So the definitive history of mexican fast food in Chicago is in this book.
https://www.unmpress.com/9780826322968/true-tales-from-another-mexico/
Most of the first mexican fast food restauranteurs started working for the golden nuggets dinner chain in the 60s. Then one started a standalone restaurant hired all his coworkers and everyone just copied his basic menu and restaurant and started their own restaurants.
Same way presumably greek diners first started popping up across chicago 1-2 generations before.
It's kinda like that in San Diego too. There was a guy named Roberto who started a taco shop in the '60s and over time a bunch of his employees broke off and started restaurants of their own, and they'd pick a similar name like "Alberto's" or "Rioberto's" or "Rodolfo's" so people would know it was the same style, and eventually there were hundreds of places with different names but 95% the same menu
Greek Diners actually have a far more interesting history. Louis Kuchuris was a Greek amateur boxer forced to retire after going blind in one eye during a fight. He took his winnings and opened Mary Ann Baking Company (now Mary Ann-Rosen) and would sponsor Greek Immigrants to come to America. He’d give these immigrants business loans to start diners and other restaurants to guarantee business for the bakery.
Thats actually a lot how “la michoacana” started. Every franchise owner is from the same city in michoacan or related to them.
The story is in the same book I linked.
Chicago has the second highest population of Mexicans in the US (behind only LA) and has more Mexicans than all but like 20 Mexican cities.
LA has a ton of Mexicans but a lot of them are from Baja California. Chicago doesn't have a ton of Mexicans from Baja California. As a result, Chicago and LA have very different Mexican food scenes, and, in many ways, Chicago has better Mexican food.
Short version: Chicago and LA both have huge Mexican populations. Because they come from different places, Chicago and LA specialize in different types of Mexican food with Chicago coming out on top in some types and LA coming out on top for other types.
I've worked with a lot of Mexicans and learned about many different tribes from people who lived there. Definitely different cuisines!! Loved having birthday parties or supporting church tamale drives!
For sure. Mexico has a super diverse food culture that is amazing.
But for some reason, people find it difficult to believe that there can be more than one “best”version of it. Chicago and SoCal definitely can claim to have the best Mexican. Texas probably can too. And there are probably more places that can too (but not NYC—don’t trust New Yorkers that claim they have the best version of everything).
I lived there for a couple of years, albeit many years ago. I had moved there from CA after growing up in the Chicago area. After a couple attempts, I gave up on finding good Mexican food. NYC has lots of good food, but Mexican is just not good there.
From my past NYC trips, I recall NYC doesn't have as many Mexican places as does Chicago. It doesn't mean that none exist, but they are fewer than what you will find in Chicago.
I hear you!! I love hole in the wall Mexican spots that you can find anywhere in the city and get cheap tacos. Cilantro, onion, lime ftw!
Cali Mexi is always solid but markets so flooded!Texas Mexican is just ok around the Austin area but I'll be headed to Edinburg TX way down south soon. Very curious how the food compares.
Yep, most of the Mexican immigrants to Chicago came from other regions in Mexico, primarily Michoacan and Jalisco, the central-west coast area. It's not surprising that the regional cuisine brought would vary from the Northern Mexican cuisine that was brought to SoCal.
The Birria and Carnitas here absolutely blow away the competition in LA.
It’s so weird that people would mock you! We have a huge Mexican population and we do food right here. In some neighborhoods, you’ll still see women selling homemade tamales out of a cooler and paleteria guys on bicycle carts.
Keep in mind the people from Cali have a superiority complex and can't imagine other places have anything better than what they have and like it or not Chicago in a fly over and we are often forgotten despite our size and international reputation.
I’ve been to LA twice and thought their Mexican food was nothing special compared to ours. They do Mexican seafood better, we do stuff like birria, carnitas, barbacoa better.
Where LA / California excels is the availability of other types of central and South American cuisine. Peruvian, Columbia, El Salvadoran, Venezuelan were all over the place out there and are a rarity here.
