Mexican/Central American/Caribbean Tour in Chicago

Re:Mexican/Central American/Caribbean Tour in Chicago (stricken_detective)

Sun, 13 Mar 2011 17:28:44 GMT

BuddyRoadhouse

It just so happens I will soon be announcing a new tour to take place sometime this Spring. There will be five or six stops, all in the Chicago area, all places with little or no seating area. We take the food out to the street and dine "ala trunk", as in, "laid out on the trunk of someone's car". When we've finished sampling the wares of one spot, we move on to the next one. It's all very informal and great fun.

Ahem.

Re:Mexican/Central American/Caribbean Tour in Chicago (DEEPAK12)

Fri, 11 Mar 2011 14:34:31 GMT

Give you the confidence you need to win your case. You never want to try and represent yourself. You'll be completely out of your element in that courtroom. You'll be second guessing and coming off as completely unsure of yourself. On the other hand, when you hire a good accident lawyer, he'll exude confidence in the courtroom, setting you up to win your case.

Re:Mexican/Central American/Caribbean Tour in Chicago (BuddyRoadhouse)

Wed, 02 Mar 2011 15:12:26 GMT

peppercrane,
That tour was just one of many organized by a group of us like minded Roadfooders in the Milwaukee/Chicago area. We call ourselves The Contingent, and we get together on a semi-regular basis in either city (and occasionally elsewhere--south central Wisconsin and Madison have also been Contingent targets) and explore the hidden and lesser known culinary gems offered. Sometimes (usually) it involves a full day with multiple stops, sometimes it is more of a one stop gathering where we can sit and socialize for an afternoon or evening.

It just so happens I will soon be announcing a new tour to take place sometime this Spring. There will be five or six stops, all in the Chicago area, all places with little or no seating area. We take the food out to the street and dine "ala trunk", as in, "laid out on the trunk of someone's car". When we've finished sampling the wares of one spot, we move on to the next one. It's all very informal and great fun.

I see by your profile that you're located in LA. How often do you get into town to visit Irazu (also one of my favorites)? How much notice would you need to join our upcoming (but as yet unscheduled) Spring Tour? Although we're defined by our local members, we've hosted Roadfood visitors from all over the country. buffetbuster, The Travelin Man, wanderingjew, and Mayor Al, to name a few, have all been given honorary Contingent status. We'd love to have you join us on one of our events--especially if you bring a suitcase full of Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles with you!

Buddy

Re:Mexican/Central American/Caribbean Tour in Chicago (peppercrane)

Wed, 02 Mar 2011 01:52:24 GMT

Chanced upon this thread while searching for Irazu, which happens to be my favorite restaurant. Hope you can have that again in the offing and I'll sure take part.

Re:Mexican/Central American/Caribbean Tour in Chicago (abe_froeman)

Sun, 21 Jun 2009 01:15:57 GMT

Got it, starting it now...

Re:Mexican/Central American/Caribbean Tour in Chicago (BuddyRoadhouse)

Sat, 20 Jun 2009 23:56:01 GMT

Before anyone from the group starts posting descriptions and photos, can I suggest that we start a fresh thread in the "Trip Report" forum? After all, this thread took is through the planning stages, all new information qualifies as a report of our day.

Doesn't matter who starts it. Whoever gets here first and has a yen to post their thoughts and pix. Just pick a title and get it started. As for me, I'm tired. I'm going to bed.

Buddy

P.S. Just as a quick enticement to readers and interested parties; today was a huge success filled with pleasant surprises in all aspects of the tour, ranging from the food to the company we kept.

B.

Re:Mexican/Central American/Caribbean Tour in Chicago (ChuckL50)

Sat, 20 Jun 2009 10:54:20 GMT

Just got called in to work. May or may not be able to make it now. I'll have to play it by ear. Dammit.

Re:Mexican/Central American/Caribbean Tour in Chicago (ChuckL50)

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 20:34:52 GMT

I'm still in. Thanks for the later start time since I have an issue with alarm clocks on Saturday mornings. See you all there!

