A coworker brought these into work and I have been thinking about them for weeks! I used to pass…read morethis location going between the grocery stores on Cermak and never thought to stop by. Finally today I had a chance to park in the loading zone and grab a few of what was left: green and red salsa pork tamales and then 1 of each of the sweet ones for my kids. The pork tamales were great and had a lot of flavor. My daughter loved the strawberry and will try the other ones later. I will be back!

I usually think the great tamales are sold only on the streets in Pilsen, I normally see pop-ups…read moreand buy a dozen. I saw a store front called "The Tamale Lady" and I had to give it a try. I was surprised how reasonably priced these tamales are. I asked them which is most popular and she told me the green chicken tamales are most ordered. I bought a dozen of the red sauce pork ones also. Both choices are a hit with my family and I been coming here weekly for my tamale crave Payment is Zelle or Cash. Street Parking available too.

A true taste of Mexico away from Mexico. These tacos were so delicious and authentic and they don't…read moreskimp on the meat. We tried asada, pollo, and al pastor and they were all a hit. The meat is made to order and the salsas are so good. You get a variety of spice levels. Take them to go or eat them in your car! This is an outdoor taco stand so there's no seating available.

I was winding down my night out with family and we had a major taco craving! We wanted to try…read moresomething new (to us) that would also be open semi late and was not a full blown dine in. We yelped this and made our way over...this is in the neighborhood which means parking is not the easiest so it may possibly be a double parking blinker situation. It's a little tent with a grill and everything is made to order. There was a nice clip of walk ups and he cooks until no more folks roll up...so although Yelp says 11pm...if there are people ...they will be fed! Since it's in the neighborhood definitely want to be cognizant of not being rowdy. I had 2 carne asada steak tacos and a steak quesadilla! Flavors were on point! I ate a taco out of the trunk of my hatchback and had a quarter of the quesadilla...and was stuffed! Took the rest home and had a whole other meal! Fairly quick, tasty, no frills street tacos! Level of sketchy was mild but as in anywhere..when out later, you'll want to be aware of your surroundings.

This is a real Chicago classic. You don't have to drive through traffic to get a Red Hot Ranch…read moreburger--there's one right by Sox park! A great quick-service red hots with a very focused menu. It's a small place with super limited seating, but there are a couple picnic tables outside if you like.

Great little place near the ballpark wife and I each had a hotdog. Didn't realize that fries came…read morein/on the dog. Hotdog was great fries well let's say if it were like midnight after drinking they would have been amazing I'm sure. But super greasy and floppy almost "sweaty" like lol. If I were to go back I would request no fries or fresh fries if possible.

This fest has really went down. it used to be sooooo much fun! It was moved to 16th street (from…read more18th street), and turned from an expression of culture and the Pilsen neighborhood to just another fest selling things. It was much smaller than previous years with less food choices and fewer authentic vendors and had bad music, at least during the daytime when I went. I usually stay to hear the musical lineups but this was so boring I stayed long enough for the kids to get tacos and look at the 3 shops that were there. They even had some band singing sweet dreams singing the wrong words! I hope the fest will go back the way it was then I'd return. If not I'd say skip it.

There are a ton of festivals that happen during the summer in the Chicagoland area and Pilsen Fest…read moreis one of them! I enjoyed listening to various types of performances from rock, DJing, to an amazing musical family band called Cielito Lindo. The band's age ranged from about 7 years old to the father's age, and they were amazing at harmonizing together. There is a lot of cultural aspects to this festival including Chinelos, a dance from one of the Mexican regions. It was so much fun to participate in! There are various businesses from Pilsen area that participate to sell food including Taqueria y Restaurant El Buen Valle, which had delicious tacos, and had tons of drink options like agua fresca and alcohol. It's only a few blocks long, so it's very contained and easy to get around. Would definitely come back next year.

Well, the veggies were fresh but the GREASE was NOT. I could 1000% taste fish in the sandwich. Meh…read more Especially as a vegan. Not like I really want to taste that. The bread was crispy, the veggies were good but the overall flavor was ruined by the fact that I had a fishy aftertaste. The service was fast. They weren't as busy as some of the other trucks but they were almost one of the last ones from the direction I was walking from. Ambiance was the beautiful outdoor campus of University of Chicago. Couldn't have been a more beautiful day. Next time different food truck for me!

