112151 Thu Jan 30 16:45:10 -0800 2003 13 7 Chicago Area 0 608671 I don’t recall many mentions of this place. Taqueria El Asadero, on Montrose just west of Lincoln, is in many respects just another small, shabby storefront taqueria - shabbier and uglier than most, perhaps, with dark linoleum floors, dark wood-veneer-paneled walls, and blood-orange plastic booths. But the meats here are very good, of respectable quality and carefully prepared (they have what appears to be a genuine charcoal grill in addition to the expected griddle), with results that are definitely a cut above standard. For one thing, the meats are much less fatty and greasy than is customary in taquerias - there will be no sluices running down your arm from these tacos, no pregnant grease sac waiting to burst in the nether end of your burrito. Folks who treasure the punch of that strong savor of hearty, coarse fat so common in taqueria fare may perhaps regret the tidiness, cleanliness and good manners of the meats at Taqueria El Asadero. Happily, the lack of excess fat does not diminish their excellence; the flavors are lucid but not colorless, clean but not sanitized; the textures moist but not sodden. Best of them all, I think, is the barbacoa - mildly seasoned, quite lean, yet glistening, tender, luscious, and rich - suggestive of a surreally good pot roast, or perhaps of what confit of beef might be like. The steak/carne asada and the pork al pastor are each as good as the barbacoa, though perhaps not quite as distinctive. Sadly, Taqueria El Asadero is very far from the taqueria of one’s dreams. Tortillas, store-bought, are unremarkable. Only one salsa is provided, a green one tasting largely of oil and jalapeno, woefully deficient in tomatillo, garlic, etc. The small space is very loud, with a television, a jukebox and several video games used alternately or in tandem to produce din. A variety of obnoxious signs are posted, hectoring the customer to pay before sitting down, and so forth. The range of the menu is concise and familiar, containing nothing exotic enough to grant customers the opportunity of congratulating themselves on their esoteric selections. Burritos are smallish by the standards of the genre, and not particularly a bargain ($5). And the men’s bathroom is simply appalling (I doubt the women’s is any nicer.) At least the service is assured, although a bit peremptory. Despite it all, I’ve been to Taqueria El Asadero several times in recent weeks and will keep going back. Perhaps it is nothing special compared to a dozen places in Pilsen, La Villita, or other parts of the city; but I can’t think of another north side taqueria that serves better meat. A couple of ordering thoughts: the standard garnishes are American, so you’ll have to specify if you want your antojitos adorned in the Mexican style. And, strangely, burritos served to in-house customers are cut in half by the chef, greatly reducing the chance for the ingredients to marry with each other in the moments between preparation and consumption. Consider asking them to leave your burrito whole. Taqueria El Asadero 2213 W. Montrose Ave. Chicago 773-583-5563 10am-10pm every day Thu Jan 30 16:45:10 -0800 2003 0 Harry V. 1 608673 Actually I've hit it a few times while taking the kids to Welles Park, but you've inspired me to explore the menu further. One thing to note: it's another place where they sell Mexican Coke.* * If you don't know why that matters-- Coke in the US (except, I think, for one tiny bottler somewhere) switched from cane sugar to the cheaper corn syrup about 20 years ago, which is why Pepsi wins taste tests even though overall it's tinny-tasting swill. In Mexico, they still use cane sugar, and many places go to the trouble of importing it so it has that back home taste. Or for Americans, that back-in-the-70s taste. Thu Jan 30 17:09:09 -0800 2003 608671 0 Mike G 2 608675 Thanks for the tip! I can easily see someone being underwhelmed by El Asadero - so many elements are mediocre at best. Loved your Pappadeaux post, by the way - "deeply ordinary ... the authentic style of the Lutherans of central Iowa," LOL. My mom lives in Arlington Heights, and enjoys many of the conventional delights of suburban megacorporate dining (California Pizza Kitchen, etc.) But not even she can stomach the thought of returning to Pappadeaux. (And she, dear woman, didn't even hate Le Vichyssois.) Thu Jan 30 18:20:01 -0800 2003 608673 0 Harry V. 3 608680 Thanks (re Pappadeaux). When we lived right by there for six months during our rehab (house, that is, not personal), Asadero was easily the best of the Mexican places in the immediate neighborhood, but that wasn't saying a lot-- I'm not sure I ever tried any of the others (ie the two opposite each other on Montrose near Wolcott) a second time. It is sanitarily challenged, one must admit. Thu Jan 30 21:36:15 -0800 2003 608675 0 Mike G 2 608677 A few months ago I read a little piece in the New York Times, I think, that Mexico was considering going over to corn syrup. Does anyone have information as to whether that is indeed a possibility? I don't think it's happened yet as I had a delicious sugar coke at a taqeria on Fullerton recently. Thu Jan 30 21:13:30 -0800 2003 608673 0 JoanB 3 608679 I haven't seen that but I did see a piece somewhere on the one bottler who still makes it the old cane sugar way, and how people make 300-mile drives to pick up a couple of cases. Neither they nor the person writing the article seemed to know that the equivalent Mexican stuff was probably being sold within a dozen miles of these people in some dingy taqueria. Personally, what I miss is Canfield's cola-- it had a spicier, old fashioned sarsparilla-ish taste than the