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Another thing -
Since grillworkers, cows, and peppers are not created in a lab, your experiences have the propensity to vary at each place on a day to day basis. Also, for steaks tacos, peak rush times are generally the best times to go if you prefer the places that fire grill the steak.

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We cannot be friends if you do not know the difference between Mayo and Miracle Whip.

Sure, but if you attempt to position yourself as the Top Taquería, you need to have the type of rock solid consistancy worthy of 5/5 Sombreros at any given time.

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Cheetos are my favorite snack atm.

I would still try going during lunch and/or dinner.

As an example, even the best, GNR nominated, BBQ spots target the food coming off of the smoker just before the lunch and dinner rush. Off of those times the quality will suffer.

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"Make Lunch, Not War" ~ Anon

I agree with you 157%.
That being said, if you find your favorite spot after visiting 8 places ONCE, and then you go back to that spot the second time, and it's not as good as you remembered it being (better or worse) don't be surprised. Don't be surprised if the meat is chewier, or more tender, saltier or less salty, or the salsa is hotter or weaker. The grillworkers, cows, and peppers are not cloned in a lab. Consistency can be lacking at these joints. They might get a not so stellar supply of skirt, a supply of jalapenos that is kinda weak (or firey beyond belief,) and you might get a few pieces of skirt in one of your tacos that somehow got a too healthy dose of seasoning. If you go to a taco joint with regularity, you'll KNOW this. It just happens. These places aren't outposts of David Burke's Primehouse. They are shacks throwing meat into warm tortillas. Just a hunch, but I'm guessing that the workers are not making 6 figures a year to give a rat's butt about turning away meat that looks sinewy, or tasting each batch of carne asada for uniform seasoning and doneness on each piece, or making sure that each batch of salsa has the exact same scoville unit measurements. I'll never say a joint has the best taco in the city, but I will say, that on it's best day, it is the best I've ever had so far. That honor for me would go to Las Asadas. I've had some crap there, but it is routinely pretty damn good for steak tacos. I'd say that I've gotten crap maybe one out of every twenty times I've gone, and it probably runs at phenomenal about 70%, and very good the rest of the time (IMO, of course.) I've never encountered steak there that I would trade for any of the griddle fried mystery steak that most of the Chicagoland taquerias slop out, however.

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We cannot be friends if you do not know the difference between Mayo and Miracle Whip.

Nav,

I disagree Baja Fresh offers rock solid consistency, Carniceria Y Taqueria (was Carniceria Leon) offers terrific tacos, albeit at different times of the day. For drop-dead gorgeous Al Pastor go on an off hour when the wheel has time to crisp up.

11am Al Pastor wheel plump, juicy, crisp, glistening



12:30 lunch rush, Carne Asada hot and fast on the grill, lovely char. Al Pastor wheel in heavy play, no char/crisp





General rule, in the mood for al pastor, go at a slightly off hour, in the mood for carne asada, lunch rush is for you.

Enjoy,
Gary

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Sauce on the side, always, implied, axiomatic..........never a doubt, BBQ sauce without.

Low & Slow

Just got back from Las Asadas (peak lunch hora). Caught an LTHer in line. Its Taco Time!

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Cheetos are my favorite snack atm.

Excellent one-post primer on how to optimize your taqueria experience from G Wiv there. Dead solid advice, everyone should laminate it and stick it in their wallet.

Some years ago there was a guy on another board who wanted to do a taco comparison. For a standard of comparison, he chose... chicken tacos. Which are basically only on the menu for the gringos, and certainly wouldn't be the specialty of 99.9% of taquerias in Chicago or much of anywhere. Pretty much from right there, he guaranteed that his survey wouldn't tell anybody anything worth knowing.

I think you have to play to places' strengths. In terms of time, in terms of what they're good at. Great steak places may have sucky fake pastor. This does not make them better or worse-- it makes them steak places, not pastor places, and vice versa.

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Yep. Gary nailed it here, NAV MAN. You want 100% consistency, you're working against the laws of physics. It simply isn't possible.

Reading this thread on an empty stomach and running a little low on foodstuffs after the long weekend, I decided to trundle down to Las Asadas for some lunchtime goodness. Who should I run into but the author of my taco craving, NAV MAN himself (conveniently sporting a self-identifying t-shirt). I'd say "great minds" except I so clearly had been swayed by the power of suggestion (and taco photos).

So, sir, what's the verdict?

My tacos - asada, natch - were about par for the place, not a birdie. The only grilling going on was some chicken, and the only device I saw involved in the preparation of my taco was a microwave, so I gotta assume the meat had been cooked before I got there. Too bad - there's nothing like the asada when it's straight from the line. Still, a fine lunch.

Oops - I see NAV MAN already chimed in on his first post. Glad you enjoyed.

I ordered after they put the beef on, so Kafkaespue bait and switch by the crew notwithstanding, I think I got my carne asada hot of the presses.

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Cheetos are my favorite snack atm.

"Tacos & Burritos"
Song about Chicago taquerias: http://amiestreet.com/music/rock-star-club/bienvenidos-a-grand-y-western/tacos-and-burritos

Can anybody rep for a Naperville Taquería?

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Cheetos are my favorite snack atm.

Probably not in the BEST category, but if you're stuck in the western burbs, give Buenos Dias Burritos a shot. Definitely the best in the area.

Buenos Dias Burritos
919 W Irving Park Rd
Itasca, IL 60143
(630) 250-7666

Um, By the way -

LOL!!!

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We cannot be friends if you do not know the difference between Mayo and Miracle Whip.

