Finally I can get a cocktail out west. Got into Tin Roof in Joliet on Friday night - they opened back in August. Cool urban type spot in an old brick building on the same street as the theatre in downtown Joliet. Craft cocktails for $8. I went off menu for a Sazerac which was perfectly made & knocked me on my ass(this was our 2nd stop), a taste of the rum old fashioned my buddy had was alright. Real bartenders here, know their liquor and have all the eye droppers of flavors to concoct a fine drink. Another bonus $1 PBR tallboys all day - every day... Full food menu as well. Gonna be a regular.

Tin Roof
158 N. Chicago
Joliet, IL.

http://www.tinroofjoliet.com/

A couple doors down a new taco spot opened earlier this year as well - These two spots kind of popped up on me - we dont usually hang downtown Joliet - more in the neighborhoods. So Blue Taco - a modern taco spot ll call it. Jerk tacos, pork belly tacos, asian steak, etc. tasty proteins, alot of toppings. Not bad - I did like that they served beer.

Blue Taco
108 N. Chicago
Joliet, IL.

Almost forgot - before we went to drinks at Tin Roof we passed by Home Cut donuts and I pulled in - been craving an apple fritter and some jelly filled donuts for a bit. Got my fix. Fritters were nice - lots of deep fried nooks and crannies. Jellies - are they ever bad? - Nice that they are open 24 hours -

Home Cut Donuts
815 W. Jefferson
Joliet, IL.

http://www.homecutdonuts.com/

An update re: a spots upthread - Stefanich has new owners - havent tried its since the change.

WTF - no Joliets posts by me in over a year - I must be slipping - I still get into Joliet maybe once a month - not as often as back in the day.

Tin Roof for cocktails is still a must - might be the best place for a craft cocktail that I have found in the burbs west of Chicago.

Croatian Club is also a must for cheap, cold drafts and some great people watching -

Ended up back at Taqueria El Zarape this past friday night - big fan of any cutlet of meat - went with chicken and it was fire. -





Trompo wasnt fired up on this visit, so the sandwich was it -

I havent been to Cemita's Puebla in years - gave up on keeping up with where they are moving next - but the Cemita at El Zarape is on the level with what I remember CP to have offered.

YMMV

jimswside wrote:Saw the sign for this spot a few weeks ago, put it on the short list. Hole in the wall spot in a tiny strip mall.
Laid back cats running the place.

First visit & first stop so I went light, (1) asada(steak), (1) abodaba(pork), (1) birria. Also a sliced avocado. Chips and squirt bottle sauces at the table were good, green great. Tacos were really good, hard to choose which was best(abodaba). Steak & pork were packed with flavor, birria was tender and good as well.

Thinking the birria platter will be ordered on my next visit.

Birrieria Y Taqueria Ochoa
2210 W. Jefferson (Route 52) Unit B
Joliet, IL.

FYI, this place has been torn down, the strip mall is no longer

jimswside wrote:
Ended up back at Taqueria El Zarape this past friday night - big fan of any cutlet of meat - went with chicken and it was fire. -





Trompo wasnt fired up on this visit, so the sandwich was it -

I havent been to Cemita's Puebla in years - gave up on keeping up with where they are moving next - but the Cemita at El Zarape is on the level with what I remember CP to have offered.

YMMV

seeing as the previous place I tried was closed, I headed to El Zarape. Spit was loaded with al pastor, so I had one taco and a cemita al pastor. While I haven't been to Cemitas Puebla in quite awhile, I'd say your comment above is spot on, both the taco & cemita were terrific.

REALLY enjoyed the homemade chips & salsa which was very bright in flavor with just a nice kick.

Thanks for the suggestion.

For those considering a trip, realize that El Zarape is east of I55 about 4 miles. (Shorewood RT 52 exit)

Edited to add: El Zarape serves pambazos. Also, didn't find a website but found a FB listing: https://www.facebook.com/search/2304945 ... cal_search

Tacqueria El Zarape
700 W Jefferson St
Joliet, IL 60435
(opens at 7am)

I have been spending quite a bit of time in Joliet lately, not a huge surprise since it is only about 20 minutes from Frankfort. When the weather warms up a bit, I would love to get JimSWside, and conduct a taco crawl similar to what has been done in Aurora.

