yo!
the parking lot is a MESS. Â i didn't know which way the flow of traffic was going...because it seemed to be going every which way. Â definitely park on the street.
the tacos are worth the harrowing parking lot. Â i had the carne asada tacos, and it was so filled with meat that i could barely hold the tortilla together. Â it was perfect. Â the carne asada was perfectly cooked, not chewy like some other places. Â all in all, it's a good taco joint.
I feel like I left Chicago for an hour. There was no rush, the service was great and the food was delicious. Â I'd never had poszole before and on cold, wet day, it was "everything I never knew I always wanted."
Another superstar was the hot chocolate, done in traditional Mexican style with cream, chocolate and a hint of cinnamon. Â Absolutely perfect. Â I can't wait to go back to try the sopas!
The only down for me is that I would disagree with Cassidy on the parking front. That parking lot is a mess but I suppose compared to zoned street parking or $10-$15 valet fees, it's not awful and certainly no bad enough to consider missing out on the goodness inside.
Very easy parking since it's in a strip mall (Gamespot is also here, fyi). Â It's cafeteria style--you order at the counter and then they bring your food to your table. Â The chips and salsa are great; nice and thick, fresh, lightly salted goodness. Â They remind me of Casa Sanchez chips (for all of you San Franciscans out there). Â
Especially good is the guacamole. Â I highly recommend getting one order for you and a couple of your friends (you won't be able to eat it alone, for sure!) I also had the caldo de camaron ($7.50) which was huge. Â The tortillas were nice and fresh and seemed homemade. Â It's not on the menu, but you can order vegetarian tacos (they come with nice slices of aguacate). Â Cuidate, you could definitely order waaay too much--I know I did!
My one and only complaint (and this will continue to be my biggest issue with Mexican food in Chicago): where are the black beans?
Well everyone knows I love tacos, so it's about time yelp about a taco joint.
My friend Leo turned me on to this place. Â I think his primary reasoning was because A) we were hungry, B) it was cheap.
El Taconazo in a strip mall on Western and Cermak and when we first pulled up I was thinking what was I getting into. Â When we entered the first thing I noticed was that it was huge! Â Next that almost all the seats were occupied by real Mexicans. Â I'm Puerto Rican, so I mean no disrespect with that comment. Â It's a good thing actually. Â Last thing that I noticed was that it was a little grimy looking, but clean none the less (I guess it's because they get a lot of business).
On to the food. Â We were greeted with the traditional chips and salsas. Â That's plural for 3 + 1 salsas. Â They have a green (tomatoe) sauce, a red sause, an amazing pico de gallo, and one more green sauce that is more peppery and probably the spicest. Â I favor the pico de gallo and red sauces, and I'm not usually impressed by pico de gallo!
I tried a carne asada (skirt steak), barbacoa (slow cooked beef), and al pastor (pork and onions) taco. Â The meat was nice and moist, and had a good flavor. Â Topped with the salsas (red in this case) and I was in heaven. Â The tacos were amazing.
At under 2 bucks each I felt I was ripping them off.
I've been back twice more and am still satisfied that my first visit wasn't a fluke. Â I've added a liver and onion taco to my plate on my last visit, since I've never had one and do enjoy liver. Â It was a different, for a taco, but I did enjoy it.
Only complaint is that if you visit when they are slow the al pastor may be a bit dry if they kept it in the warming tray... but what are you going to do? Â Add some salsa and enjoy, the flavor is still there.
I'm very critical with my tacos and my girlfriend's family (previous tacoeria owners) make the best tacos I've had to date. Â So I only gave 4 stars. Â That might bump up after I try the rest of 18th st.
this is one of their south side locations. They have two south side locations and one north side location.
This is definitely one of my favorite Mexican restaurants in Chicago.
They have the best tortas. I always get torta de milanesa (breaded steak) and a strawberry milkshake. The pork tacos, and the enchiladas are also delicious.
If your ever in the area this is definitely a great place to grab a satisfying bite to eat or satisfy a late night crave.
Cafeteria-style decor, and a great spot for great food! I especially love the chile relleno tacos, and the grand variety of salsas they bring out with the chips, and the prices are good too. This is your best option for a couple blocks around, and worth a try for folks on other parts of the city (just a couple blocks south the Western Pink Line stop).
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