Taqueria El Asadero

Their steak tacos are really good.  There is no where else i will eat them and their salsa has a great taste too. The locale is extremely casual. Its just a eat and go kind of place, so if you are planning an evening out this isnt the place. Instead try carry out.

Also, only cash! Thats the only bad part but hey, with this taste Ill ditch the plastic amd pay paper.

It is a little pathetic how many conversations my husband and I have had about the carne asada burrito here. We agree it is the best either of us have ever had and we try to figure out why. So far we believe that it is the incredibly seasoned and perfectly grilled skirt steak that fills  half the burrito accompanied by finely chopped lettuce, tomato, cilantro, and onion. Extras like beans, rice, cheese, etc. would just ruin it and the next question remains, why does not everyone inherit this recipe. This burrito is the freshest, lightest, and most delicious I have ever had and it will be hard to move away from El Asadero when we leave Chicago. When we do leave, I can only imagine how many conversations we are going to have about how much we miss this perfect burrito.

My boyfriend and I were looking for a casual, low key eatery for Valentine's Day, so we decided to go to one of the many taquerias in the neighborhood. Upon arriving, it was a very no frills restaurant with bright orange plastic booths, a soap opera blaring in the background, and a surprisingly loud crowd for 6pm on a Thursday. We made our way up to the register to put in our order and seated ourselves. After a few minutes they brought over the cups we requested for partaking in their BYOB policy (note they only have LARGE styrofoam cups, which isn't ideal for most poured beverages). We quickly poured our bomber of beer and began sipping on it while we waited for our food to arrive.

After about 5 minutes or so, our order of guacamole and chips came out with a side of their green salsa. The chips were as all the yelpers before me have indicated--perfectly crispy and freshly fried with just the right amount of grease. They reminded me of home-fried chips from corn tortillas, absolutely fantastic. The guacamole was also freshly made and the avocados were perfectly ripe, making the onion, tomato, and cilantro flavors come through nicely. The green salsa was very spicy, yet flavorful, but a little bit of this goes a long way so proceed with caution!

After about 15 minutes the rest of our order came out  after we sat ogling at the cooks freshly slicing the meat and cooking it over the open flame. It was fantastic to know that your order truly is made to order, and it well warrants the wait. We went with the carne asada burrito and two of the al pastor tacos. The carne asada burrito is essentially just a giant taco, so please note that you're essentially getting the same thing between the options of tacos and burritos. Regardless, the carne asada really shines here--the meat has a nice char flavor to it that comes from being cooked on the open flame, along with the basics of salt and pepper. The simplicity of the cilantro and onion really makes the steak flavor pop, and you're happy that it isn't sodden with beans, sour cream, and cheese. I've never had a Mexican dish that was prepared this way, but I will definitely come back to eat this again and again.

After reading the mixed reviews of the al pastor, I was a little hesitant to order it. I'm glad we put that aside because I LOVED the al pastor taco. The pork was thinly sliced like the carne asada, and it was loaded up with slightly spicy seasonings. The cilantro and onion combination also worked well for this taco, and I'd highly recommend it if you're a pork fan.

We determined that on our next trip we'd probably just stick to the tacos in lieu of another burrito just for the size and ability to try a wider variety of their meat selection. They were sadly out of chorizo, but I'll be looking for that next time.

For your trip remember that it's BYOB and cash only. Enjoy!