Tag: Mexican food

Known for its potent margaritas, flavorful tacos, and little red building on Memorial Drive, Mi Barrio served as a fixture of Grant Park for more than 20 years. It shuttered in late 2024 after owners Jesus and Martha Lopez announced their intention to retire. Now, Mi Barrio is back. A few months ago, Grant Park Market owner Greg Hutchins invited the Lopez family to pop up on Sunday and Monday evenings. They’ve been serving an abbreviated menu of Mi Barrio favorites there ever since.

In the heart of Midtown, upscale flash collides with cultural warmth at La Santa Tacos & Bar. That’s the intention of the restaurant for partners Pablo Casas and Fernando Jimenez. La Santa is a tribute to an iconic club in Mexico City, where Jimenez hails from (Casas is from Colombia).

Rosa replaces DBA Barbecue on North Highland Avenue. Owned and operated by brothers Brandon and Zach Hancock, Rosa serves tacos, enchiladas, burritos, and fajitas in a casual atmosphere.

Named after a cherished friend of the owner, Natalie Bianca joins a cluster of culinary gems nestled in Cascade Heights, near the Cascade Springs Nature Preserve and the Adams Park neighborhood.

Eating beef, pork, chicken, and seafood out of a hot lava-stone bowl is a thing, and you should try it. Meet molcajete. While molcajete is the term for the mortar-like cooking tool typically used to grind spices and crush vegetables to make salsas, it is also the name of this eye-catching dish. Variations of molcajete often show up on the menus of Mexican restaurants; however, the experience is unique at Amealco Mexican Kitchen.

In 2022, when he and his business partners opened the Mexican restaurant El Valle in Midtown, Luis Damian was clear on what he didn’t want for the space: “I didn’t want to open another tequila bar with a theme of sombreros, skeletons, and mariachi that Americans think of when they picture Mexico.”

Those of us who write about food often focus on seeking out informal little joints and unheralded treasures. But, since it opened in September, I’ve heard Palo Santo described frequently enough as the “sexiest scene in town” to wonder if we’re overlooking diners’ desires for another kind of restaurant: one that dazzles its audience with a big show, creating a kind of collective, near-religious culinary experience.

A Decatur mezcal bar to raise your spirits, a convivial rum bar in Reynoldstown, and upscale Vietnamese in Virginia-Highland

Restaurant critics often seek out extreme culinary experiences at the expense of focusing on where most people want to spend their time and money when they go out to dinner. My first visit to El Valle—a modern Mexican restaurant in the old Escorpión space—had nothing to do with reaching for a deeper understanding of cuisine. I just wanted to have a good time.

Palo Santo’s menu will be limited to about 20 items, designed to be shared. Options include mushroom tetela, cured hamachi tostada, and wood-fired ora king salmon al pastor.