There are three (cancel that, now 2 as of 10/2006) Maria's Mexican Restaurants. I have eaten at the Foster location for a few years now. Food is always fresh and very well-prepared. Now that there is a Maria's in my hometown (Des Plaines), I am eating at this location and the food is as good as ever.

The Foster location is also w/in 5-8 minutes of O'Hare airport and the O'Hare hotels.
Simply take 190 out of O'Hare towards Chicago, exit River Rd south, go about 1 mile and turn right on Foster to Maria's.

Standouts for me include: Pollo Mole (grilled chicken breast w/a Mole (roasted Anejo pepper, cinnamon sauce), Carne Asada (GREAT skirt steak) w/Pico de Gallo, Chilies Rellenos (Roasted Poblano peppers stuffed w/either cheese or shredded beef).

Most entrees in the $9-$12 range.
Hours are Tuesday-Saturday 11am-11pm, Sunday 11am-10pm, closed Mondays.

Maria's on Foster
9440 W. Foster
Chicago, IL
773.992.2288

Maria's on Harlem
1905 N. Harlem
Chicago, IL
773.622.2277

Stopped by the Rosemont branch last weekend on a Hyatt mattress run. My girlfriend was very impressed, and she is a bit of a critic, having lived in a Mexican community in LA for three years.

Hey YYZC2, glad you liked Maria's. I'm so darned cheap that I've been re-visiting all the local taquerias trying to find the best tortas and tacos al pastor. These places make Maria's look a bit pricey which it is not.

SW, get out to SoCal much? My girlfriend lived around the corner from the original El Cholo restaurant in N Hollywood and we stop by often - next weekend being the next visit. Love to break bread with you sometime.

SW, get out to SoCal much? ... Love to break bread with you sometime.about 4-5 times a year. I'm sending you a pm.

I've been re-visiting all the local taquerias trying to find the best tortas and tacos al pastor.

Have you tried "Taquieras Arandas" on Oakton, just west of River?? Since this place is very near to the mother-in-laws, its easy to stop by there and pick up an al pastor burrito almost any time......
Try it if you haven't already....

Dave

So when are we going? I think we need to try both!!!

I must admit that I'm not a big tortas fan, but the rest of it sounds terrific.

The taco place across the street from my office is so boring, they don't have al pastor, they don't have tamales, they don't have chorizo... Out my way there's about a half dozen taquerias and three full-fledged restaurants within a ten-minute drive of my house; the mini-chain El Famous Burrito four blocks from my house has the best mix of item consistency and menu variety, but it's a bit workmanlike.

I must admit that I'm not a big tortas fan....
I was never either until I found a place that nails them! Los Compadres on Algonquin (near where Dempster meets Algonquin in Mt Prospect).

refried beans, lettuce, jalapenos, mex sour cream, chorizo, ham, mex cheese, served piping hot on a warm slightly crisped mex bun. I'm drooling thinking about it now. :)

Hey bseller, Taquieras Arandas does serve a good al pastor but I prefer the tacos (w/soft corn tortilla) as opposed to the burrito. Further west a bit on the same side of the street is a papuseria (sp?). Papusas are filled corn tortillas, I believe a food from El Salvador. Give'em a try, better yet, call me when you are in town and I'll meet you there.

The “Mexican style” shrimp cocktail is wonderful as an appetizer, chock full of freshly chopped onions, avocado, tomato and of course tender flavorful shrimp in a rich tomato “broth”

The Chilies Rellenos are excellent, cheese is good but their special beef mixture is delicious ^ ^

I still believe that Maria’s serves one of the best carne asadas in Chicago, which is what Mrs. Sweet Willie had.

Maria's also now serves flights of tequila.

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I'm looking for a place to take hubby for his birthday dinner. He loves Mexican food- are there any high-end or upscale (e.g. around $25/entree) restaurants in downtown Chicago?

GG

Are there any high-end or upscale (e.g. around $25/entree) restaurants in downtown Chicago?
That's an easy one!! You're looking for the place(s) owned by TV-star/chef Rick Bayless. His 'less' fancy restaurant - Frontera Grill - is very very good and almost always packed. Right next door is Topolabampo, also owned by Bayless and a bit more "upscale". I would guess that the $25/entree range would be ok in either place, tho I personally think that Frontera is the better of the two.

Location is (approx) 500 N. Clark, and I'm sure you can find reviews on both by simply googling Frontera Grill...

Have fun and Best, Dave

I would go to Salpicon! over Frontera/Topolobampo.

There's also Zocalo that just opened, but I haven't been yet. Sounds good.

There's also Salbute in Hinsdale which I think is my favorite of them all, but it's not downtown. (That said, downtown Hinsdale is very nice.)

Maria's of Des Plaines
1535 Ellinwood
Des Plaines, IL
847.297.4048

is closing and set to become a Lalo's which is still part of IDine.

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Thanks for the great recommendations! I printed out the menus for several of the places mentioned and let hubby decide. He picked Salpicon.

The food was incredible. The spiciness was at the perfect level and mixed deliciously with the flavors. We had the Sopes Rústicos, enchiladitas de pescado, and the langostinos poc-chu.

Side note story: When I made the reservation for Salpicon at OpenTable.com, I put in the notes that it was my hubby's birthday and if they did anything special for birthdays, we'd appreciate it, as long as it was relatively quiet. So when they brought us our dessert, a young man came over with a dessert plate with a tiny candle burning, put the plate down, then leaned over our table and very softly sang Happy Birthday to Jason, in kind of a whisper singing voice. It was really endearing and probably one of the cutest things I've ever seen done in a restaurant.

We LOVED Salpicon, so THANK YOU to everyone who recommended it!!!

GG

we had dinner (my post-Chicago Marathon pig out) last week at a place called Zapatista (1307 S Wabash Avenue). It was excellent. ^

I wanted to go to Frontera Grill (which i just LOVE) but unfortunately, they are closed on Sundays. However, this place was right up there with Frontera... great food, moderately priced, pretty casual.

I would highly recommend it for someone staying in the Loop, it's just a short cab ride.

I think they are great. Ive ate at litrally 100 or more Mexican places in Chicago , and tArandas are tops ,save the places on 47th street which are also very good. Thing about Arandes in Des Plaines steak is there is NEVER had any fat in the meat. Every other Mexican restaurant Ive been to you have to expect an X amout of chewy fat. Ive never tried the chicken or pork at Arandes though. ^

That's an easy one!! You're looking for the place(s) owned by TV-star/chef Rick Bayless. His 'less' fancy restaurant - Frontera Grill - is very very good and almost always packed. ...


Out of curiosity... has anyone seen (or heard stories of "appearances" by) R. Bayless in either of his restaurants?

Has anyone seen (or heard stories of "appearances" by) R. Bayless in either of his restaurants?
Last time my wife and I were in Frontera Grill, which is perhaps a year or so ago, we'd just recently attended a "food event" at the Chicago Botanical Gardens, and purchased a signed copy of one of Rick's books. It turns out that a former colleague of mine now works for him full time, and we spent a few minutes chit-chatting about this person.

Anyway, when we were in Frontera I simply mentioned to the waiter that if Rick were in the house, I'd appreciate a word. 10 minutes later, he's tableside and asked if everything was OK. I said sure, appreciate the stop and enjoying reading your book.

Best, Dave