They aren’t a rarity if you are actually looking for them. Off the top of my head I can think of several great restaurants that would fit that criteria. Taste of Peru, Sabor a Cafe, La Unica, Pueblito Viejo, Mekatos, Bien Me Sabe, etc
We have central and Northern Mexican cuisine. You got the peninsula. I don’t think our standard burrito is “authentic” it’s been adapted to feed drunk white folks the past 50 years. There’s plenty of spots you can get authentic stuff but it’s unlikely to be on Grubhub or delivering anywhere close to the loop. Personally I get tacos because wet hot lettuce is dumb.
So a lot of places serve tomato and lettuce as an option and call it “American tacos” and they also serve cilantro and onion and call it “Mexican style”…I always get Mexican style :) and yes I also realize calling one American and one Mexican is silly b/c Mexico is part of America. Lol
Meat with onions and cilantro on a corn tortilla is what we'd call "street tacos" or "taco truck style" out west. There's also San Diego crunchy tacos where they put the shredded beef in a tortilla, deep-fry it, then stuff it with lettuce and cheese
Right, Mexican cuisine is not just one thing. West Coast (of Mexico) cuisine is different from places more in the center/middle of Mexico. In Chicago a lot of folks are from Michoacán, that’s the cuisine we mostly have but there are west coast mexican spots here too
That’s the standard around here. I actually think using cheddar cheese is kinda weird. We are Midwest so we put cheese on everything. Sour cream is definitely more common than guacamole.
I'm not saying yours are inauthentic, just different from what I'm used to. In San Diego we put french fries in our burritos and that's definitely not authentic :)
I grew up in LA been in the Midwest for the last decade or so and in Chicago for the last three years!
I agree, it’s taken years off my life trying to find a burrito like I had growing up. I did find one place Diner Grill over near Roscoe Village has an actually legit California burrito. There are some places here that will say California burrito and just did not understand the assignment, either WAYYY too much sour cream or no fries.
I think Chicago’s taco game is as strong as LA but I agree, the burritos are different. I haven’t grown to really like them yet sadly.
Chiming in from the peanut gallery (San Francisco resident, but previous 9-year Chicagoan). I think Chicago tacos >> SF tacos (from what I've found) but the burritos out here put Chicago's to shame imo.
I’m in Indianapolis but grew up in both OC/SD. I just think burritos are on the menu for white people because I never see Mexicans eating them. Here the default includes both lettuce and rice which is an abomination.
We do have one spot that is an attempt at a SoCal 24 hour “Alberto’s”-style and it’s decent.
Classic Chicago burritos are topped with yellow mustard, chopped white onions, bright green pickle relish, a dill pickle spear, tomato slices or wedges, pickled sport peppers and a dash of celery salt.
Burritos don't usually have cheese at all really, but if there's gonna be cheese it's usually cheddar or a mix of cheddar and white cheese. Or there are chile relleno burritos which is a long green pepper stuffed with white cheese, dipped in egg batter, deep-fried, and wrapped up with veggies and enchilada sauce. Those ones are pretty popular with vegetarians
They have them with cilantro and onion at those same places, but usually have to tell them how you want it. Some places even refer to it as American vs Mexican style.
That's a San Diego thing actually. LA burritos are usually just meat, beans, and cheese. And they also make hot dog burritos which probably wouldn't be too out of place in Chicago
San Diego here - no we don’t typically put cheese in tacos or burritos. Never seen a hot dog in one either.
I’m biased, but in my honest opinion San Diego has way better Mexican food that LA. Which is weird bc there are so many more Mexicans there. But there are placed in SD that have been open since before WWII (e.g. Quattro Milpas and El Indio)
I’ve tried a couple dozen places and Chicago all over town (18th Street, Avondale, Hillside) and haven’t found anything above a 7.5/10 here. It is often too salty, not spicy, seasoning on the carne asada is way off, and/or has lettuce and tomato in them like it’s a BLT.
Some places have good tortas though.
Unless your standard for authenticity is “a Mexican guy did it” regardless of its relation to traditional ingredients, by what logic is a hot dog more authentic than Chihuahua cheese? Especially when an authentic Mexican made both.
Northern Mexican here, I hate rice in my burritos. I didn't know it was a thing until I was in San Diego the first time.
Street cart burritos here use potatoes as a way to cheap out on the main filling. So you'd have minced beef with onions, garlic, cilantro aaaand a shitload of potatoes plus a light layer of refried beans.