When I worked in Naperville I would sometimes drive out to Aurora for tacos. There are several recommended places out that way.

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"Make Lunch, Not War" ~ Anon

Maybe it works as a general rule, but unfortunately some places just turn off the pastor spit during slow hours, so not only do you get uncrisped meat, you also get meat of questionable safety.

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...defended from strong temptations to social ambition by a still stronger taste for tripe and onions." Screwtape in The Screwtape Letters by CS Lewis

Fuckerberg on Food

If the al pastor spit is off, do not eat there. Same goes for gyros, shawarma and any other meat on a spit.

Common sense, which you have in abundance, rules.

Enjoy,
Gary

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Sauce on the side, always, implied, axiomatic..........never a doubt, BBQ sauce without.

Low & Slow

Made my first visit to Carniceria Y Taqueria Tierra Caliente at 1:30 today. The pastor didn't have a ton of charr/crispness, but it wasn't completely lacking either. Nonetheless, pretty satisfying tacos, although it's a shame the tortillas are nuked in a microwave. Also, from what I could tell the grill wasn't in operation and the carne asada was coming out of the "meat bucket." Loved the gratis baskets of grilled/roasted jalapenos. Has anyone tried the lengua or cabeza tacos?

Al Pastor Tacos

Sure. I don't think they are as special as the other meats can be; then again, since cabeza and lengua are more in the "guisado" or stew category, they presumably don't suffer from being kept warm in a pot (or, the gratuitously pejorative, but funny, "meat bucket"). If you look, there's no griddle at (was) C. Leon. As regards the steak and pastor, I consider that to be a good thing in general -- it makes re-heating on the griddle impossible and avoids the laziness that often turns the pastor spit into little more than decoration. On the other hand, there's no griddle to warm tortillas. I hate microwaves for most of their misguided applications. For corn tortillas and crab legs, I make an exception. It actually works pretty well and is done at some outstanding taquerias. Nuking meat is a dealbreaker, though.

Stopped by Burrito Amigo to get the picture as promised and I even thought I timed it right as I seemed to recall that they pulled and fired up the spit around 5:00 pm we arrived about 5:30 expecting the place to be bustling and the spit to be cooking on all burners.

Nope! While the spit was in place and loaded with a fresh meat the meat was disappointingly raw and not even rotating.

I asked the guy if if the spit was ready and he mentioned it was and even turned it a bit to show a bit of char on the side to the burners.

I ordered and watched him assemble it and into the Bucket-o-Grease he went. I even went as far as to ask for some fresh char and he said the procedure was to carve it off and into the bucket it goes.

While not the worst I have had it was nothing like I was dreaming it could be.



Not much char if any.

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"Make Lunch, Not War" ~ Anon

Sorry if my use of "meat bucket" offended anyone...I've just seen the term used to describe meat that's kept in a pot and put into tacos/burritos.

Not me. Like I said, it's a funny, crude twist. Like describing someone's mouth as a pie hole.

Nav Man, these places are calling your name. (And mine, since they're some of my usual spots)

Las Brisas (51st & Kedzie) - Pastor tacos & Asada tacos in handmade tortillas.

Paco's Tacos (60th & Pulaski) - I always get the borrego, even though carnitas and deshebrada are usually also great.

La Cebollita (47th St & Kolin Ave, in between Cicero & Pulaski) - Pastor tacos. If you're there on the weekend, also get a side of nopales salad, they make it with olive oil and it's the best I've had.

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"Did you know that all food in NC is served on a biscuit? I ordered a biscuit - it came inside another biscuit. It was like turducken, but all biscuit."
~ Al Madrigal, The Daily Show

I have found barbacoa to be pretty bland at almost every taco place I have been.

NAV MAN - you still out on the warpath?

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Fundamentals are a crutch for the talentless

NAV MAN is experiencing technical difficulties with the NAV CAM right now. Have two more entries in the can and should have them webside in a jiff. No fear Pronta, NAV MANs got more Taco's then Carter's got pills.

Also, although not technically allowed to compete I have given an honorable mention to Nuevo Leon, which won:

CHIEF CHORIZO!

Went there yesterday and that baby packed more tang then the pre-combustion Challenger, pics to come.

Cabrito,

Your taco trifecta is a little south of the NAV MAN's striking distance. Havent been south of The Cell since Diane Chambers and Sam Malone were still hot and heavy.

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Cheetos are my favorite snack atm.

So you're just going for "Top Taco, close to me, mainly northside"

That hurts, ab.

The NAV PLAN is to take a picture of the winning taco maker wearing the shirt I had them whip up at the T Shirt Deli. It says:

NAV MAN's
TOP TAQUERíA

Its a soft, american apparel, grey number that should fit most tacomasters well. Keep an eye out for the winner's pic.

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Cheetos are my favorite snack atm.

I'm relieved you're back. I was very worried when you referred to yourself in the first person in Spanish upthread.

That homemade chorizo at Nuevo Leon is indeed fantastic; good pick.

Prior to this week I had never eaten al pastor, now I have had them twice and have become my favorites. I had my first at the place on 1400 Ashland and they were so good, fresh of the spit and well dressed. I got a few pieces of char and they were so so good, that place is my gold standard. Tonight i tried the place 5200 on Grand. They were on the spit, but they were finished on the grill. The place was packed at 7 PM on a Saturday so that may account for the grill finish. They were good but nowhere near the flavor the ones on Ashland had.

Carniceria Y Taqueria (was Carniceria Leon)
1400 N Ashland
Chicago, IL 60622
773-772-9804

Burrito Amigo
5238 W Grand Ave
Chicago, IL