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Fried Chicken & Fifth's: Loncar's Liquors

Fried Chicken & Fifth's: Loncar's Liquors
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  • Fried Chicken & Fifth's: Loncar's Liquors

    Post #1 - February 20th, 2013, 12:32 pm
    Post #1 - February 20th, 2013, 12:32 pm Post #1 - February 20th, 2013, 12:32 pm
    There's been some discussion of late on this great under the radar Chicago bar but it needs it's own thread. Located down a street where you wouldn't expect there to be any operating businesses left, Loncar's is a little jewel on the Southeast side. The big red brick building without any windows and a big Old Style sign in front might be a little bit intimidating to some from the outside but it's a great friendly vibe inside.

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    Longtime locals favorite on 92nd a few blocks east of Commercial

    Anyone watch the Southside Chicago based series 'Shamless' on Showtime? If there was a bar in the city I could picture a real life Frank Gallagher walking into, Loncar's might be it. It's a diverse and sometimes lively crowd inside. All your drinking needs are supplied whether it be for there at the bar or to take home with you after a long day at the factory. They've been dishing out beverages to the neighborhood since before prohibition. There's a great article from the Sun Times about Mr. Robert "Bobby" Loncar who spent half of his life manning the bar here. The street now has his name honored on it.

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    As we enter

    Bobby's Croatian immigrant parents started Loncar's in 1924. Family lore has it that his mom ruled the bar with a meat cleaver by her side, throwing out members of Capone's gang when they'd try and capitalize on them during prohibition. Back in the day they brewed their own beer and wine upstairs. At some point the 'hood Loncar's is in started turning Mexican but instead of shutting down shop and calling it a career they just adjusted to the times. Robert learned to make menudo for his hew customers and made them feel as welcome as anyone. These days it's been taken over by some long time customers who wanted to continue it's tradition. They're doing an excellent job.

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    What you'll see on your left as you walk in, about 10 fryer baskets and a bar

    One of those traditions is their fried chicken. When you're walking into Loncar's its hard not to immediately want some as it floods the corner with an amazing smell coming from the vents. It's fried fresh and comes with a crispy heavy coating that I enjoy. It might not be the most highly seasoned bird but they carry the famous Hienie's hot sauce from around this way. Learn more about it from Kevin Pang HERE. Drown the chicken in this and it's some of the best in the city. It's addicting to many.

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    Loncar's Famous Fried Chicken

    As far as food goes all they have on the menu is that which can be fried including my guiltiest of guilty pleasures, their fried tacos. Every Wednesday this signature item is offered for $1.50 each. They take chopped hamburger meat and throw it in a softshell corn tortilla and put a tooth pick thru to it together. Dropped in the deep fryer and cooked thru til crispy, toppings go on after. You just know they're not healthy because they're so damn good. Any 'best of' taco list in the city should include these gut bombs. Truly the perfect compliment to a bottle of Old Style. If you're a Cubs fan living on the Southside, Loncar's rides with them too. They also seem to have a Kansas hoops connection with Jayhawks stuff on display. A great blue collar place.

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    Wednesday is Fried Taco Day which makes it the best day to visit

    Loncar's Liquors
    3201 E 92nd St
    Chicago, IL 60617
    (773) 734-3933
  • Post #2 - February 20th, 2013, 1:09 pm
    Post #2 - February 20th, 2013, 1:09 pm Post #2 - February 20th, 2013, 1:09 pm
    Excellent post about a place I've driven past but (alas) never thought to stop at.

    On front, funny the way they vertical down with the word "chico" from the "c" in Loncar's, another response, I'm guessing, to the influx of Hispanics into the hood.

    Love the fact that they do tacos "dorado" style.

    God knows when I'll ever get there, but now I'm definitely motivated.
    "Don't you ever underestimate the power of a female." Bootsy Collins
  • Post #3 - February 20th, 2013, 1:30 pm
    Post #3 - February 20th, 2013, 1:30 pm Post #3 - February 20th, 2013, 1:30 pm
    ..think the new owner's last name is Chico.
  • Post #4 - February 20th, 2013, 1:38 pm
    Post #4 - February 20th, 2013, 1:38 pm Post #4 - February 20th, 2013, 1:38 pm
    right on Beef, enjoyed my visit to Loncar's a few weeks back for sure. (actually heading back tonight for some of those deep fried tacos and maybe some more of that chicken)

    Their fried chicken crust is unique(to me) & i like it, and I agree the actual chicken could have more flavor, but that hot sauce makes up for it for me.

    my kind of spot.
  • Post #5 - February 20th, 2013, 2:24 pm
    Post #5 - February 20th, 2013, 2:24 pm Post #5 - February 20th, 2013, 2:24 pm
    Are the fried tacos only available on Wednesday?
  • Post #6 - February 20th, 2013, 2:35 pm
    Post #6 - February 20th, 2013, 2:35 pm Post #6 - February 20th, 2013, 2:35 pm
    SCUBAchef wrote:Are the fried tacos only available on Wednesday?

    Correct. Wednesday is taco day at Loncar's.

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  • Post #7 - February 21st, 2013, 8:23 am
    Post #7 - February 21st, 2013, 8:23 am Post #7 - February 21st, 2013, 8:23 am
    yeah, those tacos are addictive. Lightly seasoned, generous portion of ground beef, perfectly fried shell, the queso, tomatoes, lettuce, and random additions of their hot sauces. Basic, but so good. Had 2, could have done at least 2 more.