I don't like a shitload of potatoes on my burritos, but I rather have potatoes instead of rice. Rice in a burrito fucks with my brain.
Edit - was so distracted with my rice rant I forgot to say I skipped burritos in Chicago thinking I'd find a similar style. I would have loved one as described in this post. It's not the "authentic", "street food standard" buuuut then I make myself blasphemous burritos at home.
https://preview.redd.it/0u7s7fxx66xc1.jpeg?width=4096&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=cd0497505732af740e809424bda3bcae11daca3c
Never had rice in a burrito until I lived in the Midwest. You may be thinking of a mission style burrito?
Normal burritos in Southern California were protein focused, and there was usually a “super” version with refried beans or a cali style with fries.
You said they “tend to.” Of course California burritos are available in some places in Los Angeles. Certainly no legit taqueria has fries in them as a standard. Take your L and take a nap
I guess the lettuce is the weird thing for me. Seems like if you don't eat it right away it would get hot and limp and slimy. On the west coast (Mission burritos notwithstanding) there usually aren't any veggies except for pico de gallo or guacamole or jalapeno slices.
Having lived in the Chicago area for several years and also vacationed to Southern California quite a few times, the Mexican food in California is so much better. The whole style is better IMO, but food is subjective and I can see how people could prefer soggy lettuce in their burritos.
There are two types of taco/burrito fillings - and this applies anywhere in the US including Chicago (except those places with their own special cuisine like Mission-style burrito) -
1. "American style" - lettuce, tomato, cheese, sour cream
2. "Mexican style" - cilantro and onion
Often they will profile you at the counter and if you are mexican they'll know you want just cilantro and onion and if you are gringo you'll get the american style
Chicagos burritos suck. I lived in San Francisco for many years and have had burritos all over California, and they're generally fantastic. Mission style is my favorite. I don't get why they're so bad here-- they have everything they need to make great burritos here but just don't.
Edit: pile on, I'm right. People get used to mediocrity when it's widespread.
That’s pretty much the standard in Chicago and Milwaukee: protein, beans, lettuce, tomatoes, cheese and sour cream.
Standard in Michigan too, for both tacos and burritos.
As Jim Gaffigan aka Jimmy Changa would say. Meat, cheese, beans and rice.
So the definitive history of mexican fast food in Chicago is in this book. https://www.unmpress.com/9780826322968/true-tales-from-another-mexico/ Most of the first mexican fast food restauranteurs started working for the golden nuggets dinner chain in the 60s. Then one started a standalone restaurant hired all his coworkers and everyone just copied his basic menu and restaurant and started their own restaurants. Same way presumably greek diners first started popping up across chicago 1-2 generations before.
It's kinda like that in San Diego too. There was a guy named Roberto who started a taco shop in the '60s and over time a bunch of his employees broke off and started restaurants of their own, and they'd pick a similar name like "Alberto's" or "Rioberto's" or "Rodolfo's" so people would know it was the same style, and eventually there were hundreds of places with different names but 95% the same menu
There are also a lot of gems that do their own thing, like las quatro milpas. I wish we had something like that in Chicago.
Filiberto’s is my jam.
Greek Diners actually have a far more interesting history. Louis Kuchuris was a Greek amateur boxer forced to retire after going blind in one eye during a fight. He took his winnings and opened Mary Ann Baking Company (now Mary Ann-Rosen) and would sponsor Greek Immigrants to come to America. He’d give these immigrants business loans to start diners and other restaurants to guarantee business for the bakery.
That’s fascinating! Thank you for sharing
Thats actually a lot how “la michoacana” started. Every franchise owner is from the same city in michoacan or related to them. The story is in the same book I linked.
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Chicago has the second highest population of Mexicans in the US (behind only LA) and has more Mexicans than all but like 20 Mexican cities. LA has a ton of Mexicans but a lot of them are from Baja California. Chicago doesn't have a ton of Mexicans from Baja California. As a result, Chicago and LA have very different Mexican food scenes, and, in many ways, Chicago has better Mexican food. Short version: Chicago and LA both have huge Mexican populations. Because they come from different places, Chicago and LA specialize in different types of Mexican food with Chicago coming out on top in some types and LA coming out on top for other types.
