Tecalitlan

09/23/09

Premium Priced, Econo Size!

by Simpleman008 at Citysearch

It seems that in these tough economic time, even the succesful businesses are cutting down. $8 for a burrito the size of a flauta is just not a good deal for your buck. I would recommend La Pasadita, which is only a few minutes away. For the same amount of money, you will get twice the amount of food. I've been a long time customer of Tecalitlan but seems that lately the size of their tacos and burritos has shrunk drastically. You gotta spend more in order to be satisfied. You call in to make a complaint with the manager, good luck getting in touch with him/her! They take down your number and promise to call you back, it's been 5 hours since I called in and I'm yet to receive a call from the manager... Go somewhere else if you don't want to be frustrated. For them to get an award for best of Citysearch, it's an absolute joke.

• Pros: Good Parking
• Cons: Not worth your dollar.

02/08/09

good service, atmosphere and the BEST al pastor

by chicagomunoz at Citysearch

My husband and I live in Pilsen and eat a lot of Mexican food. We love tacos. We wanted to take his mom and our 18 month old to a restaurant for dinner and picked Tecalitlan. We loved the bustling room on a Sunday night. Big family dinners going on all around us was nice. Our server promptly got a high chair for our son and called him "champion" which made me happy :). The guac was delish, the salsa was fresh and spicy. Between us we had carne asada, al pastor, tilapia tacos. I didn't like the tilapia taco but the al pastor was so flavorful. The server told us that they cook the pork like gyro meat on a big rotisserie and carve it off (instead of cooking it on the grill) which imparted a unique flavor. My MIL had a sampler platter with cheese enchilladas, picadillo tostada and everything was perfect. They have desserts, a bar, a juke box and the atmosphere is a cut above most other mexican places in this price range. We will make the trip out of our neighborhood to visit this restaurant again.

• Pros: variety, authenticity, ambience, service
• Cons: nada

11/27/08

Everyone Left Sick

by tommyhearts at Citysearch

The food here is horrible. The rice was bland, the guacamole was of hersey squirt consistency, the pico de gallo was nasty, the steak was overcooked, and the service was horrible. I will never go here again. Everyone at our table got sick; one of us threw it up right after eating. We left almost all the food on the plates. Horrible, there's way better Mexican.

• Pros: The parking lot
• Cons: The drinks, even with ice were still hot. The food was horrible.

10/19/08

Better food at Cemitas

by peanuttyxxx at Citysearch

I've eaten here a ton, and it's good. But a better bet is Cemitas Puebla in Humboldt Park

"I blog for Diners Drive ins and Dives, and figured I'd check out Cemita Puebla myself. It was the best Mexican food I've ever had. Even better than the food I ate in real Mexico. Here's my review of it for delish dot com

On this week's "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives," Guy Fieri visited Cemitas Puebla, a Mexican joint about a mile from my house. I'd never heard of it, but I'm always up for good Mexican food, so I decided to see for myself if it was as great as Guy claimed it was.

So Friday night, around 5pm, I called over just to make sure they serve margaritas (they don't serve liquor). But it didn't matter anyway. The owner informed me they had so many customers, they were running out of food. And after reading reviews of Cemitas Puebla on yelp (not one of which was negative by the way), I found out this happens quite often. They're just that popular.

So I stopped by this morning right when they opened, at 11am. I assumed I'd have the place to myself, but was I ever wrong...there was only one free table.

And once I took a bite into their famed cemita sandwich, I understood why. The cemita is a sandwich served only in the Mexican city of Puebla (and obviously, the Humboldt Park neighborhood of Chicago). The toasted homemade sesame bun is layered with avocadoWall at Cemitas spread, chipolte peppers, Mexican cheese and a bitter herb called popolo (the owners of this family run gem grow it in their backyard every summer).

It being only 11am, I wasn't ready for meat, so I ordered the cheese cemita. But most customers order a cemita with meat, anything from carne asada to spicy pork to breaded pork.

But my favorite part of Cemitas Puebla? Their decor. One wall is plastered with photos of Latino heavyweights along with a picture of the owners and Guy.

06/03/08

Excellent Food

by lpg1170 at Citysearch

I write this strictly about the food. It was excellent. I love mexican food and I must say this is the best I have had. I would totally recommend this restaurant. I can't wait to bring more friends to it, i plan to go back very soon.

The parking leaves a bit to be desired but the service was efficient. I was on a lunch hour so I plan to check out the bar (quality and prices) next time I go.