Re:Mexican/Central American/Caribbean Tour in Chicago (abe_froeman)

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 16:49:35 GMT

Oh, and yes, I will have hard copies of this information for everyone tomorrow.

Re:Mexican/Central American/Caribbean Tour in Chicago (abe_froeman)

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 16:43:00 GMT

Ok, here's the plan- we will meet at 1:00pm tomorrow at Irazu. There's street parking available around there. After that, we'll head over to Senor Pan (I figure we'll arrive between 2:00-2:30) I don't think any of us have ever been there, but it looks like a typical fast food set-up- order at the counter, tables to eat at.

If we leave Senor Pan by 3:15 or so at the latest, we'll have a couple of hours to kill before we should be at La Palapa, our third stop. There's some great neighborhoods in between that we can stop at, including Pilsen and Humboldt Park, so we'll play that middle part by ear.

Also, I was thinking that on the way to La Palapa, we can stop at a liquor or grocery store for libations, since La Palapa is BYOB (I just confirmed that over the phone with them.) They're expecting us around 7:00pm or so. I don't know how they'd feel if we showed up with a blender, but what it's easy enough to throw one in the car. There was a bit of a language barrier when I called, so I didn't want to get into too much detail with the woman on the phone; don't worry, the basic info was communicated, though.

As of right now, this is our list of definites:
Me & Diane
Mr & Mrs Roadhouse
abe_froeman & mr maki
nocarolina

I sent messages to ChuckL and MFL over Facebook; stricken, I asked them to contact you if they want to car pool.

Right now, Tom Skilling is saying this about the weather tomorrow: High of 85 degrees; Early clouds depart, then becoming mostly sunny, breezy from the west/northwest at 12-22 m.p.h.; continued warm but with lower humidity.

Any questions, I'm PM'ing all of you my cell phone number, and I'll check this thread before I leave tomorrow.

Irazu Costa Rican Restaurant
website
1865 N Milwaukee Ave
Chicago, IL 60647-4464
(773) 252-5687
Link to Map

Senor Pan
website
4612 W Fullerton Ave
(773) 227-1020
Link to Map

La Palapa
2000 W 34th St
Chicago, IL 60608-6143
(773) 376-9620
Link to map

Re:Mexican/Central American/Caribbean Tour in Chicago (BuddyRoadhouse)

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 00:52:36 GMT

MFL,
Why don't you catch a ride down with ChuckL50 ( I assume you're still coming Chuck, even though X1 has been unavoidably detoured), or stricken detective? As enticement, I have a bottle of hand crafted tequila that I was hoping to share with the imbibers in our group once we got to La Palapa.

The bottle was provided by a guy who is trying to do in the tequila world what I'm trying to do in the Barbecue Sauce world; make an outstanding product that is better tasting and made with better ingredients than the norm. We swapped sauce for booze a while back. Needless to say I gave up more sauce than he did tequila, but it was still a good deal and everyone got what they wanted. The bottle has been sitting on a shelf waiting to be shared and enjoyed by good friends.

nocarolina,
Our first stop will be Irazu, a Costa Rican diner on Milwaukee Avenue near Western. This will be followed by Senor Pan, a Cuban cafeteria on west Fullerton Avenue. Our final stop will be La Palapa, the Mexican seafood joint with the giant fiberglass shark on the roof, near Gertie's on Archer.

I'm sure our host and organizer for this excursion, abe froman, will be listing full addresses and an official start time (early reports indicate 1:00pm, but things are still evolving) well before we all need to leave our homes on Saturday.

See you all soon,

Buddy

Re:Mexican/Central American/Caribbean Tour in Chicago (carolina bob)

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 23:13:41 GMT

I'm confused! Where are we meeting up on Sat. and what time?