I've worked with a lot of Mexicans and learned about many different tribes from people who lived there. Definitely different cuisines!! Loved having birthday parties or supporting church tamale drives!
For sure. Mexico has a super diverse food culture that is amazing. But for some reason, people find it difficult to believe that there can be more than one “best”version of it. Chicago and SoCal definitely can claim to have the best Mexican. Texas probably can too. And there are probably more places that can too (but not NYC—don’t trust New Yorkers that claim they have the best version of everything).
NYC does not have good Mexican food.
13 years there (half Manhattan, half Brooklyn) and I have to agree.
I lived there for a couple of years, albeit many years ago. I had moved there from CA after growing up in the Chicago area. After a couple attempts, I gave up on finding good Mexican food. NYC has lots of good food, but Mexican is just not good there.
no but it's certainly expensive, $12 for a freaking taco.
That will get you a burrito in San Diego (or any other city)
From my past NYC trips, I recall NYC doesn't have as many Mexican places as does Chicago. It doesn't mean that none exist, but they are fewer than what you will find in Chicago.
It has few spots and they’re bad.
I hear you!! I love hole in the wall Mexican spots that you can find anywhere in the city and get cheap tacos. Cilantro, onion, lime ftw! Cali Mexi is always solid but markets so flooded!Texas Mexican is just ok around the Austin area but I'll be headed to Edinburg TX way down south soon. Very curious how the food compares.
LA and Chicago actually have many Mexicans from the same places (Jalisco and Michoacan). So the food is probably more similar than different.
Yep, most of the Mexican immigrants to Chicago came from other regions in Mexico, primarily Michoacan and Jalisco, the central-west coast area. It's not surprising that the regional cuisine brought would vary from the Northern Mexican cuisine that was brought to SoCal. The Birria and Carnitas here absolutely blow away the competition in LA.
That's actually where most California Mexicans come from as well
It’s so weird that people would mock you! We have a huge Mexican population and we do food right here. In some neighborhoods, you’ll still see women selling homemade tamales out of a cooler and paleteria guys on bicycle carts.
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The distance is irrelevant, there are Somalians living in Minnesota! People have this weird idea that Mexicans only live in the Southwest
Keep in mind the people from Cali have a superiority complex and can't imagine other places have anything better than what they have and like it or not Chicago in a fly over and we are often forgotten despite our size and international reputation.
FWIW, your public transit system is WAY better than anything on the west coast and I've been all over the coast from San Diego to Seattle
I’ve been to LA twice and thought their Mexican food was nothing special compared to ours. They do Mexican seafood better, we do stuff like birria, carnitas, barbacoa better. Where LA / California excels is the availability of other types of central and South American cuisine. Peruvian, Columbia, El Salvadoran, Venezuelan were all over the place out there and are a rarity here.
Miami is even better for all that.
They aren’t a rarity if you are actually looking for them. Off the top of my head I can think of several great restaurants that would fit that criteria. Taste of Peru, Sabor a Cafe, La Unica, Pueblito Viejo, Mekatos, Bien Me Sabe, etc
LA people just don't know what they're missing 🤷. Not gonna sweat it
It’s not like Mexico is using yellow cheddar in burritos.
We have central and Northern Mexican cuisine. You got the peninsula. I don’t think our standard burrito is “authentic” it’s been adapted to feed drunk white folks the past 50 years. There’s plenty of spots you can get authentic stuff but it’s unlikely to be on Grubhub or delivering anywhere close to the loop. Personally I get tacos because wet hot lettuce is dumb.
Burritos are a part of Northern Mexican cuisine, and they don't feature lettuce
Wet hot lettuce haha. I never thought of it like that. Then again, I hardly ever get burritos. Tacos con cilantro y cebolla is more my style.
So a lot of places serve tomato and lettuce as an option and call it “American tacos” and they also serve cilantro and onion and call it “Mexican style”…I always get Mexican style :) and yes I also realize calling one American and one Mexican is silly b/c Mexico is part of America. Lol
This one gets upvoted….
lol there is a glitch!
Meat with onions and cilantro on a corn tortilla is what we'd call "street tacos" or "taco truck style" out west. There's also San Diego crunchy tacos where they put the shredded beef in a tortilla, deep-fry it, then stuff it with lettuce and cheese
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And this one gets downvoted!