Today, I tried Taqueria Atotonilco. Per the server's recommendation, I only tried two tacos. I am used to taqueria tacos being on the small side, and these were definitely much larger than the norm. I tried the birria, and the al pastor. The birria had that nice blend of crispy and fatty bits along with the very tender meat. It doesn't compare to the near perfection of Zaragoza (what does?), but it was very good. The Al Pastor is the specialty of the house, and the trompo was ready for action. They serve it with a fairly spicy red salsa, and plenty of cilantro and onion. Definitely among the best Al Pastor I have had. I will be back to try the other offerings. They seem to be open until 3 am on the weekends too!

Taqueria Atotolnilco
500 E. Cass St
Joliet IL
815.714.2390

Don't miss Marichkas at the 400 block of Theodore .Great garlic butterine sandwich and fried chicken. Reminds me of Wisconsin supper clubs.
Good for cold weather homemade soups.

Giving this a 4-year bump... haven't been to the Rialto Theater or Joliet in nearly 20 years. Looking for somewhere to grab a bite to eat and a few cocktails before a show at the Rialto. Blue Taco looks great but unfortunately it closes at 5.

We're coming from the Lisle area so even tho we'd prefer something close to the theater, anywhere in between would be good as well.

Any other suggestions would be ever so welcome!

Although we like CUT158 Chop House next to the Rialto, we found for pre-show dinner and drinks that a quick walk over to MyGrain Brewing was more to our liking for a lighter, quicker turn around, dining.

Don't let the "brewing" word throw you, they do have a full service bar with the traditional and specialty cocktails. We haven't had many misses in the food department, none that I can actually recall. It's not fine dining, but certainly not just bar food either.

The CUT158 ownership has a couple places right downtown there, we are wanting to try the tapas place they just opened across the street, Mousa Tapas, but haven't had a chance to get over there.

Willkat98 wrote:The CUT158 ownership has a couple places right downtown there, we are wanting to try the tapas place they just opened across the street, Mousa Tapas, but haven't had a chance to get over there.

Willkat98, we can't thank you enough for the Mousa Tapas mention. It was absolutely wonderful and perfect for a pre-show dinner & drinks!

Started out with a manhattan & a pumpkin martini. Manhattan was smooth & delicious, perfect for a cold & windy night. Pumpkin martini was good, although a little too sweet and creamy for my liking. Then onto another manhattan for me and a cucumber martini for my friend.

We had the following menu items:

* grilled octopus with with potatoes, heirloom tomatoes & balsamic. Absolutely scrumptious! We easily could've just had a few orders of this & been happy!

* Artichoke hearts, goat cheese, EVOO & red pepper served over tender arugula. Excellent choice!

* Fresh shrimp, chili, olive oil w/crostini. The shrimp were perfectly cooked, although this dish was extremely heavy on the sodium for our liking. Probably wouldn't order this again, but would definitely try another shrimp dish

* Eggplant dish that wasn't on the menu and we can't remember the name... pita bread topped with an eggplant mixture and possibly a creamy goat cheese & parmesan topping. At this point, we realized we had over ordered as the portions were very generous. We each took most of this home and it made a great breakfast with a fresh-laid egg on the side (our neighbor has chickens who have been very active lately)!

Loved the ambience, friendly service & background music choices. They were a little short-handed this particular night, possibly a result of pre-show diners like us. My friend's martini took about 1/2 hour to arrive, after we were finished eating & ready to head over to the theater. The waitress was very apologetic, but considering how long it took to arrive, we both felt it should've been comped or at least offered to take it back.

All in all, a great recommendation and we'd definitely dine there again next time we have tix for another show at the beautiful Rialto Theater!

I only know about Jax from a Patch article: Rax Roast Beef: A Joliet Tradition Since 1968, but it could be up our alley.

As for 2136 W. Jefferson St., in the Marycrest Shopping Center, "this was always right up there, top three, sometimes, we would be number one," Bucciarelli told Joliet Patch. "Food is food, but it depends on consistency. We have a great, great, staff. Some of the girls have been with me over 30 to 35 years, so the food is very consistent and very few complaints."
...
Fifty-six years ago, Joliet became the fifth Rax Roast Beef restaurant to open in the United States. At one time, Rax had roughly 500 restaurants scattered across the country. But as the decades passed, in many other parts of the country, Rax restaurants closed.
...
Joliet's Rax is best known for its regular roast beef sandwiches as well as its patented "BBC" sauce — beef, bacon and cheddar sauce.
...
Joliet's beloved Rax remains open seven days a week. It's open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and Sunday 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.

I think I have to go.

Cathy2 wrote:I only know about Jax from a Patch article: Rax Roast Beef: A Joliet Tradition Since 1968, but it could be up our alley.