big brands. But I haven't seen it in a store anywhere for at least 7-8 years. Thu Jan 30 21:32:36 -0800 2003 608677 0 Mike G 2 608691 could someone confirm the mexican coke thing for me? I've checked quite a few bottles of coke bottled in mexico at various supremercados around town and the ingredient list always features corn syrup. Where are they making the real sugar stuff? Also in that area, I like taqueria el ranchito (I don't really remember enough to compare meat quality) but I like the lengua, and the menu has a few more options at el ranchito, not a place that is going to transport you to the d.f. or anything but a decent taqueria Taqueria El Ranchito 4806 N. Damen Ave (773) 275-8934 Fri Jan 31 09:52:32 -0800 2003 608673 0 zim 3 608694 Actually they say "sugar and/or corn syrup" (my friend and I had this very discussion at Restaurante Oaxaca). So there may be SOME corn syrup in Mexican Coke, or the importers may just be covering their butts legally since normally Coke has corn syrup in the US. However the taste difference is quite apparent to me, and it is in part Pepsi-like, so I'm sticking to my story! (Don't seem to have a can of Coke at home at the moment or I'd confirm that American Coke ONLY says corn syrup.) I never got as far as Taqueria El Ranchito in my pushing a baby stroller around that neighborhood in search of chow-- is that the place with the giant gyro painting? Or next to it or something? Fri Jan 31 10:13:55 -0800 2003 608691 0 Mike G 4 608699 Okay, finally found this via a Google search on a site called "Jewhoo" (you'll see why): Almost all Coca Cola produced in the United States is made with corn syrup instead of sugar. Corn syrup is cheaper because imported sugar is subject to tariffs. It is only a tiny price difference, but a tiny difference adds up to some money when you are producing billions of cokes. Some Coca Cola mavens claim that Coke tastes better when made with sugar. There are only two major sources of Coca-Cola with sugar in the United States.  Some Mexican restaurants import Mexican Coca Cola. (We hesitate to say they import Mexican coke). The other source is well-known to "real thing" mavens. During Passover, the Coca Cola bottling company of New York makes kosher for Passover Coke. Sugar is used instead of corn syrup, because corn is not considered kosher for Passover by Orthodox Jews of Ashkenazi background. Coke mavens, Jewish or not Jewish, try to snap up the Coke produced during the six week period when "kosher for Passover" coke is on the market. It is referred to as "the search" among Coke lovers. [Not "the Dias-Pour-a"? --MG] In point of fact, the difference between Coke containing corn syrup and Coke with sugar is pretty minimal. The water quality of the area where the Coke is bottled has more to do with the variations in taste than anything else.  [Harumph! --MG] New York City is justly famous for having a great source of good tasting water. Therefore, the "kosher" great taste that many out-of-New York Coke drinkers attribute to the sugar in kosher for Passover Coke may be due to the water. Fri Jan 31 11:04:00 -0800 2003 608694 0 Mike G 5 608725 I believe that the one remaining US distributor of coke that uses sugar syrup is located in Oklahoma. Fri Jan 31 15:11:36 -0800 2003 608699 0 YourPalWill 3 608695 Zim, have you ever tried what has to be the skinniest taqueria in Chicago, kitty-corner on Lawrence one door east of Damen. Painted front, can't be more than 6 feet wide? Fri Jan 31 10:26:41 -0800 2003 608691 0 annieb 3 608720 Hey, Zim. I just picked up several bottles of MexiCoke at the Cermak Produce Market. [Its off of Damen, just south of the Stevenson.] I noticed that all of the MexiCokes had paper nutritional info labels tacked on over the original bottler's label. The original ingredient list reads "azucares y concentrados," or some such thing. The Americam relabel gives the full list of nasties, which includes "h.f. corn syrup and/or sugar." All that really matters to me is that it really does taste better than AmeriCoke. There may indeed be h.f. corn syrup present, but the smooth, soft sweetness of cane sugar is unmistakable. I did a taste test the other day. Side by side. Its not just the fact that it is bottled in glass. That does help, though. ;) Regards, Erik M. Fri Jan 31 13:25:13 -0800 2003 608691 0 Erik M. 1 3351645 I realize the original post was written in 2003 so things could have changed. I go to El Asadero quite regularly and have for several years. Their meats are still VERY good, but I there are no video games. Their tomatillo is very good. I've never had oily tomatillo sauce there. My experience with the service has usually been friendly. 75% of the people who work there are very friendly, and service tends to be much better when the owner is working. As late as 2008 I would say that their meats are still very good!! The Mexican coke share was very interesting! Thu Jan 31 08:26:28 -0800 2008 608671 148091 chicalita 1 3352249 I'm a big fan of char-grilled steak tacos and burritos at Taqueria El Asadero. Efrain hand trims the high quality skirt steak and lightly seasons it with his own simple blend of salt and spices. The high temp searing on the grill imparts great flavor! The all breast griddled chicken tacos & burritos are decent too. I usually was my food down with a pinneaple Jarrito. I came pretty close to replicating the El Asadero char-grilled steak at my home bbq's. The only problem was that I couldn't make enough of it so I would end up spending half of the evening at the grill making more and more. The solution I guess it to have a couple grills going at once in order to keep up with the demand. Thu Jan 31 10:35:31 -0800 2008 608671 13223 amoncada