    Also did some chicken, as good as last time, piping hot straight from the fryer, they know what they are doing.

    Place was pretty crowded once I made the long treck down to the spot taking 95th street from Willow Springs. Got a bar seat, and a few more opened up as 7:00 approached, Friendly guy pouring the shots and drafts, one cat on the deep fryers knocking it out.

    I imagine what it must have been like exiting Loncars after a few rounds and some chow back when the US Steel South Works, just a few blocks east, still lit up the nighttime sky orange. Just a cool corner bar in a gritty Chicago neighborhood.
  • Post #8 - March 28th, 2013, 8:16 am
    Post #8 - March 28th, 2013, 8:16 am Post #8 - March 28th, 2013, 8:16 am
    Ive been back 4 times for the deep fried taco Wednesday, kind of becoming a semi regular thing.

    Typical order is chicken wings dinner(4 pc whole wings) and a couple of the $1.50 deep fried tacos. Hienies style orange sauce on the wings as well as the tacos. I also like a sauce in a red bottle that is just labeled "sauce" on the tacos, a red, peppery, kind of smokey sauce inside.

    There is something I like about their chicken wings and fried chicken, although not popping with flavor like a brined bird, the crunch of the crust and the deft hand of their fryer cook make it something I crave, especially with the orange hot sauce.

    A must stop for me after a few drinks and food @ Loncar's is the quick couple block shot over to Calumet Fisheries for some fried shrimp for the ride home. A small order of fried shrimp, a togo cup of the Hienes style hot sauce for dipping , is a great snack while running I-57 down to I-80 for the start of the 85 mile cruise home. -

    Loncars then Calumet Fisheries, cant think of a better Wednesday night one-two punch around.
    Last edited by jimswside on March 28th, 2013, 8:31 am, edited 2 times in total.
  • Post #9 - March 28th, 2013, 8:31 am
    Post #9 - March 28th, 2013, 8:31 am Post #9 - March 28th, 2013, 8:31 am
    jimswside wrote:Loncars then Calumet Fisheries, cant think of a better Wednesday night one-two punch around.


    Jim-

    That does sound like a great one-two punch. Might have to give it a whirl when my Wednesday nights free up.
    -Mary
  • Post #10 - March 28th, 2013, 8:34 am
    Post #10 - March 28th, 2013, 8:34 am Post #10 - March 28th, 2013, 8:34 am
    The GP wrote:
    jimswside wrote:Loncars then Calumet Fisheries, cant think of a better Wednesday night one-two punch around.


    Jim-

    That does sound like a great one-two punch. Might have to give it a whirl when my Wednesday nights free up.


    Fun and inexpensive thats for sure.

    always happy when I open my wallet the next morning and there is still money left after a night out in Chicago.
  • Post #11 - May 6th, 2013, 4:31 pm
    Post #11 - May 6th, 2013, 4:31 pm Post #11 - May 6th, 2013, 4:31 pm
    Encouraged by my guilty pleasure love of deep fried tacos and jimswside's Wednesday forays I asked him to meet me here last week. Those tacos are all they're hyped to be, a guilty pleasure of deep fried goodness.There were families, friends, big dudes and grandpas all drinking old styles and eating these tacos and the wings.

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    Loncar's deep fried tacos


    The wings were okay, jimswside put his finger on it when he said they reminded him of shake & bake chicken. That's not a memory I want to repeat, but I will say they were fried perfectly, whoever is back there has a deft hand with the fryer. I plan on returning for those tacos, please note as mentioned upthread, they only do them on Wednesdays.
    For what we choose is what we are. He should not miss this second opportunity to re-create himself with food. Jim Crace "The Devil's Larder"
  • Post #12 - May 6th, 2013, 4:41 pm
    Post #12 - May 6th, 2013, 4:41 pm Post #12 - May 6th, 2013, 4:41 pm
    If there was no description on that, I'd have thought it was a pub burger deep fried in a taco shell!!
    "Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit; wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad." Miles Kington
  • Post #13 - May 6th, 2013, 4:43 pm
    Post #13 - May 6th, 2013, 4:43 pm Post #13 - May 6th, 2013, 4:43 pm
    It looks bigger in the photo, but that is seasoned ground beef in there. I stopped at two and was still wondering why as I drove home.
    For what we choose is what we are. He should not miss this second opportunity to re-create himself with food. Jim Crace "The Devil's Larder"
  • Post #14 - May 7th, 2013, 7:22 am
    Post #14 - May 7th, 2013, 7:22 am Post #14 - May 7th, 2013, 7:22 am
    man that iphone takes some good pics MB. I can never get a good pic there - lighting.

    definitely fun to meet up for a midweek snack - even though their wings are not my favorite around I still like em'. that orange sauce..

    Didn't do the Loncars - Calumet Fisheries one-two punch, instead called an audible on the Skyway & trekked uptown to Barrelhouse for a Sazerac before heading home.
  • Post #15 - December 1st, 2013, 10:22 am
    Post #15 - December 1st, 2013, 10:22 am Post #15 - December 1st, 2013, 10:22 am
    Loncar's was rocking on Black Wednesday. Been thru the last two weeks and wouldn't hesitate to put these tacos amongst the cities best. On my list anyway. Before anyone questions that let me see a list of all the taco shops you've ate at and I'll show you mine. They might not be for all, but I love them. It's run by Mexicans so throw the "authentic" talk out the window. They're damn good. Just make sure to include some of that Heine's sauce on them when eating. At a $1.50/each, they're hard to beat.

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    Fried Taco Wednesdays

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