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La Casa de Samuel (La Villita)

It's been a busy week and today is a busy day and I am therefore not able to compose a detailed and fully documented nomination of Casa de Samuel (Little Village location on Cermak) for a Great Neighbourhood Restaurant award but that is precisely what I wish to do with this short post on this the final day of nominations for this round.

Casa de Samuel is a restaurant that offers some exotic items, such as baby eels and rattlesnake and bulls testicles, and some very pedestrian items, such as burritos and fajitas and simple carne asada platters. I haven't been drawn to the most exotic of the exotica but have tried some of the basic things that one can find in almost all Mexican restaurants. Casa de Samuel does a fine job on them. But neither of those classes of items are why I go to Casa de Samuel. I go there for the less common though not really exotic specialties of this Guerrerense oriented establishment: cecina de venado (pictured below), cabrito al horno con salsa de pasillas, sopa de ajo, etc. I also go there for the outstanding handmade, fresh tortillas and the other fresh masa products. And I go there because it is a place staffed with friendly, accomodating people who always make me and my family and friends feel most welcome.

Quite a few LTHers have visited CdS and commented very favourably on it in the thread linked and it has been mentioned a number of times in other threads, often -- I believe -- as a recommended place. I hope some of those who have enjoyed this restaurant will write in to support the nomination.

http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?p=19710#19710

cecina de venado with fixins:


¡Viva Casa de Samuel! ¡Viva Guerrero!

Antonius


La Casa de Samuel
2834 West Cermak
Chicago, IL 60623
773-376-7474

I went to Casa de Samuel with Ed and Beth just last Friday. The cecina de venado was excellent as was everything else I sampled. The service was magnificant. A great nomination. Next time the smelt!

Hear, hear, hear.

A most worthy establishment -- and an excellent find brought to the attention of many of us by the intrepid Team A&A.

I wouldn't recommend the rattlesnake to anyone (unless you want to gross out your kids, grandmother, whomever), but the cecina was excellent...and I'm a sucker for any place that has their own tortillas griddling in the window.

If Sergio is there (he's the guy speaking four languages at once -- not to be confused with Antonius), I recommend bananas flambé for dessert -- it's quite a show and will fill you (and Sergio) with great joy.

Oh, yes, it's truly a wonderful little place. Even if the place doesn't have the track record to earn an award (although I think it does), hopefully the nomination will get more people to give the place a try.

I'm really glad you nominated CdS, Antonius. I was hoping you would

As this round winds down, I thought I would shamelessly give a further plug and, more importantly perhaps, 11th hour bump to the CdS thread.

Though Gleam is probably right in indicating that CdS doesn't have a huge following in the posted records, I do think it worthwhile to call attention to the fact that several LTHers have posted very favourably about the place, including jbw, WillG, davef, Erik M, Amata, G Wiv and Mike G, as well as the folks who put in a word hereabove. Wholly or gravely negative reports concerning the Cermak location are absent in the main thread and (to my knowledge) elsewhere.

In any event, I hope some of the others who have visited CdS and enjoyed the food will write in for this reason: unlike, say, Nuevo Leon in Pilsen (a fine place of which I am most fond -- see my post in the nomination thread), CdS is a bit out of the way and off the radar of most folks. Several LTHers have remarked on the odd contrast of the quality of the food and the empty dining room. This restaurant, which offers some genuinely interesting dishes, makes the Chicagoland Mexican restaurant scene much richer for being there. I hope it survives and thrives.

Antonius

We were actually there again for dinner tonight (instead of the much closer nuevo leon). More sopa de ajo, some queso fundido con chorizo (which was superb with the fresh-made tortillas), a huarache and a gordita. Really great.

It was actually hopping tonight, with a lot of younger folks heading into the downstairs room. Not sure what was going on.

I can attest to the GNR-worthiness of LCdS. Beyond having some of the best tortillas in town, their facinating menu is a joy to experience. When people ask me about interesting and authentic Mexican food in town, this is always one of the first places I send them.

Best,
Michael

Antonius,

Before posting I was looking at pictures I've taken at Casa de Samuel, what struck me, aside from just how much I like the deep smoky salsa de pasillas, is most of the times I've been has been in the company of friends and their kids.

You, Amata and Lucantonio, Mike G, Myles and Liam, MAG, TPA and Thor, and combinations of. Casa de Samuel is a very kid friendly place. Oh, and the food is pretty darn good. Speaking of which, house made tortillas are terrific, fresh table salsa quite nice, salsa de arbol wonderful and salsa de pasillas daydream worthy.

My typical order is Cabrito al Horno, baked 'goat' served with guacamole and special sauce, which means the pasilla.