As for 2136 W. Jefferson St., in the Marycrest Shopping Center, "this was always right up there, top three, sometimes, we would be number one," Bucciarelli told Joliet Patch. "Food is food, but it depends on consistency. We have a great, great, staff. Some of the girls have been with me over 30 to 35 years, so the food is very consistent and very few complaints."
...
Fifty-six years ago, Joliet became the fifth Rax Roast Beef restaurant to open in the United States. At one time, Rax had roughly 500 restaurants scattered across the country. But as the decades passed, in many other parts of the country, Rax restaurants closed.
...
Joliet's Rax is best known for its regular roast beef sandwiches as well as its patented "BBC" sauce — beef, bacon and cheddar sauce.
...
Joliet's beloved Rax remains open seven days a week. It's open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and Sunday 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.

I think I have to go.

Rax was something that, like Hardee's and A&W drive-ins, I only ever had on childhood road trips, mostly eastward. It was like my dad wanted only the lowest rent off-brand fast food (from an Illinois perspective of that era) while driving. WTF is a Taco John's? Let's stop at this Red Barn. Oh look, there's a Jack In the Box on this side of the highway. Time for Cracker Barrel. We ourselves just wanted McDonald's, Burger King, or Arby's. (Now with my kids it's Starbucks or Culver's).

Rax tasted like Arby's but with textures and flavors dialed down. Curly fries but with more of a baked potato center; shaved beef but thicker and somehow more homogenous, sort of like supermarket Buddig with added neutral moisture. They had no jamocha shake but they did serve kids' drinks in a plastic cup shaped like a huggable alligator. I am sure there is still one in the cupboard at my parents' house; Mold-A-Rama vibes, but more sucky.

The Joliet location might be fantastic for all I know. Hilariously, one of the most viewed videos of the pandemic era was about the chain's sadsack mascot of the early 90s, Mr. Delicious who might have singlehandedly killed the business were it not for their ongoing "Chinese-style food and pitas" identity crisis. There is a brilliant TVTropes entry I found later for him. This all makes me mostly wistful for Arby's, which itself is a dying breed in Illinois, but which the Simpsons will preserve forever.

Rax used to be a favorite of my wife's family in 1970s and 80s suburban Minneapolis. Not for the roast beef, which was ok, but for the salad bar, which for a fast food place was really good and really cheap. I kinda remember baked potatoes, too, but could be confusing that with somewhere else.

I really miss fast food salad bars.

BTW, here's the Who is Mr. Delicious? promo. And Mr. Delicious seems to still be alive, just in another line of business. See the redirect at http://www.raxroastbeef.com for the answer.

tjr wrote:Rax used to be a favorite of my wife's family in 1970s and 80s suburban Minneapolis. Not for the roast beef, which was ok, but for the salad bar, which for a fast food place was really good and really cheap. I kinda remember baked potatoes, too, but could be confusing that with somewhere else.

I really miss fast food salad bars.

BTW, here's the Who is Mr. Delicious? promo. And Mr. Delicious seems to still be alive, just in another line of business. See the redirect at http://www.raxroastbeef.com for the answer.

Not sure if this is what you’re thinking of but in my younger-less-food-savvy days, I may have eaten a baked potato and salad bar at Wendy’s (ranch dressing and other salad fixings on the baked potato) almost every weekday of my 1st couple of years of college. In NOLA of all places.
Sigh

Yeah, the baked potatoes were Wendy's. They weren't bad in a pinch.

Cathy2 wrote:I only know about Jax from a Patch article: Rax Roast Beef: A Joliet Tradition Since 1968, but it could be up our alley.

I have tested Rax and it is not the promised land of beef sandwiches. The meat in my sandwich reminded of reheated Buddig packaged beef. I almost did not go inside, because the parkway lighting either was broken or turned off to discourage patrons.

Fortunately, on the bright side there was Home Cut Donuts location nearby with "Donuts good enough for their price point," according to a local. I ordered half dozen jelly donuts with fillings of apricot, raspberry and apple-cinnamon. I also ordered an apple fritter, which apparently was very good, because my family ate it before I could get a sample bite.

Home Cut Donuts are open 24 hours a day, 363 days a year with Christmas a rare close date. I go up and down US-55 enough to use this information again sometime soon.

This is not Voodoo donuts, it is more modest. Their donut box promises, 'great coffee,' but I focused on the donuts only.

Locations at:
815 Jefferson Street or 1317 E. Washington Street
Joliet, IL