Re:Mexican/Central American/Caribbean Tour in Chicago (MilwFoodlovers)

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 21:52:28 GMT

Double whammy for us. An unexpected car repair to Mrs. MFL car has us cancelling Aurora's Blues On The Fox and skipping this meet n' greet. Hope to see some of you July 1st and the rest of you very soon. Have fun and take plenty of pictures.

Re:Mexican/Central American/Caribbean Tour in Chicago (stricken_detective)

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 14:19:06 GMT

It's only a 2 hour drive, so that works perfectly.

Is there anyone who wants to car pool from Mke? We have room for 2 more.

Re:Mexican/Central American/Caribbean Tour in Chicago (irisarbor)

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 11:43:49 GMT

So sadly, we are officially out-
Just got notice that some friends from AZ are in town for one nite only
and it's this Sat,
and as much as we love you all-
we haven't them in a dog's age....
So count us in for the next round of fun, and eat a spicy shrimp for us!
I'll be looking forward to all the great pix!

Re:Mexican/Central American/Caribbean Tour in Chicago (abe_froeman)

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 01:08:14 GMT

Sorry you can't make it, Jim- I've heard how wonderful the Madison Farmer's Market is, so I'm sure it will be a good time.

So, stricken, if I'm interpreting your comment correctly, the later the start time, the better, and you're okay with staying out at until 9:00, or later? I know you've got a longer drive than me going back. I can out-night people you under the table!

Assuming that 9-ish is as late as you want to stay out, since we're only going to two places before La Palapa, I think we can start around 1:00- that gives us plenty of time to get through those two places (and any places we discover along the way) and shoot for getting to La Palapa by 6:00 at the latest, which would give us three leisurely hours.

Sound good? Let me know if anyone thinks this plan needs tweaking! And of course, no one is obligated to stay at La Palapa any later than they're comfortable with.

ETA: Oh, yeah, and I found a little write-up and pictures on Metromix of La Palapa.

Re:Mexican/Central American/Caribbean Tour in Chicago (JRPfeff)

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 23:07:25 GMT

Sorry Abe, we won't be making this one. We've got a wedding ...

Actually, we'll be in Madison visiting our son, strolling the Farmers Market, and eating some really good Mexican food.

One of these days, we'll make the same event.

Jim

Re:Mexican/Central American/Caribbean Tour in Chicago (stricken_detective)

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 20:08:01 GMT

abe_froeman

Any idea about what time you want to get started and/or end the night? One affects the other, so I need some input, people!

Diane & I have no other plans the next day that would impede us from a late night. Also we are night people. So the later in the AM the better. :)

If we were to plan to be done @ La Palapa by 9 at the latest, that should work? We can do a noon start time? I am just throwing ideas out there.

Do we have a headcount?

Me & Diane
Mr & Mrs Roadhouse
abe_froeman & mr maki, mmmk
nocarolina
chuckL

Re:Mexican/Central American/Caribbean Tour in Chicago (irisarbor)

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 10:11:52 GMT

It is too soon for me to committ as we are still recovering from Bar Mitzvah madness, although all went exceeding well.
If we do join in there is a possibility we would just join up at La Palapa, and skip the prelim stops...
feeling a little food overburdened at them moment.

Re:Mexican/Central American/Caribbean Tour in Chicago (X1)

Sun, 14 Jun 2009 21:53:46 GMT

Unfortunately, I have just learned that I cannot go, as my sis decided that the 20th would be the day for my niece's b-day party. Thanks for the advance notice. Grrr.

Re:Mexican/Central American/Caribbean Tour in Chicago (abe_froeman)

Sun, 14 Jun 2009 20:27:01 GMT

Any idea about what time you want to get started and/or end the night? One affects the other, so I need some input, people!

Re:Mexican/Central American/Caribbean Tour in Chicago (carolina bob)

Sat, 13 Jun 2009 19:25:02 GMT

I'll be there.

Re:Mexican/Central American/Caribbean Tour in Chicago (stricken_detective)

Fri, 12 Jun 2009 14:17:07 GMT

Diane & I are still in, with a possible third. If this changes, I will let you know.

