Category Archives: Reviews

Adobo Grill
1610 N. Wells
Chicago, IL

We had an 8 o’clock show at Second City with M and his family, so we needed to find someplace close and crowd-pleasing for dinner. We settled on Adobo Grill, which is conveniently located right next door to the theater on Wells. The restaurant was lively when we arrived, with warm yellow walls and crowds of theatergoers getting a bite to eat of a drink at the bar. Adobo’s menu consists of some upscale takes on traditional Mexican food – tamales, sopes, enchiladas, etc. They are also known for their extensive tequila and drink selection.

M was pleased to see a rather esoteric ingredient on the menu, like huitlacoche, a specific type of corn fungus prized for its taste (sounds gross, but in reality tastes kind of mushroom-y). Intrigued, we ordered a huitlacoche quesadilla appetizer ($8.50). The quesadilla came stuffed with corn, cheese and ancho salsa, along with the huitlacoche. M said the taste of the huitlacoche itself was very mellow, an much milder than the type he remembers having in Mexico City. We also ordered Adobo Grill’s famous guacamole tableside. They even have a little cart set up with the ingredients all ready for the “Guacamole Lady” who expertly prepares the guac to order in molcajetes (sadly, plastic instead of stone) for each table. Despite the inauthentic molcajetes, the guac was good – we ordered two batches – spicy and mild ($7.99)

For entrees, I (L) ordered the chicken enchiladas with mole rojo ($14.99), but I substituted Oaxacan black mole sauce instead. The enchiladas came topped with sour cream, añejo cheese, onions; black beans. However, the mole was the star of the show, with perfect notes of sweet and savory. Unfortunately there was one major problem with the entree- the chicken. Honestly, an enchilada can hide a lot when it comes to the quality of the chicken. It seemed like they just took the whole bird, bones and all, and chopped it up to throw in the tortilla – not acceptable. I spent a lot of time simply picking out bone and cartilage chunks, which for $15, isn’t a welcome task. M fared better with his pollo al tamarindo ($15.99) – a grilled half chicken in tamarind-chipotle glaze. The chicken was tender, and the tamarind sauce was pretty sweet, but offset by the smoky chipotle kick.

To finish we ordered a chocolate flan ($5.99) and churros ($5.99) to share among the table. M and I were reminded again that we are not particularly fans of flan – as it is a bit too gelatinous for us. We know – that’s the appeal of flan – so we assume Adobo Grill’s rendition was perfectly fine. The churros were pretty basic (you cant mess up a churro) – but the chocolate sauce made the dessert and was perfect for dipping. Adobo Grill has to be used to theater patrons on tight schedules, because our meal went like clockwork, with plenty of time to spare before the show. Despite this, we still feel that Adobo Grill is good, not great, especially for the price point. We hear that a popular plan is to just order the guac and some drinks, which may be the route we go in the future.

Taquería El Milagro
1923 S Blue Island Ave
Chicago, IL

It’s an annual tradition for the Eaters to spend a day in December wandering around Chicago’s Pilsen district. We stop by the National Museum of Mexican Art to catch their annual Día de los Muertos exhibit, do some Christmas shopping at the museum’s Mercado Navideño (Christmas Market), and then have an afternoon meal at one of Pilsen’s great Mexican restaurants. For the past few years, this has meant ordering the mole enchiladas (for L) and the fajitas (for M) at Restaurante Nuevo León (1515 W. 18th Street). But this year we decided to try something new, so we walked an extra few blocks to Taquería El Milagro.

El Milagro’s relatively unadorned exterior wouldn’t be very noticeable from the street – if it weren’t bright magenta/pink, that is. The interior is inviting – Spanish colonial tiles adorn the walls around the entrance, and large Mexican paintings hang from the other walls. But this is by no means a fancy restaurant – the cafeteria-style setup is quick and simple. You wait in line, order your food, pick a seat, and a few minutes later it is brought out to you. It being a cold day, L and I took the opportunity to each try a champurrado, ($1.75) a Mexican hot chocolate drink, thickened with cornmeal and with cinnamon and other spices. If you are thirsty, this is not the drink to try – think of it more as a liquid dessert. Perfect for a cold day, though. Champurrados are normally served with churros, and while I didn’t order any, I really should have bought some from the man who came in the restaurant to sell them.

We had anticipated finishing our warm drinks by the time the food arrived, but no such luck. Both L and I had ordered chicken burritos ($4.95), which to our shock were entirely made to order. Neither of us care much for refried beans, but we decided to go with it because asking for our burritos sin frijoles just seemed like such a gringo thing to do. Otherwise, there were no other order options. No qualifications for what toppings or sides we wanted, no tortilla specifications, nothing. Just straight chicken burritos – and they took care of the rest.

We can use this to contrast with Chipotle, the fast-food joint that bills itself as Mexican. When you order a chicken burrito at Chipotle, the chicken is sliced into little cubes that get put inside a watery, thin flour tortilla, all for $7. They ask you each and every ingredient you want, holding up the line and using all the questions to overcharge you for prepping. Not so at El Milagro – when we ordered chicken, two fresh raw chicken breasts were plopped down on the grill, just for us. When the burritos came, they had lettuce, rice, two halves of a tomato slice, and some cheese all bean-sealed inside a thick, warm, grilled flour tortilla. Five bucks. And so very excellent – you could tell all the ingredients were fresh and filling without being unhealthy. L and I had purposefully not eaten all day in anticipation of our meal, but suffice to say between the champurrados and the burritos, we both had a hard time finishing.

We were so hungry in fact that we neglected to take our usual context photo. Instead we present the remains of our burritos, after I remembered we had forgotten to record them for our readers. This is a fairly common problem for the eaters – accordingly we have no photos of Jim’s cheeseteaks or any of our breakfasts in Puerto Rico. Overall impression? Take Chipotle – subtract the lines, the fat, the questions; add fresher ingredients, better prices, and more food – and you get El Milagro. Also, if you’re jonesing for some more tortillas, the El Milagro Tortilleria is right next door! We’ll be back.