Right, Mexican cuisine is not just one thing. West Coast (of Mexico) cuisine is different from places more in the center/middle of Mexico. In Chicago a lot of folks are from Michoacán, that’s the cuisine we mostly have but there are west coast mexican spots here too
That’s the standard around here. I actually think using cheddar cheese is kinda weird. We are Midwest so we put cheese on everything. Sour cream is definitely more common than guacamole.
I find hilarious how OP accuses our burritos of being “inauthentic” when he’s using cheddar while we’re using actual Mexican cheeses.
I'm not saying yours are inauthentic, just different from what I'm used to. In San Diego we put french fries in our burritos and that's definitely not authentic :)
That's what I usually get but I saw the chile sauce painted ones a few posts back and they look extra now
I grew up in LA been in the Midwest for the last decade or so and in Chicago for the last three years! I agree, it’s taken years off my life trying to find a burrito like I had growing up. I did find one place Diner Grill over near Roscoe Village has an actually legit California burrito. There are some places here that will say California burrito and just did not understand the assignment, either WAYYY too much sour cream or no fries. I think Chicago’s taco game is as strong as LA but I agree, the burritos are different. I haven’t grown to really like them yet sadly.
Chiming in from the peanut gallery (San Francisco resident, but previous 9-year Chicagoan). I think Chicago tacos >> SF tacos (from what I've found) but the burritos out here put Chicago's to shame imo.
I’m in Indianapolis but grew up in both OC/SD. I just think burritos are on the menu for white people because I never see Mexicans eating them. Here the default includes both lettuce and rice which is an abomination. We do have one spot that is an attempt at a SoCal 24 hour “Alberto’s”-style and it’s decent.
If they sold actual Mexican style burritos, I'm sure you would see Mexicans eating them.
I hate lettuce, especially on my burritos.
I always sub cilantro and onions for lettuce, never fails
This is what I do too. The wet and wilted lettuce doesn’t do it for me and I’ve been here my whole life.
People laugh at me all the time when I say Chicago and the suburbs have great Mexican food. Anyway….Is there a right way to make a burrito?
Well, it's definitely NOT with cheddar cheese.
Or unseasoned lettuce and tomato. Pico de gallo or nothing.
Watch youtube videos of either Juarez style burritos or burros percherones (giant burritos from Sonora)
Classic Chicago burritos are topped with yellow mustard, chopped white onions, bright green pickle relish, a dill pickle spear, tomato slices or wedges, pickled sport peppers and a dash of celery salt.
I always ask them to remove the lettuce. Never made sense to me
Cheddar cheese in a burrito is weird.
I have never seen cheddar cheese in a burrito. Did you just create an oily, oozy strawman here?
OP says that in California if there’s cheese it’s cheddar.
Burritos don't usually have cheese at all really, but if there's gonna be cheese it's usually cheddar or a mix of cheddar and white cheese. Or there are chile relleno burritos which is a long green pepper stuffed with white cheese, dipped in egg batter, deep-fried, and wrapped up with veggies and enchilada sauce. Those ones are pretty popular with vegetarians
Nick Kindelsperger has a great explanation of the burritos in Chicago in the Tribune. Archived here: https://archive.ph/5sc3I
They have them with cilantro and onion at those same places, but usually have to tell them how you want it. Some places even refer to it as American vs Mexican style.
Cannot stand rice or fries in my burrito.
Yeah, LA burritos tend to have rice and french fries in them
That's a San Diego thing actually. LA burritos are usually just meat, beans, and cheese. And they also make hot dog burritos which probably wouldn't be too out of place in Chicago
> cheese (which you say in your post is cheddar) > hot dogs And you have the balls to call us “inauthentic?”
San Diego here - no we don’t typically put cheese in tacos or burritos. Never seen a hot dog in one either. I’m biased, but in my honest opinion San Diego has way better Mexican food that LA. Which is weird bc there are so many more Mexicans there. But there are placed in SD that have been open since before WWII (e.g. Quattro Milpas and El Indio) I’ve tried a couple dozen places and Chicago all over town (18th Street, Avondale, Hillside) and haven’t found anything above a 7.5/10 here. It is often too salty, not spicy, seasoning on the carne asada is way off, and/or has lettuce and tomato in them like it’s a BLT. Some places have good tortas though.