Salsa de Arbol (L) Salsa de Pasillas (R)


Accompanied by fresh made tortillas



Casa de Samuel's tortillas are quite versatile, this tortilla even came with a peephole.


I'm also a fan of the cecina and fried smelt.

Cecina


Charales Frito


Antonius is going to kill me, but I'm going to let out a little secret, his favorite menu item at Casa de Samuel is, well, I'll post a picture of the Pastas section of the menu and you figure it out.



In case it wasn't obvious, I heartily second, or is it fourth, Casa de Samuel for an LTHForum GNR.



Enjoy,
Gary

Based on my recent taqueria explorations I just wish to say that while I have never been to Casa de Samuel, any place that makes its own tortillas needs to go a distance to not deserve recognition.

Okay, Chevy's shows it can be done (though the last couple of times I was forced to go for business the tortilla machine was strangely quiet), but based on the pictures and reports, I feel confident Casa de Samuel is not Chevy's.

I will be there soon.

Griffin posted on one of the linked threads about our lovely experience at CdS.

As I noted in my Sticky Rice GNR comment, Casa de Samuel, Sticky Rice and (the newly expanded, now swanky corner restaurant) TAC Quick were on the tops of our must-visit list from our first readings of this Forum.

Casa de Samuel was everything we'd hoped. An adventurous menu and rich meats. We had venison and goat/lamb. Both were excellent as were the fresh tortillas and sauces.

We also marvelled that we were the only diners in the place (although we were probably there early on a weekday night).

The distinguished older waiter who served us said that they are very popular with families on weekends for breakfast. Hopefully that will see them through, but a little extra dinner business couldn't hurt. And this is really a place that others might need a little help to find. This makes me want to give double the support to this gem.

Here is the problem - for a long time if I wanted excellent grilled meat, Mexican style (and I am pretty much a sucked for all styles of grilled meat), it was easy - La Quebrada. Then I went to Casa de Samuel, and they had a different, more exotic selection, and some other very interesting stuff, plus freshly made tortillas, so I had to go back.

And the next time it was just as good.

So now Casa de Samuel is on my radar, and I stop by whenever I am nearby and take friends and family there, too. Because it is excellent, and offers things I have not found anywhere else. Plus it is a pleasant place to dine.

Another perfect GNR in my book - thanks to those who brought it to my attention.

I'm also a huge fan of La Casa de Samuel. Between the GNR award and the LCdS thread, not much more can be said . . . although I drool just thinking about the cecina de venado. For anyone reading this who has not been to LCdS, you really need to give it a try.

Following in the steps of my post here:

Although the sentiments expressed above suggest great LTH affection, one is hard-pressed to find much evidence that Casa de Samuel is a widespread board favorite in the last two years. Here is my list of notable reports (more than passing mentions) since the award was announced in August 2006:

BR, 11/07/07
GNR presentation dinner, 11/11/06
Antonius on pasilla sauce, 8/01/06

Casa de Samuel tends to come up a lot when people ask for places in that area, which one could argue is one form of endorsement, but actual reports of recent meals are nearly nonexistent and its fairly extensive menu seems largely unexplored after about 2005. That does not strike me as evidence of a high level of enduring LTHForum affection for and interest in the place; at the very least if it still has partisans here, now would be the time to talk up specific dishes and encourage trial, as has not happened over the last two years.

I haven't posted much about it, but count me as a big fan of CdS, and we still go somewhat regularly.

Time for an event; I'll see what I can do. I was last there in about April of 2007 and was pleased, but this is such a peculiar category of old-school American Mexican that, while at the top of that category, I'm not sure who I'd be recommending it to. Certainly it blows Nuevo Leon away on all the dishes that matter to me, which is something (Nuevo Leon is a one-trick burro for me - chilaquiles - as I'll describe soon in that thread). I just love Sol de Mexico and Xni-Pec so much more, and have even warmed more to La Pasadita, Los Gallos, Taco Veloz, Tio Luis, and even Las Pinatas in the past year for "traditional" old-time Chicago Mexican.

Since I just noticed that you can't edit your comments in this forum (unless I'm missing something), let me make a clarification on the above. I recognize that CdS is really a "Guerrerense oriented establishment," and does its region proud. I also don't think that you MUST be doing "regional Mexican" to excel, or to be GNR-worthy. My own experiences have been with the non-exotic part of the menu (see Antonius's very good nominating post), and on the strengh of those items, I'm excited enough to go back, and that's probably enough to add my personal endorsement even if there aren't a ton of posts from the community lately on this place.

I want to go back, and soon, try some new things, bring a few people, hope to generate some more data points (mmmmm... data points....), and will report back when I / we do both in the original thread and here.

