La Chaparrita #2

My favorite taqueria!

Really friendly, helpful staff, and all the sauces are to die for.  Perfect green sauce, perfect pico de gallo.  

I'm a huge fan of suicidal spicy food, but I'm always wary of asking for super spicy food at Mexican places.  My reason is that, in my opinion, a lot of the chilis Mexicans use for super spicy food make the food taste like grass.  I *hate* the grassy taste that accompanies a habanero pepper.  I wish I could have that much heat without the funny weed taste.

But I really needed an endorphin boost when I walked in here, and I asked them to make everything as spicy as they could make it.  Before I knew it, I was happily swallowing a wonderfully spicy meal that squarely hit my palate.  My face was hot and my nose was dripping and I felt pretty damn happy for the rest of the evening.  And I couldn't taste any of the weird plant taste that I often taste in habaneros.

Of course, when I come here and want something mild, they're equally accomodating.  They often try to be as helpful as possible, recommending new dishes for me to try.  Their ceviche is fresh and delicious,  and all their meats are flavorful and moist - never stringy.

They didn't skimp on the cilantro, like a lot of taquerias do to me (many places assume I prefer lettuce and cheese because I'm not Mexican), and they brought me green sauce without me asking for it.  

In other words, they treat me warmly and just like a discriminating Mexican customer, and I never had to ask them to.

If you consider the whole package, definitely the best little taqueria I've been to in Chicago.

edit: oh, and I forgot to mention it earlier - they have HORCHATA SMOOTHIES.  Delicious.