Where to Find The Best Steak Taco
By Marco Mondragon
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In this issue of The Tiger, I am reviewing tacos. I set out on a mission to find the best steak taco. Although I didn’t go to 100 places, I did go to four places in Pilsen, Chicago. I consider Pilsen to be the taco central, so I knew that I would find some awesome places. I would have gone to Little Village, which is also in Chicago, but I wanted to go to some places that are closer to Elmwood Park.
I love tacos and they’ve been a big part of my life, so I consider myself to be a taco expert. In order to find the best tacos, I chose to be fair and ordered one carne asada taco from each of my selected four places. I graded each taco based on 3 key parts and a 5 point scale, with a 1 being disgusting and a 5 being stellar while a perfect score would be a 5/5.
The first grade I gave for each taco was for the overall taste without salsa. If the meat was perfectly seasoned, then I gave it a 5, however, if it was bland, I gave it a 3 or a 2. The next grading scale was the taste of the salsa. Most places give small containers of either green or red salsa, sometimes both, with each order. Salsa can either enhance the taste of the taco or can make it taste worse. So, I tasted the salsa on it’s own and rated it while also grading the taste of the taco with the salsa.
Some places did give extra goodies with each order, but, as much as I would like to include that into the grading section of each taco, I wouldn’t. I would also mention: the cost of each taco, quality of service, and speed of service. However, since this is a review of the taco, I wouldn’t dock or add points for service because I am only reviewing the taco, not the restaurant. On the other hand, I did dock points for any unpleasantness, if any, in each taco.
The first place I went to was La Cecina Grill, which is located on 1536 W 18th St. Since I didn’t want to wait in the restaurant for one taco, I ordered ahead of time. The cost of one carne asada taco was $2.50 plus tax. As I went to pick up my order, I was greeted by a friendly cashier who had my order ready.
As I took the taco out of the bag, I noticed that it was tiny. I also noticed that, inside the bag, there were: some homemade tortilla chips, a container of roasted red chunky salsa, and some napkins. I unwrapped the taco and was pleasantly surprised by the handmade tortilla, which was impressive since most places don’t offer handmade tortillas. Now, for the grading:
3/5 - There was nothing special about this taco. Overall, the meat was quite bland and perfectly adequate.
3/5 - The roasted flavor really came through in the salsa, but it was under seasoned.
4/5 - The taco with the salsa was rather good. Somehow, the salsa made the taco taste better, since it gave it an extra depth of flavor.
Minus 1 point - One noteworthy thing was that, on the last bite of the taco, I found out that it had a little bone in it, which was very unpleasant and unexpected.
Total: 3/5
The taco from here was mediocre at best. The only redeeming thing about the taco was the salsa, but, even then, I was disappointed as La Cecina has excellent cecina tacos.
Here is the taco from La Cecina
Taco from Taqueria Los Comales
The next place I visited was Taqueria Los Comales on 1544 W 18th St, which is just a few stores down from La Cecina Grill. Los Comales has various restaurants spread out in Chicago and each location is different, so I didn’t know what to expect. I also ordered ahead of time and picked up my order.
Here, they gave me some extra condiments to enjoy with my taco. Inside the bag, there were: one container each of red and green salsa, pickled carrots, jalapenos, and napkins. I've visited a few Comales restaurants and their pickled carrots are their signature item to offer. So, it was no surprise that they gave me picked carrots and jalapenos. The taco was fairly small, so I wasn’t blown away by the size. Also, there was no handmade tortilla, but that's okay since it’s the standard for most places not to have them.
5/5 - The meat here was seasoned perfectly. It was excellent as the corn tortilla had a slightly crisp edge, which added some nice texture.
4/5 - The green salsa was rather forgettable, as it both didn't taste like anything and was under seasoned. However, the red salsa was tasty, seasoned well, and somewhat spicy.
4/5 - The taste of the taco with the green salsa wasn’t bad, but the flavor of the salsa didn’t come through when it was on the taco. The red salsa really came through in the taco, as it enhanced the overall flavor of the taco.
