pigOut wrote:I've recently been turned on to the wonders of beef tongue, and got a lengua and an al pastor taco which were both fantastic.
PigOut wrote:
I had a Canpechano taco (or was it Campechano, I should have paid better attention to the menu), which was described on the menu as being steak and marinated pork. Indeed, what I received was a delicious and generous mix of steak and al pastor. Now I've gotta try that steak and chorizo mix Gary mentioned.
laikom wrote:PigOut wrote:
I had a Canpechano taco (or was it Campechano, I should have paid better attention to the menu), which was described on the menu as being steak and marinated pork. Indeed, what I received was a delicious and generous mix of steak and al pastor. Now I've gotta try that steak and chorizo mix Gary mentioned.
What gary mentioned was the weekend only campechano. Which is carnitas and chorizo, not steak. It's only weekends becuase the carnitas is only weekends. It's my favorite carnitas, in the city. Actually most tacos from tierra caliente are my favorites, not just in the city, but in the world. Mexico City included.
stevez wrote:Does anyone know how late they stay open?
laikom wrote:Why? Are we making you hungry?
laikom wrote:BTW, not sure if it's been mentioned on any of the other tierra caliente threads, but the other location, on Armitage west of western, is 99% as good as the original location. The staff was recognizable from the original location, so it makes sense that the food was as good.
Carniceria y Taqueria, Tierra Caliente 2
2556 West Armitage Avenue,
Chicago, IL
(773) 486-8843
vegmojo wrote:I fell in love with Al Pastor tacos last year when I spent some time in Mexico City. After eating some pretty disappointing versions here in Chicago, I had pretty much given up eating Al Pastor north of the border.
After reading this thread, however, I decided maybe Tierra Caliente could take away the workday blues and transport me back to my travels in Mexico City. The verdict... well, I'm going to have to reiterate the recommendation upthread to get the Al Pastor tacos "crispy". I failed to do so, and received a generous helping of mushy, toothless pork.
As I shop at Guanajuato for groceries (about a block north) pretty regularly, I'll definitely give it another shot. As a side note, Guanajuato's cafeteria was packed a two in the afternoon. Is it that much better or just more visible?
MJ
vegmojo wrote:After reading this thread, however, I decided maybe Tierra Caliente could take away the workday blues and transport me back to my travels in Mexico City. The verdict... well, I'm going to have to reiterate the recommendation upthread to get the Al Pastor tacos "crispy". I failed to do so, and received a generous helping of mushy, toothless pork.
MJ
Jed wrote:vegmojo wrote:After reading this thread, however, I decided maybe Tierra Caliente could take away the workday blues and transport me back to my travels in Mexico City. The verdict... well, I'm going to have to reiterate the recommendation upthread to get the Al Pastor tacos "crispy". I failed to do so, and received a generous helping of mushy, toothless pork.
MJ
I've had both my best and worst Chicago Al Pastor experiences on two recent visits to Tierra Caliente. The first was everything as wonderful as has been described upthread. The second was yesterday where I received an overstuffed taco of mushy, sour, salty meat. To my untrained eye, I couldn't say why one was wonderful and the other awful.
laikom wrote:was this at the Ashland or Armitage location?
Previously i had praised the newer, Armitage location as being as good as the Ashland location. I'm going to have to take that back now, I have had sub-par pastor at the Armitage location, which I would describe similarly to how you do, too much flavor and mushy. Almost tasted saucy like some of the ketchupy ones other places do up on the griddle. On the other hand in 100 or so tacos I've had at the ashland location, i have not had a bad taco, pastor or otherwise.
seebee wrote:Anyone out there have a translation for "Right off of the cone and into a hot tortilla - please do not cook it on the grill."
(?)
JeffB wrote:If they are that busy, you order the carne asada or come back later. (I know you know that, but it bears repeating.)
aschie30 wrote:To explain, I think there's this lore about TC that doesn't exactly bear out in reality
stevez wrote:aschie30 wrote:To explain, I think there's this lore about TC that doesn't exactly bear out in reality
It sounds like Tierra Caliente might not be the place for you. It's not like there aren't any other taquerias in Chicago. Go somewhere else if you're not happy. Personally, I've found that if you order intelligently, as has been outline time and time again in this thread, TC is one of the most outstanding taco experiences in the city (and yes, the time of day you go does make a difference and should enter into the equation).
JeffB wrote: I have never seen anything else put in that little 'wave, by the way.)