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Ha! I didnt even realize discussion ended yesterday for GNRs.. oh well

FWIW, was at Tierra Caliente last week - about 4pm, hardly anyone about. Took 2 Al Pastor tacos to go, ate one in the car.. and promptly went back in for another. Maybe Ive just been lucky, but pretty much every time when Ive been there, it seems to have come off the spit and is very good. (I havent had particularly good asada there however.. usually just stick to the Pastor nowadays. Has anyone had really good Asada there? Comparable to, say, Las Asadas at its best etc?)

c8w

Yes. Many times, but usually the times when they are the most busy are the best for getting carne asada right off the grill. The opposite is ture of the Al Pastor. Pick your poison.

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Steve Z.
Photographer/Pseudojournalist

"The only time to eat diet food is while you’re waiting for the steak to cook." - Julia Child

No. The al pastor is superb but the carne asada is to me sub-par. Not as good as the grilled asada at Asadero for example. But as I said the al pastor really reminds me of Mexico.

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trpt2345

I've only been here once, but I too thought the asada was not as good as some other places, tho the potential is there. I'd just assume that if I had a bigger sample set of TC's asada, there would be some killer samples in there. I've been to Las Asadas a TON of times, and Asadero a bunch. There have been bad a few days at each. But Asada's stuff when it's ON is just insanely good stuff. I had some on Monday, as a matter of fact, and yes, my mouth is watering right now.

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

Glorious al pastor Friday noon.

Friday noon, Tierra Caliente



Meltingly tender barbacoa hidden under an avalanche of cilantro, onion and BYOJ (bring your own Jolokia)



Bhut Jolokia courtesy of lunch mate MBH, counter man kindly diced and added to onions and cilantro for our use. He declined MBH's kind offer of a taste.

Onion, Cilantro, Bhut Jolokia



Salted grilled house jalapenos seemed candy cane mild after Jolokia.

Salted Grilled Jalapeno



Take out salsa production line



TC dead-on today noon, a worthy GNR.

Enjoy,
Gary

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

Low & Slow

Those were hot, thanks to my friend for growing these because they're pretty tempermental. I got a little worried when the counterman refused a taste, but they were diluted enough with onions, cilantro and pastor that I was able to eat them. Lovely photo's Mr. Wiv.

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For what we choose is what we are. He should not miss this second opportunity to re-create himself with food. Jim Crace "The Devil's Larder"

stopped inn for 2
this is one of the top spots

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philw bbq cbj for kcbs &M.I.M. carolina pit masters

Adding to the praise of the al pastor tacos at Tierra Caliente. My husband and I visited for the first time this past Sunday. I stuck with al Pastor, but my husband also tried tacos de lengua & the chile relleno taco. He was quite happy with the lengua (not for me). But equally unhappy with the chile relleno taco...too greasy. We will definitely be back for more al pastor. Oh and I love love love that they serve green salsa.

Stopped in w/my fiancee for late breakfast en route to taking her to work. The trompo was empty (too early) but was steered towards the barbacoa, which was a special and was excellent. Larger chunks than Pasadita (which is shredded) and really nice. Deep, deep beef flavor that fared quite well w/squeeze of lime, salsa and some avocado that I asked for. Also got some self serve carnitas for later from the hot box next to the meat coolers. On weekends it's self serve w/any and all nasty bits you want sold by the lb. What will be a few servings for my midnight snack cost me $2.50. Got hooked up w/some menudo as well, just to try. Broth was excellent (added lime, cilantro, onions, dry arbols) although the tripe was a bit to strong and soft for my love. When I told her it was traditionally hangover food which is why you see it mainly on weekend mornings, she'd said she couldn't imagine eating it for that and that it must be cultural and would prefer a cheeseburger. Truthfully, me too, but you don't turn down a gift. $10 total and muy sabroso. So lucky to have this gem in my hood.

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"In pursuit of joys untasted"
from Giuseppe Verdi's La Traviata

Been about 6 months since anyones posted in this thread, but I went on Friday for lunch and thought it was important to let everyone know this place is still churning out the best pastor I've ever tasted. I was actually in Tulum, Mexico for about a week earlier in the month and didn't think I ate anything while down there that compared. Friday confirmed my suspicions

Fantastic lunch today.

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Amen brother. Taqueria Asadero doesn't get the love it deserves.

Tulum, is of course, in Quintana Roo, in Yucatan, far from the fields of al pastor. Al pastor really centers around Mexico City. You can't get good al pastor in Vera Cruz, that's for sure and the Pacific coast is spotty. (Not that many trompos in Acapulco). But man oh man, it's great in Mexico City. We used to go to a place in the north suburbs which was famous because a woman in labor stopped by on the way to the hospital to order fifty al pastor tacos to keep up her strength for the labor ahead.

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trpt2345

Pinterest-worthy! Thanks, Jeff.

