Hispanic Heritage Month wraps up this weekend, and NBC 5's Food Guy Steve Dolinsky is thinking tacos and birria.
Both with a Tijuana accent, and both available in a Little Village taqueria where they make everything from scratch. Steve Dolinsky joining us tonight with the story. Tijuana is a border town, near San Diego. And the plan to bring that city’s food culture to Chicago is a dream come true of sorts, for one entrepreneur who takes no shortcuts.
All day long, customers tuck into plates overflowing with tacos and bowls filled to the rim with hearty birria, inside Taco Sur, which hugs the corner of Pulaski Road and 31st Street in Little Village. The menu is an homage to Tijuana.
“Tijuana I think is between a flavor from California and Mexico, drawing together,” said Veronica Fabre, the owner of Taco Sur.
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As the weather cools, you’ll want to seek out their birria, which is made from beef, rather than the Jalisco-style with goat. Cooked until it can be shredded, it’s submerged in a deeply rich consommé, or broth.
“The key is the broth because it has such a different flavor than what we’ve seen here in Chicago with more like Jalisco birria style,” she said.
You can gussy it up with fresh cilantro, radishes and lime, or combine it with cheese to make tacos. Speaking of which, they make their tortillas from fresh masa dough throughout the day.
The Food Guy
“Serving a taco in a handmade tortilla gives it a completely different taste to everything,” Fabre said.
Their trompo – or vertical spit – features pork, but they don’t call it “al pastor;” rather, “adobada.”
“It’s because it marinates the pork. Adobada means ‘marinate’,” she said.
Sliced then finished cooking on the flat top, it can be topped with onion and cilantro, mashed avocado and a splash of freshly-made salsa. All three are made in-house.
“Green one is made out of jalapeño; we consider that one our mild. The more spicy one is made out of chile de arbol,” she said.
But the medium-spiced one is just perfect: guajillo, arbol and morita chiles are toasted on the plancha, then combined in a blender with roasted tomatoes and some water. It has just the right amount of heat without being overpowering.
Fabre says it’s just one component of a menu she proudly stands behind.
“It’s important because I want to bring authentic Mexican food to this area,” she said.
Here's where you can go:
3057 S. Pulaski Rd.
773-502-0647