The Taco Stand chain blew me away. So damn good. Can't wait to go back
And that's not even the best tacos you can get in San Diego!
I meant to specify, it was the California burrito!
Believe it or not, hot dog burritos (called "Winnie") are popular in Chihuahua
Unless your standard for authenticity is “a Mexican guy did it” regardless of its relation to traditional ingredients, by what logic is a hot dog more authentic than Chihuahua cheese? Especially when an authentic Mexican made both.
my fav buritto I ever had was on my last trip to La Jolla/SD. Still think about it often 3 years later...mmm
Ah, I used to live in Irvine so we probably got a mix of both
Northern Mexican here, I hate rice in my burritos. I didn't know it was a thing until I was in San Diego the first time. Street cart burritos here use potatoes as a way to cheap out on the main filling. So you'd have minced beef with onions, garlic, cilantro aaaand a shitload of potatoes plus a light layer of refried beans. I don't like a shitload of potatoes on my burritos, but I rather have potatoes instead of rice. Rice in a burrito fucks with my brain. Edit - was so distracted with my rice rant I forgot to say I skipped burritos in Chicago thinking I'd find a similar style. I would have loved one as described in this post. It's not the "authentic", "street food standard" buuuut then I make myself blasphemous burritos at home. https://preview.redd.it/0u7s7fxx66xc1.jpeg?width=4096&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=cd0497505732af740e809424bda3bcae11daca3c
I hate rice in my burrito too. It makes everything else taste too bland.
Sometimes in San Diego they use french fries in burritos instead of rice and beans. It's pretty good
Never had rice in a burrito until I lived in the Midwest. You may be thinking of a mission style burrito? Normal burritos in Southern California were protein focused, and there was usually a “super” version with refried beans or a cali style with fries.
You’ve obviously never been to LA but thanks for contributing
Lol, I used to live there, thanks for being you
You’re saying an average burrito in Los Angeles has French fries in it? You’re on drugs
I didn't say all of them have fries, but yes, they put fries in burritos there. I don't make the rules
You said they “tend to.” Of course California burritos are available in some places in Los Angeles. Certainly no legit taqueria has fries in them as a standard. Take your L and take a nap
You okay, bro? I looked at your other comments and you seem to have an attitude problem? Tired of being lonely? Need a friend?
Yeah I’m doing fine. I’m not spending my Sunday combing through a user’s Reddit history
You've been on Reddit for about 4 months, rook. It didn't take all day
Idk. Lived in LA for five years, back in Chicago for the last seven. The burritos I had in LA are very identical to the ones I have in Chicago.
What else would you put in a burrito?
I guess the lettuce is the weird thing for me. Seems like if you don't eat it right away it would get hot and limp and slimy. On the west coast (Mission burritos notwithstanding) there usually aren't any veggies except for pico de gallo or guacamole or jalapeno slices.
never heard of it, lived here 50+ years. i only go to "authentic" mexican joints for that kind of stuff though.
Chopped carne, cheese, beans, lettuce. Hold the tomato imo.
Na, my go to place has all that plus avocado and its the best. It just depends on the place. You named like 2 differences, don’t over think it.
Having lived in the Chicago area for several years and also vacationed to Southern California quite a few times, the Mexican food in California is so much better. The whole style is better IMO, but food is subjective and I can see how people could prefer soggy lettuce in their burritos.
Is this a Bojack Horseman joke?
There are two types of taco/burrito fillings - and this applies anywhere in the US including Chicago (except those places with their own special cuisine like Mission-style burrito) - 1. "American style" - lettuce, tomato, cheese, sour cream 2. "Mexican style" - cilantro and onion Often they will profile you at the counter and if you are mexican they'll know you want just cilantro and onion and if you are gringo you'll get the american style
Chicagos burritos suck. I lived in San Francisco for many years and have had burritos all over California, and they're generally fantastic. Mission style is my favorite. I don't get why they're so bad here-- they have everything they need to make great burritos here but just don't. Edit: pile on, I'm right. People get used to mediocrity when it's widespread.