I was in West Pilsen this morning to buy some fabric for upholstering a chair at one of the city's better warehouse/retailers and took advantage of the opportunity to stop at a nearby branch of
La Quebrada, the one at 2906 W. Cermak Road in Chicago.
A friend and I arrived at about 11:30 a.m. The small storefront located in a two store strip center has tables seating no more than 50 people, and parking for 4 or 5 cars in the small lot in front. Decor is basic, but not uncomfortable. 1/2 the seats were filled when we arrived, only four remained available when we finished an hour later. When full, It's not crowded, in the sense that people are sitting upon one another. There's a small juke box mounted on the wall, and it broadcast some music the entire visit.
The menu is nicely varied, seafood, chicken, beef, goat, eggs - something for everyone. I chose the
Carne a la Tampequeña platter. My friend is not the adventurous type and is a bit afraid of "ethic" food, so he chose eggs and bacon.
The typically complimentary
totopos (often referred to as "nachos" by some non-Mexicans) and salsa arrived at the table quickly. The
totopos were standard fare, nothing special - either a bulk purchase or made in-house from tortillas different than what are served with the meals. They reminded me of commercial-grade corn tortillas used as the base product. The salsa was a surprise - as it was served steaming hot. I can't recall having salsa served that way before, and it was nicely done. I don't know the variety of salsa, other than it was not
verde, not
pico del gallo and it was not too
pica.
Sunday is probably the busiest time of the week in the restaurant and there was just one waitress on duty, but she had the help of someone fixing the
liquados, juices and clearing away the plates. Although the service was understandably a bit slow (given the crowd and my guess is that the kitchen's not all that big), the waitress was efficient, accommodating and it was not a distraction. I speak Spanish and had no difficulty communicating, but my friend doesn't and he did . . . and the waitress struggled with her knowledge of English.
My
Carne a la Tampequena was okay. Not excellent, not spectacular . . . just okay. This cut of meat can be tough at times, and mine was today. I think it was cut too thick, and the resulting effect was that it was chewy - like shoe leather. I also didn't think it was seasoned very well, before I applied the juice of a lime and the nice salsa. The platter includes rice, which included pieces of carrot (very dry, but okay); guacamole (okay, nothing special); refried beans (standard fare, just okay); and a cheese-filled
enchilada with what appeared to be a
mole reminiscent of
poblano on top. The
enchilada arrived cold, and I sent it back for re-heating. I ordered
tortillas de maiz with the meal. The
tortillas were standard fare for individually-made ones - noting at all special or significantly different that ones I've had countless times before (in Mexico). They were, however, a nice touch to the meal and, given the clientele of the restaurant, understandably an expected accompaniment.
My friend enjoyed his eggs, thought the bacon was some of the best he'd eaten in a restaurant in some time, and he ate his refried beans and rice with carrots without comment. Well, almost without comment. He asked me if the rice was really rice. He'd not seen it fixed that way before. He drank
te de Manzanilla with his meal, and the waitress' helper twice poured coffee into his cup of tea. Each time she did that I asked the waitress for a replacement for the tea, and, very embarrassed, she did so graciously. I downed a couple of Diet Coke's.
For dessert we each had flan. It was fresh, a large portion and nicely complimented by some tiny dollops of whipped cream.
The check for two came to just under $28.00, before adding the tip.
The restaurant is obviously popular with people who've come to this country from the state of Guerrero. Their origin was written across most of their faces.
Sweeping generalizations and rigid opinions don't evolve from just one visit. So, my first-timer review/opinion (subject to modification after any future visit) is:
This La Quebrada location is a nice neighborhood restaurant serving "authentic" food typically found in the state of Guerrero, Mexico (as I compared it to the many places I've eaten in Guerrero). I didn't consider it special or extraordinary or worthy of consideration for a "best of" anything list. It's not a place I would go out of my way to visit (I live in W. Rodgers Park).
Thanks for drawing my attention to the restaurant.