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La Cocinita Venezuelan

La Cocinita Venezuelan
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  • La Cocinita Venezuelan

    Post #1 - May 26th, 2016, 12:31 pm
    Post #1 - May 26th, 2016, 12:31 pm Post #1 - May 26th, 2016, 12:31 pm
    Evanston Lunch Group™ over-ordered at La Cocininta yesterday. It was all good.

    La Cocinita began as a food truck, but even after moving into a brick and mortar location (formerly Greek Fire Grill), it's still a food truck experience. It was fairly crowded for a Wednesday lunch, but the joint was able to handle the nine of us ... in fact, the many dishes we ordered appeared fairly quickly (except for the horchata – they were out, and explained they were in the midst of the 24 hours it takes to make a fresh batch).

    I wasn't able to get pix of everything we ordered (and many of the offerings looked pretty similar) but here's a sampling:

    CarneAsada.jpg
    The Carne Asada Patacones used plantains to contain the steak, slaw and cheese.

    Empanadas.jpg
    We also ordered the Empanadas Trio - chicken, beef and pork. Good luck trying to guess which one this is.

    Tacos.jpg
    Similarly, we ordered three tacos – carne aside, braised chicken and pulled pork. All were stuffed with rice and beans, plus purple cabbage slaw and cogito cheese. (Can you guess which one this is?)

    arepas.jpg
    But possibly the best reason to visit La Cocinita is for the arepas, basically small cornmeal-based sandwiches. We ordered El Pabellon ( shredded beef), La Reina Pepiada (avocado chicken salad), EL Puerto, and El Vegano (should be pretty easy to tell what's in the latter two).

    Overall, I thought the food was good, and it's great to have a new cuisine in downtown Evanston. It's not a destination; there were no stand-out dishes, and I think the tacos, in particular, were fine, but there are better tacos at places that specialize in tacos (I'm looking forward to Tacos Diablo re-opening in its new building a few blocks away soon). But if you're in the neighborhood, it's worth a visit. If you're planning to share, though, be sure to bring your Swiss Army knife. The plastic knives just don't cut it.

    La Cocinita Venezuelan
    1625 Chicago Ave
    Evanston, IL 60201
    (847) 332-1625
  • Post #2 - May 26th, 2016, 1:02 pm
    Post #2 - May 26th, 2016, 1:02 pm Post #2 - May 26th, 2016, 1:02 pm
    I agree with nr706's assessment. The food was good and is a nice addition to downtown Evanston's lunch scene. The fried foods were very competently done, and the meats were fine but nothing special. The arepas were quite good, and I liked the maduros, but then I almost always like maduros. It's counter ordering with table service, and server Antwon was cheerful, friendly, and helpful--if only he had had a real knife for us. We'll see if La Cocinita can survive in this spot.
  • Post #3 - May 26th, 2016, 1:04 pm
    Post #3 - May 26th, 2016, 1:04 pm Post #3 - May 26th, 2016, 1:04 pm
    Yes, I forgot to mention that service was exemplary.
  • Post #4 - May 29th, 2016, 8:35 pm
    Post #4 - May 29th, 2016, 8:35 pm Post #4 - May 29th, 2016, 8:35 pm
    I think that there was consensus that the Arepas are the reason to visit, although I thought that the panacones were impressive as well. Tacos were ok. No horchata. Yes, we did over-order, but it was in the best tradition of GWiv. And Antwon was a graceful host.

    If only Venezuela the country could live up to La Cocinita the restaurant.
    Toast, as every breakfaster knows, isn't really about the quality of the bread or how it's sliced or even the toaster. For man cannot live by toast alone. It's all about the butter. -- Adam Gopnik
  • Post #5 - July 18th, 2024, 6:22 am
    Post #5 - July 18th, 2024, 6:22 am Post #5 - July 18th, 2024, 6:22 am
    Come this September, the Downtown Evanston South American restaurant La Cocinita plans to move around the corner to 521 Davis St.

    https://evanstonroundtable.com/2024/07/ ... -and-more/
    Never order barbecue in a place that also serves quiche - Lewis Grizzard
  • Post #6 - January 25th, 2025, 10:16 am
    Post #6 - January 25th, 2025, 10:16 am Post #6 - January 25th, 2025, 10:16 am
    La Cocinita will open for business at their new location at 521 Davis St. Saturday, offering an expanded menu and more seating space than their previous space at 1625 Chicago Ave.

    https://evanstonroundtable.com/2025/01/ ... ree-fryer/
    Never order barbecue in a place that also serves quiche - Lewis Grizzard

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