Yay! Thanks to our parent committee for sponsoring our teacher appreciation lunch with Chicago…read moreLunchbox Food Truck! The salt and pepper tofu bowl was amazing! The tofu was fried to perfection and smothered with delicious sauce. I'm so glad I got a chance to try this, and even better that the food truck was stationed right outside our school :) can't wait to try their food again!

Summer is here!!!!…read more Shaved ice at its best. There are few places that I would drive long distances for and this is one of them. If you are familiarized with shaved ice you know what I'm talking and if you don't, well it is about time and this is the place to do it. They have some great flavors and all are made from fresh ingredients. Here is a list of some the flavors they have: tamarind, guayaba, pineapple, peach, strawberry, vanilla, pistachio, eggnog, coconut, mango, coffee, cajeta (milk caramel), pecan among others. I have tried most of them and all are great, but there are few that are my favs. Guayaba is a the top of the list, followed by vanilla with rompope (kinda Mexican eggnog) with condensed milk, truly delicious. According to them the best seller there is the strawberry. You can always add condensed milk to any flavor, just request it. Do not be fooled, there are many raspas on this street. a few days ago on a regular Wednesday afternoon I counted 9 stands, yes 9, from Kedzie to Pulaski alone. I tried many of them (not on Wed., but over time) and none compare to Don Luis'. Raspas Don Luis, the best in Chicago

I have a strong appreciation for Chicago, which has consistently been my go-to location for takeout…read moreduring lunch for several years. They reliably fulfill my orders accurately, and I particularly enjoy their burrito bowls.

Excited to try The Fat Shallot's new truck during their first week of being open. I ordered the…read moresalami sandwich and their crispy pastrami fries and both were great. I admit, the salami sandwich surprised me. I do not usually like egg on a sandwich but I ordered it on a whim. Every single ingredient was intentional and made for a harmonious sandwich. Runny egg and BBQ made an even better sauce; pickled red onion complimented the BBQ; salami needed the bite from the onion. Super delicious and I'll definitely order again. (Just make sure to grab some extra napkins for that one!)

Every year, since the early 70's it seemed we had djs showcasing popular urban music. This year,…read morethey didn't even have a House music venue. I don't know if they are justifying it by saying, it keeps the gangs out but the gangs no longer really follow House music trends. Plus, they still had gang fights. As I walked my bike through the festival it felt alienating. On tv they called it America's largest latino fest and that's a lie.

The last time we visited Chicago a few years ago, we attended and really liked the Tacos y Tamales…read morefestival. This year we found we'd missed that event, but Fiesta del Sol, supposedly the largest Latin festival of its kind in the USA, would be happening during our trip instead, and both of those events take place in the exact same area of the Pilsen neighborhood. We took an Uber here on Saturday afternoon to check it out, eat some authentic Mexican food and enjoy the music and folkloric performances. This festival features streets lined with vendors selling food and merchandise, they had 2 performance stages with live bands, a grassy area with a DJ spinning, and a 2 block-long section that was set up like a carnival midway with games of chance, thrill rides and amusements. Visiting Fiesta del Sol was a good way to spend a few hours, enjoy some good food and entertainment and best of all, admission was completely free. Do know that the food at some booths is better quality than others and if I were to attend this festival again, I'd walk around and look at everything before deciding where and what to eat. Some vendors, for instance, were cooking their meat and preparing items fresh, including one stand that was grilling steak and turkey legs over an open wood fire, while others had pre-cooked everything and were taking items out of a cooler and reheating them as customers ordered - and to us, the pre-cooked options lacked flavor. Another thing to note is that Fiesta del Sol was a "dry" event with no alcohol sales. Even booths selling things like pina coladas and micheladas were selling non-alcohol versions. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but those planning to have a cold beer while enjoying the music on a hot summer day or to come and party it up with a few drinks, won't be able to do that here.

Every time I come to the city for softball practice, Park Dawgs is posted right next to our field!…read moreThese guys are the real deal! They offer your typical street vendor hot dogs (you can order them with cheese &/or chili), polish sausage, tamale, nachos with cheese, drinks, and chips and candy. All for a reasonable price too! They don't just cater to those at the park, but people line up because they are conveniently located on a busy street, and attract people in the neighborhood. They have two picnic tables set up for those who want to sit around and eat their hot dog, while watching teams scrimmage. You couldn't ask for anything more. These guys got the right idea. They know that once you're done on the basketball court or the baseball field, you're bound to be hungry, and they have exactly what you need. Snag a hot dog or some cheesy nachos, these guys are open late! Cash only though!