Cheap Eats - North of the border

Barebones Mexican at Taqueria los Pinos



Gentrifying Grant Park is still enough of a fringe area to allow for a little creativity. The entrepreneurial spirit can be seen in micro-businesses that continue to pop up along Memorial Drive and the side streets north of I-20. Taqueria los Pinos has that same scrappy feel. Located across from the Urban Gardener off Boulevard, the restaurant caters to the area’s large Hispanic population, and the place is about as barebones as it gets. The simple storefront is unadorned, the interior bland except for a poster of Selena, a paper flower border and a TV that’s never quiet.

Blue Collar: There’s not a comfortable two-top in the house at Taqueria los Pinos. Instead, tables with six chairs or more provide maximum seating for the large groups of workers and families that frequent the place. Service can be spotty; our demure waitress didn’t know much English. But pointing and nodding seems to work just fine.

Little Fat One: The menu is separated into handheld items and knife-and-fork entrees. Burritos ($2.25) and tacos ($1.50) come filled with pork, beef tongue (lengua), chicken or grilled steak strips (carne azada).

The burritos aren’t of the typical steroid-pumped variety that go for two or three times the price; my juicy grilled steak version came wrapped in a warm tortilla for a manageable handful. But the gorditas were my favorite — salty, sweet corn pockets split and packed with refried beans, avocado, tomato and a choice of meat. Try them with marinated roast beef (birria).

Knife and Fork: The daily special comes with rice, beans, tortillas and a choice of chicken or ground beef (carne molida), all for $5.99. Cooked with bell peppers and onions, the ground beef worked best when tucked into a tortilla with the beans and rice.

While the menu includes fajitas ($8), chile rellenos ($8) and other familiar items, the pollo con mole ($8) is a more unusual find. Its three drumsticks are cooked until tender and covered in a brick-red mole sauce that can be off-putting to some. My friend pushed hers away, unmoved by the subtle interplay between chiles and sweet ingredients.

Toro: During lunch, most patrons turn their chairs toward the blaring TV, which can get old real quick. On one visit, a televised bullfight dominated my meal at high volume, prompting me to wave my own red flag.

jerry.portwood@creativeloafing.com