I had a very good meal at Casa de Samuel last December. I don't remember what I had (I think it was duck), but I do remember it being surprisingly good. Sorry to be so non-specific, but I'd definitely be up for an LTH event there.

Of course, I have not posted much on Casa de Samuel over the past year -- but then again, I haven't much at all over that time. And what really is there for people such as dicksond, gleam, BR, Amata or myself to say new about the place.

Great place -- definitely deserves to be renewed.

As Santander notes above, it is impossible to edit posts here -- that's very silly and needs to be corrected.

The decision was made quite intentionally not to allow editing of posts on this board. Since the selection, or not, of a GNR is based on the discussion of that place, we have chosen to keep the discussions as they are.

I know this can be an inconvenience in the event that one makes a mistake in a posting as Santander did, and I apologize for that inconvenience, but since the editing feature is all or nothing, it makes sense to not allow it so as to avoid someone having a terrible meal, for example, and wiping out the entire original nomination.

And, yes, people have gone back and wiped out posts on other boards. Not very often, but it does happen.

Should you wish to discuss this, what qualifies a place for a GNR or renewal, or any other general topic, I suggest we move it over to Site Chat rather than clutter up this renewal thread.

- somehow that made me think of another Michael, Jordan I mean, voicing his opinions about the Bulls after saying the same thing.

d
for the GNRs

I ate at Casa de Samuel about 8-10 months ago and greatly enjoyed it. I haven't been back since because I live about 2 and a half hours away and I have so many restaurants that I need to try!

We had the cecina de venado, cabrito al horno, and some fish dish that I don't remember very well. My favorite was the cabrito al horno. The pasilla chile salsa was really delicious. The waiter (who maybe was the owner?) was incredibly friendly and warm. When I enthusiastically praised the pasilla chile salsa he gave me some to take home. I remember enjoying the cecina as well. All I remember about the fish is that it wasn't great. It wasn't something that I would have ordered as there was nothing to indicate that this would be a house specialty. I was with a friend who has a knack for ordering the worst thing on any menu.

All in all, I really liked this place. The service was so delightful that I remember it fondly and vividly almost a year later. And the goat on fresh tortillas with some quacamole and pasilla chile salsa is something I look forward to having again in the future (if I can get through this long list of places to try). I've only been there once so take this as just one (delicious) data point.

Hi,

Discussion on posting track records has been continued here.

Regards,

Moving the meta level discussion of track records to Site Chat was completely appropriate, but unfortunately a number of comments specifically on Casa de Samuel by me, Antonius, chapulin, BR, and gleam were embedded within that range of posts and so are not here in the CdS GNR thread.

Let me therefore repeat in this thread that Antonius and I go regularly to Casa de Samuel and find their offerings of cecina de venado, cabrito al horno, etc to be as outstanding as ever. The fresh tortillas are spectacularly good. The service is always friendly and charming.

For those who haven't stopped by in a while, you may be interested to know that Casa de Samuel has begun some remodeling (e.g. brand-new, spacious restrooms; other work is planned as well), and is publicizing better its live music offerings on weekend nights. At a recent weekend lunch most of the tables were filled, which made us very happy to see.

I hope that the LTH-ers dining tonight at La Casa de Samuel will have a great time! Please pass along our saludos to Sergio.

Done and done. With good company and a wide variety of challenging and well-prepared plates, Casa de Samuel felt more like home than ever, and has my full support for GNR renewal. Sergio's one-man show (while moving at a stately pace) and the handcrafted chewy tortillas measure up to other familiar GNR denizens and artifacts like Mr. Red Shirt and the noodles at Katy's, and Burt (qualifying in both categories). You can find other posts in the Events and Eating Out threads linked above.



The Vested One (with some shiny new equipment)



Boar and a very nice and kicky michelada

I don't know Casa de Samuel's history, but I imagine it could easily have been the definition of an upscale Mexican restaurant prior to the Bayless era.

Sergio, in particular, should be appreciated for his finely-honed serving skills. We sat across from the French Couple, and when they started to question him in French, he immediately replied fluently. And his flambé technique, squeezing orange rinds into the dessert flames to create a fireworks-like display, was amazing to watch.

Casa de Samuel should be a slam-dunk for a GNR renewal.

CdS is an odd cavern of a restaurant I've come to adore; the cabrito is right up there with Birdo and Zaragoza, the homemade tortillas are substantial, and Sergio is an original. Mix me a michelada, please. Me cuenta un aficionado!

La Casa de Samuel is one of my favorite restaurants. I've paid two or three visits since the last comment period, and continue to love the warm staff, delicious food, and the best handmade tortillas in Chicagoland.