Chicago’s Best Delivery Dishes from Hispanic- and Latinx-Owned Restaurants
Expand your palate and give these dishes a try the next time you order in.
Going out to eat is great, but with the COVID-19 pandemic’s persistence and sweater weather rapidly approaching, sometimes all you want to do is have your meal come to you. It’s not only convenient but it provides the perfect opportunity to explore the culinary scene without having to leave your house (and can be a hack for getting ahold of some of the city’s most popular items).
In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, here’s a number of Chicago’s best dishes from Latinx- and Hispanic-owned restaurants you have to try now. How do we know? We asked a number of Latinx community leaders to divulge their favorite restaurants complete with their must-have menu items.
Puerco en Salsa Verde at El Milagro
Little Village
“This is my family’s go-to restaurant growing up in Little Village,” says entrepreneur Lucy Angel Camarena. “I love the puerco en salsa verde so much that when Stephanie Izard asked for my recommendation on where to take Anthony Bourdain for an episode of Parts Unknown, this is where I took them and what we ordered.” The tenderized pork dish comes served in sea of green salsa mixed with nopales (cactus). As the temperature drops, you’ll also want to add sopa de fideo, a tomato-based noodle and potato soup, and champurrado, a warm masa and chocolate-based drink, to your order.
How to try it: Order via Grubhub.
Pamburguesa at Con Todo
Avondale
Not content with selling the popular pambazo, a Mexican torta-style sandwich dipped and fried in red guajillo chile salsa and stuffed with potatoes and chorizo, the team at Con Todo decided to marry it with the American hamburger and create the cross-cultural “pamburguesa.” The entire menu features a mash of culinary items. If beef isn’t your thing then go for the hot chicken torta inspired by Mexico City cuisine. “Sometimes fusion foods don't work but this one absolutely does!” says Carlos Jaramillo, the race director for Pilsen’s popular Carrera de los Muertos. “It’s so delicious.” And it’s also available with a plant-based patty.
How to try it: Order via Grubhub.
Quesabirria Tacos at La Katrina
Little Italy
With a straightforward menu of tacos and burritos you can’t go wrong at this family-owned restaurant. However, TV producer Blanca Rios, a fan of the restaurant for many years, recommends her go-to option—the quesabirria tacos. The order of three tortillas come stuffed with birria-style meat (typically beef or goat), molten cheese, cilantro, onions, and a side of au jus for dipping your quesabirrias in. Each order also comes with fresh salsa. “They started out as a food truck and now they use the kitchen inside Little Joe's on Taylor in Little Italy,” says Rios. “The food is amazing and the family is super kind.”
How to try it: Order via Grubhub.
Pescado Taco at Bárbaro Taqueria
Wicker Park
“I’ve had a hard time finding good baja-style fish tacos since I moved to Chicago a few years ago,” says lawyer Eir Nakamura Salvi. “I was happy to find Barbaro.” The Mexican taqueria and street food inspired restaurant bills itself as a “cross-cultural experience.” It blends long established family recipes with the owner’s Chicago roots. And while the tacos, tortas, and burritos are popular menu items, playwright Ricardo Gamboa says don’t sleep on the apricot chile piquin aguachiles made with shrimp and alderwood smoked sea salt.
How to try it: Order via Grubhub.
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Tortilla Boricua at Nellie’s
Humboldt Park
Nellie’s, a family-owned and operated restaurant, is a staple in Chicago’s Puerto Rican community. So it only makes sense to try the Nellie’s breakfast special—a gigantic order of a tortilla Boricua. The open faced-omelet comes seasoned in herbs and spices known as sofrito, mozzarella cheese, tomatoes, green peppers, salchichon sausage, maduros (sweet plantains), and onions. Each order comes with the bonus of an avena de coco (coconut oatmeal) and a side of tostada criolla. “I’m obsessed with this dish and get it at least once a week via Grubhub,” says Ashley Alvarez, founder of Oye Prima.
How to try it: Order via Grubhub.
Corn Muffin at Pan Artesanal
Logan Square
Sometimes it’s not just about not wanting to leave your house, food delivery can be the ultimate hack for getting your hands on some coveted food items. The baked goods at Pan Artesanal is one of those places. The line to the Mexican inspired bakery items (think cookies and cream conchas, Gansito croissants and arroz con leche cheesecake) that’s only open on the weekends, goes down the block long before they open and once they sell-out of items, they close for the day. The corn muffins are the must have for Jackson Flores, president of Dish Roulette Kitchen, a popular Instagram account and food incubator. “Chef Marisol uses French technique to deliver a muffin with a crispy, shattery edge, deep corn flavor, and a sweet meets savoriness that has made this one of my favorite pastries in Chicago,” Flores says. “No frills, just simple ingredients [made] through a disciplined hand.”
How to try it: Order via Grubhub.
Tlayuda Vegetariana at Chile Toreado
McKinley Park
Artist Alibé Brambila Navarro can’t get enough of the tlayuda vegetariana at Chile Toreado. “The traditional Oaxacan cuisine consists of a large, thin, crunchy, partially fried or toasted tortilla covered with a spread of refried beans and a variety of other toppings,” says Brambila Navarro. Cheese, salsa, nopales, onions and cilantro are among the common toppings seen in Mexico. At Chile Toreado the pizza-like item comes dressed with roasted veggies and grilled poblano rajas.
How to try it: Order via Grubhub.
Skirt Steak at Las Tablas
Lakeview and Portage Park
Whenever Telemundo’s Nicole Suarez is back home, away from her job as international tv anchor for the Spanish-language channel, you can find her at her family’s restaurant: Las Tablas, the first Colombian steakhouse in the city. There’s a reason they’ve been in business for more than 30 years. The portions are hefty and delicious, and the restaurant even counts Chicago Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot as a fan.
How to try it: Order via Grubhub.
Black Bean and Goat Cheese Empanadas at Cafe Tola
Wrigleyville, Logan Square, Lakeview, and Avondale
What started off as a tiny, colorful storefront on Southport, has grown to four locations with plans to open in New York City. Owners Victoria and Gerardo Salamanca made a name for themselves with inventive empanada flavors such as guava and queso fresco, and buffalo chicken. The pint-size storefront has an impressive menu of tacos, burritos, and pozole but the overstuffed empanadas are where you want to focus your attention on. While many people called this place out, the black bean and goat cheese empanada stood out as a fan favorite.
How to try it: Order via Grubhub.