Taqueria El Milagro

I did some last minute Christmas shopping at the dump that is known as North Riverside Mall and was torn as to where to eat. So many mediocre places like McDonalds, Taco Bell, Sbarro, Subway, and then this place. I was hesitant, but gave it a try and for $6 my boyfriend and I got enough food to split and feel satiated. We got  grilled chicken, peppered lettuce, rice, and beans - and everything was really tasty.  I feel like a dweeb saying this, but it's totally a "hidden gem" and I will definitely be back!

I was so ready to write a good review for this place. I really enjoyed the tamale plate I had. I love Mexican food; it's my favorite. However, after a while I got extremely bad food poisoning and sincerely regretted going there. It's a shame, cuz the food tasted so good, but it was my first experience going here while I was at North Riverside Mall, and it just did me in really badly later that night. I'm not entirely sure what got me sick. It could have been the fact that some of their items like the rice and beans have been sitting for a while under hot lamps. I don't know for sure. Needless to say, I won't be coming back anytime soon.

The tamales here are great and for a very reasonable price (I think $12 for a dozen).  They are on the smaller side but so much easier than trying to make them yourself at home.  I love the pork tamales and buy them by the dozen - you can freeze them and eat some later though ours usually don't last too long in the freezer.