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Food & Flowers: Late spring at the Shakespeare Garden, Northwestern University; new views of the Fargo/Hoyne Bee & Butterfly Garden, Rogers Park, Chicago

Popped in for lunch today. Carne Asada was BUTTER. Lacked any charry bits, but it was tender as all get out, and strong beefy flavor. BUTTER. Bowl of roasted chiles caught me off guard. First one I bit into was searing hot. Pastor was still best in area, imo, tho, the trompo looked like it had only been cooking for a few minutes. Tha pastor I got was a tad on the dripping wet side as opposed to nicely done with charred bits. On offer today was "tacos de Montalyano." I had no idea what it was, so natch, I had to have one. I asked the guy at the counter who pointed too his belly, and moved his finger up and down while saying "goat." I'm game. I asked if it was a specific part, and he said no. From what I gathered, as he was listing off gut names, was that it was just a big ol conglomeration o guts, and I was right. Gut enthusiasts, you may wanna check these out.



Gut non-enthusiasts, run far, far, away.

One bite was all I could handle.

There were several different textures going on in one bite. Crunchy, rubbery, creamy, smooth parts, parts with bumps...The texture didn't kill me, but the flavor did. Strong, gamey, livery, organy. Those who squeam at offal DEFINITELY need not apply here. I made the joke of "Why aren't these free?" and both of the counter guys busted out laughing. Apparently, there are quite a few ppl, he said, that really like these. He then went on to surmise that I was not one of them.

No biggie. Glad I tried it.

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

Not sure what it says about me, but Seebee's description "parts with bumps" pretty much assures I will be at TC in the next couple of days.

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

Low & Slow

Having gone here for about five years, and having focused exclusively on the Al Pastor, I would recommend asking them to make it crispy (throw it on the flat top for a few minutes). The result, in my opinion, is fantastic. It allows for the crispiness and caramelization which is sometimes absent from meat cut not from the edges of the meat, or if they're busy and the spit doesn't have enough time to brown again.

My wife and I had 1:30 pm lunch here on Saturday, after narrowly choosing it over Antique Taco. Al pastor, off the nicely caramelized trompo was really delicious, charred and juicy. Lengua was meaty and unctuous as it always seems to be here. Carne asada was dry, chewy and lifeless but hey, 2 out of 3 ain't bad. Total cost for 6 tacos, 2 drinks and tip was $17 and we were full. A great value.

=R=

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viewtopic.php?f=16&t=7259

"What is Montalayo?" is the question best answered by the above thread from where else.

Thanks, Jeff. From the pics above, it actually kooks like Mexican larb khun on a tortilla.

=R=

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I just wanna live until I gotta die. I know I ain't perfect but God knows I try. --Todd Snider

Spit out the gum, sister!

Twitter: ronniesuburban

Godspeed, my friend.

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

Of course I thought the same damn thing.

Do they still use the cone for the al pastor rotisserie?

Had a nice lunch with a friend I had not seen in a while, great tacos, better chat.



And then, almost as an afterthought......................Montalayo




You were so very right.

Chivo offal is probably tasty in the "Montalayo" but what was served was dried out and, I'm guessing, 5-6 days old. In Tierra Caliente's defense, Montalayo was not on the specials board, but made available when I asked. Special today was a torta with pollo milanesa and terrific looking shrimp soup.

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

Low & Slow

Driving down Ashland on Saturday, we decided we were too hungry to skip lunch after all. Popped into Tierra Caliente for a few pastor tacos. I wished the pork had a bit more char on it, but the place was packed with hungry customers and the taqueros were forced to cut from the trompo too often to yield many crusty bits. Still, even finished on the griddle, the flavor was great and the pastor really hit the spot. The green salsa was fiery and delicious and better than I remember it.

--Rich

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I don't know what you think about dinner, but there must be a relation between the breakfast and the happiness. --Cemal Süreyya

I've come to terms with not always getting al pastor freshly charred and carved right off the trompo. It's just not always possible/practical, no matter which taqueria you visit. At least they have a decent excuse, and being busy is not a bad thing. I guess the best way for them to solve the problem would be to have dual trompos and run 2 during peak hours alternating servings...

On a related side note, I visited Uptown Taqueria during a very lazy weeknight around dinner time. Business was slow, but that is no excuse for the giant pile of al pastor already off the trompo waiting to be reheated on the griddle. Or maybe the excuse was to avoid having under-cooked meat sitting suspended on the tompo. Either way, it only makes me more sad because the flavor of the meat was great and it would have been wonderful charred on the trompo. I've had recommendations from a few native Mexicans who previously praised Uptown as the best in Chicago. This was before I told them to try Tierra Caliente. Most of them have switched over to TC fans now. They think it's hilarious that a gringo showed them the new best place in town! I don't mean to put Uptown down too much, it was still up there with the better pastor i have had in Chicago, and I'll definitely be back when passing through the area.

I'm currently enjoying a few tacos at tierra caliente topped with BYO-bari-giardiniera. Really delicious, as you'd expect.

What a great idea! I've got to try that.

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Steve Z.
Photographer/Pseudojournalist

"The only time to eat diet food is while you’re waiting for the steak to cook." - Julia Child

This is what cultural exchange is all about.

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trpt2345

Montalayo was on the specials board yesterday at TC. Freshly made it appealed in a funky offal fashion, put me in mind of the Northern Larb at Aroy Thai

Montalayo, Tierra Caliente

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

Low & Slow