Chicago Foodies

Lito's Empanadas

Lito's Empanadas is an extremely tiny place located on Clark St. in Lincoln Park, and it was love at first sight.  When I was on the bus on my way to getting my haircut, I thought I have to stop at this place.  Lito's sells nothing but eight styles of empanadas, including a choco-banana empanada for those with a sweet tooth.  It's a great place for street meat food at street meat prices, which range from $2.09 to $2.29.   

Carnivale: Pan Latin Food in a Theatrical Setting

Though we've never been, for Valentine’s Day my wife and I went to Carnivale as it's had received good reviews.  When we walked in right away we felt the place was over the top, yet awe-inspiring with generous use of primary colors, high ceilings, Cuban music, and lots of energy. Coming in there was someone handing out free samples of Spanish olives.  Carnivale is mostly pan-Latin but does throw in Spanish dishes like manchengo and zamarano cheese as well as the ever-tasty jamon Iberico.  The other thing we noticed was the people patronizing the establishment,  were very eclectic and perhaps not a typical West Loop club crowd.

 

La Unica's Hidden Eats

Sitting on Devon, steps from the culturally rich grocery store of Devon Market and Thai eats, I found myself wandering the aisles of La Unica. This is a quaint Cuban grocery shop full of ingredients native to Cuba and other latin countries alike. Countless tropical juices, black beans and guava pastes line the shelves starting my head thinking of dishes I could create with them. Frozen yucca, tamals and exotic fruits I've never heard of can be found within the freezer section. Ginger beer, bottled mojo and pineapple sodas stand in glass bottles.

Mekato's Bakery

Buñuela's are a powdered-cheese-rolled-and-fried- crisp-bread-thing. Eating one started with a sliding crispy knaw that punctured then cracked the dusty shell and led to the fluffy center. Subsequent chewing combined the flavor and texture into a dynamic twist on a comfort-food staple... Cheesy bread.