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The "New" Maxwell Street Market - Central American Eats for CHEAP!
I am a Chicagoan who did not experience the original Maxwell Street Market.
Today I went to the New Maxwell Street Market on Canal Street and Roosevelt Road.
The market is primarily a Hispanic oriented market.
There are plenty of food stalls w/lots of food to try. Most items go for $1-$2.
I was in heaven trying the various items while sipping a Horchata. Horchata is Mexican rice water or rice milk made from rice, water, cinnamon and some sugar. While I believe it is considered a dessert, I enjoyed the sweet cool liquid w/my salsa-hot items I ate.
Tamal Oaxaca serves some terrific tamales, only 75 cents for a small one. Make sure to pour over the green salsa that comes in a squirt bottle. The salsa is not hot at all and lends a full pepper taste to the tamale. Great start.
At Sabrosos Tacos, they serve an item called chorizo w/red sauce. A flat bread/tortilla thing is heated w/chorizo (Mex sausage), cheese, and a rich full red sauce. TASTY.
I lost my notes after this, but remember eating more varieties of tacos (including a potato) and tacitos (small fried stuffed tacos).
One very yummy item was a quesadilla made with the fungus that grows on corn. Very earthy, kind of a mixture between a mushroom and truffle. Very good as well.
The market itself is ok, mostly tools, tube socks, Latin music, but the food is definitely worth a visit.
The New Maxwell St Market is every Sunday at the corner of Roosevelt and Canal in Chicago.