Total: 4.3/5
I was surprised that Los Comales had delicious tacos. I consider them a chain restaurant, so each location can either be a hit or miss, and this specific location was a hit for their carne asada tacos.
Picture of the taco from Atotonilico
The third location I went to was Atotonilico, which is owned by the Atotonilco tortilla company. If you go to the supermarket, you might find their tortillas there. They’re located on 1637 S Blue Island Ave. Instead of ordering ahead, I walked in and ordered just to see how long it would take for them to make my taco and, surprisingly, I only waited a few minutes for them to call my order. The service was okay, but I was able to tell that the cashier didn’t want to be there. I would say I was shocked at the price of the taco. Of all the places that I went to, this was the most expensive at $4.00 a taco!
Inside of the bag, I was given: a small container of pickled carrots, red chunky salsa, and napkins. I wasn’t expecting to get pickled carrots from this restaurant, but I did and it was nice. The size of the taco was comparable to the other two locations.
3/5 - Overall, the meat was bland and chewy, with the only redeeming quality being the crispy edge on the tortilla.
2/5 - The salsa wasn’t good. It was bland and tasted slightly stale, as if it were sitting in the fridge for days.
4/5 - Surprisingly, the salsa made the taco taste better. It added a slight tang and spice that is often most satisfying in a taco.
Total: 3/5
This place was super disappointing because one would expect to get an excellent taco when paying $4.00 for one. The taco was both average and bland. Gordon Ramsay would not approve and neither do. I did like the crispy edges on the tortilla, but that's really all that was good.
Lastly, I went to El Milagro, which is located at 1923 S Blue Island Ave . This place is owned by El Milagro tortilla company, which makes tasty yellow corn tortillas. At this restaurant, I also walked in and was stopped by a security guard to check my vaccination card. After that, I got in line to wait and order my taco. Once I got to the counter, I ordered my taco and waited about 5 minutes or so for one taco. I ended up paying a little over $4.00 since the tacos were 3.45 a pop.
I took everything out of the paper bag and was surprised to see how huge the taco was. Inside the bag, there was a container of salsa and napkins.
4/5 - The taco consisted of a thin layer of beans, some rice, and whole pieces of marinated steak. Everything was perfect, except for the rice.
4/5 - The chunky red salsa was delightful. It was seasoned well, but was otherwise average overall.
5/5 - The taste of the taco with the salsa was great because it added a slight tang and spice to the taco, which brought it all together.
Total: 4.3/5
Using their own brand of tortillas, El Milagro restaurant makes awesome tacos. The regular steak taco tastes like you’re at a Mexican barbecue. The meat was perfectly marinated, perfectly grilled, and nothing is better than eating a taco where everything is perfectly seasoned. However, the rice and beans didn’t do it for me, as I felt like it was just a filler. I feel like this would be a 5/5 taco without the salsa if they used pico de gallo or nopal salad instead of the rice and beans.
Reviewing all of these tacos taught me something: not all carne asada tacos are the same and each varies in flavor and uniqueness. I am sure there are places that have 5/5 carne asada tacos, but, for the sake of simplicity, these four places drew my attention. If you’re looking for a regular, excellent tasting taco, go to Taqueria Los Comales in Pilsen, but if you’re looking for a more authentic and experimental taco, go to El Milagro restaurant also in Pilsen. The other two places were generally nothing special when you can get great tasting tacos from El Milagro and Taqueria Los Comales.
The taco from El Milagro
Reviewing all of these tacos taught me something: not all carne asada tacos are the same and each varies in flavor and uniqueness. I am sure there are places that have 5/5 carne asada tacos, but, for the sake of simplicity, these four places drew my attention. If you’re looking for a regular, excellent tasting taco, go to Taqueria Los Comales in Pilsen, but if you’re looking for a more authentic and experimental taco, go to El Milagro restaurant also in Pilsen. The other two places were generally nothing special when you can get great tasting tacos from El Milagro and Taqueria Los Comales.
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