02/16/08

Great food, but a little negligent

by medraj at Citysearch

The food was excellent with a good amount of flavors and texture. I'm from LA, so I know decent Mexican food and this one is up to par. Good amount of vegetarian choices. I gave 4/5 instead of 5/5 stars because the service was peculiar. The server did the bare minimum and was not attentive. He acted like we were taking up his time or something. He did not listen and messed up on several things. In particular, he threw away my food when I clearly said to give me a to-go box. He basically threw out half of an $11 entree plate! Then we ask him about the one (and only) dessert on the menu. He looked at us as if we're crazy for asking and told us we wanted something else. It was ashame because I liked the food. I still recommend this place and I'll continue to go, but maybe take out next time!

• Pros: excellent food, nice decor in dining area
• Cons: parking lot is weird, service was not the best, music kept going on/off

10/25/07

Amazing!

by pyt333 at Citysearch

I moved for southern california-land of awesome, cheap mexican food. I love mexican and was a bit discouraged because I couldn't find anything decent here. Then I happened upon Tecalitlan and fell in love. I sat down and was given chips and salsa-the litmus test for mexican restaurants. The salsa was spicy but not overly hot and had an amazing flavor. It was fresh and addicting. Then came the burrito. Oh, my sweet lord! I could taste every ingredient-not just rice like most places. I can't even explain how incredible this burrito was. It was HUGE, and so good I stuffed myself, but still didn't finish it. My bill was about $8.00. Crazy cheap! A few hours later I ate the rest of the burrito-cold. Still tasted fresh. I could still taste every flavor. Even after being in the fridge for over 3 hours it wasn't soggy.

Go!! Just go and experience it for yourself. It is indescribibly good. Apparently some guy drives down from Wisconson every week to buy a vat of the salsa. If I lived there I would make the trip too. This place is so good it's worth the drive.

• Pros: Everything.
• Cons: Nothing

06/26/07

An Excellent Traditional Mexican Dish and Atmosphere

by irisfitz at Citysearch

This place is excellent in making it's best and has authentic dishes at a reasonable price. I've been dining for over 20 years, my family growing up always picked this place for Mexican dishes. I just recently visited myself although it's out of my way and had tacos al pastor. Great chips and salsa too.

• Pros: Ambience, Parking, Price
• Cons: None

04/06/07

BEST MEXICAN FOOD EVER!

by jstone55 at Citysearch

HOLY FRIJOLES, MAN DO I LOVE THIS PLACE!! TECALITLAN IS THE PLACE TO BE WHEN IT COMES TO MEXICAN. GREAT PLACE FOR MARGARITAS AND CHICKEN TAMALES!! THE CHORIZO TACOS ARE KILLER TOO!! MAKES A GREAT STOP BEFORE OR AFTER A BULLS GAME OR A NIGHT OUT IN THE CITY!

• Pros: GREAT TASTING FOOD AT AFORDABLE PRICES!
• Cons: TOO FAR FROM MY HOUSE!!

02/01/07

Best Margaritas and Enchiladas in Chi-Town!!

by kg17 at Citysearch

I Love, love, love Tecalitlan or Teca as my friends and I like to call it! It is so yummy and it will not break the budget! We go there all the time after work or after a night out on the town since they stay open late on the weekends. It was featured in the August issue of LATINA Magazine for having GOOD & INEXPENSIVE Food!! They are Totally Righ!! They failed to mention the Killer Margaritas made with Tequila 3 Garcias, though!! One Frozen margarita and you'll be hooked!! They are so good and go great with the Hot Pico de Gallo and warm Chips. I love going there for their specials on the Margaritas during the week and for great Tacos de Carne Asada or Carne Asada Enchiladas. Mmmmm they are tasty and you can actually smell the great Carne Asada being grilled inside, from the parking lot as you get out of your car. I can honestly recomend this place to anyone who wants REAL, AUTHENTIC Mexican Food (their Mole sauce tastes just like my grandmas in Mexico, I LOVE IT!!). The mural on the ceiling is so pretty. It goes from night to morning or from morning to night, depening which way you look at it! It is really cool, though! It is a low key, easy going place that is perfect for catching up with friends or going on a first date since it does not give off a totally romantic vibe. Their menus say they have been around for over 30 years and that it has been run by the same "familia" since it opened, so that must mean they are doing something right!! Kuddos and Keep up the Good Work!! See you all soon again my Teca friends!

P.S.They also have th best bartenders Danny and Jose! They already know what I like and don't even wait for me to ask! Now I'm hungry and thristy. I think I will head out to get some good food and drinks at Tecalitlan! Hahaha!!

• Pros: Great Food, Great Margaritas, Great Employees
• Cons: Parking, No Delivery and No Reservations!!