ETA I never answered the questions.

What time would we like to start? Anytime after 10 is good, that gives us 2 hours to get down there if we leave here @ 8.

What time would we like to end? 7ish? I would have to defer to Diane, since she will be driving.

Re:Mexican/Central American/Caribbean Tour in Chicago (X1)

Fri, 12 Jun 2009 08:04:21 GMT

As far as I know, I'm still in.

Re:Mexican/Central American/Caribbean Tour in Chicago (abe_froeman)

Fri, 12 Jun 2009 01:06:33 GMT

Hey everyone, I sent out a private message to everyone who has posted in this thread so far, plus chicagostyledog, minus quijote, since he said he was busy. If there's anyone else I left out, please forward my note (pasted below, too) or tell them to swing by this thread!

Hello!
I'm trying to work out the details for the Costa Rican/Cuban/Mexican Roadfood outing I'm planning for Saturday, June 20th.

Our plan is to go to Irazu for Costa Rican, Senor Pan for Cuban and end the day at La Palapa. La Palapa has what looks like a great outdoor area; as long as summer does make an appearance here in Chicago, we can sit out there and relax, catch up with each other. It is BYOB, so we'll have to make a stop for libations somewhere.

Since we're only going to three places, and we'll probably be hanging out at the last place longer than our normal "get food, eat, and move to the next stop", I want to work out the best starting time to work for the most people.

Please post in the thread about whether or not you'll be there, how many will be in your party, and what time you'd like to start and when you think you'd want to end the night. La Palapa is located at Damen Ave. and 34th Street, just south of 55, so it will be easy to get back home.

http://www.roadfood.com/Forums/MexicanCentral-AmericanCaribbean-Tour-in-Chicago-m505910.aspx

Hope you can make it and we look forward to seeing you in a couple of weeks!

~abe

Re:Mexican/Central American/Caribbean Tour in Chicago (stricken_detective)

Tue, 09 Jun 2009 17:47:01 GMT

abe_froeman

Phew, I was worried people forgot about this!

Well, Irazu opens at 11:30. They are a small place and very popular, so I think we should get there as close to 11:30 as possible. I'm not opposed to eating al trunko, but I'd prefer not to be out in the sun mid-day.

I'll talk to my dad about the logistics of where to meet and such in the next few days.

The mid-day sun is a concern for me as well due to my meds. I promise to wear a hat & bring sunscreen to share!

Re:Mexican/Central American/Caribbean Tour in Chicago (NYPIzzaNut)

Thu, 04 Jun 2009 19:44:21 GMT

BuddyRoadhouse

I've never seen this place; is it new? It looks like it's not far down the road from Jungle Jim's, which means I would have passed it if it had been there a while. I was at JJ's just last August. How long has The Green Plantain been in that location?

Buddy

Yes it has been there just a couple of months - it is about a mile or two south of the Jungle - on the opposite side of the road - here is the sign to look for:

Re:Mexican/Central American/Caribbean Tour in Chicago (BuddyRoadhouse)

Thu, 04 Jun 2009 19:29:37 GMT

I've never seen this place; is it new? It looks like it's not far down the road from Jungle Jim's, which means I would have passed it if it had been there a while. I was at JJ's just last August. How long has The Green Plantain been in that location?

Buddy

Re:Mexican/Central American/Caribbean Tour in Chicago (NYPIzzaNut)

Thu, 04 Jun 2009 19:07:00 GMT

Do you guys have a place like this in your area?

http://www.thegreenplantain.com/

Re:Mexican/Central American/Caribbean Tour in Chicago (abe_froeman)

Thu, 04 Jun 2009 18:14:38 GMT

Phew, I was worried people forgot about this!

Well, Irazu opens at 11:30. They are a small place and very popular, so I think we should get there as close to 11:30 as possible. I'm not opposed to eating al trunko, but I'd prefer not to be out in the sun mid-day.

I'll talk to my dad about the logistics of where to meet and such in the next few days.