Las Maravillas has been in business for 10 years. Tucked away in a quiet corner of Hyde Park, a neighborhood of Chicago on the South Side, it gets nothing but local business, from the look of things, and manages to stay open - which tells you something about the quality of the food.
My favorite item on the menu is the carne asada (steak) burrito. The steak is broiled and chopped, never boiled, so it is delicious on its own. Combined with other fresh ingredients (lettuce, tomato, avocado, beans, pico de gallo) in the burrito, and with gobs of two kinds of hot sauce, it's positively the most delicious steak burrito I can find in Chicago, if not in the country (and I don't say that lightly: between the Mexican neighborhoods of Chicago and southern California, I've eaten a lot of burritos). It's just the right balance of salty and broiled meat. I think it's the perfect burrito: never bland, perfectly delicious to the last bite. I always want another one.
There is a full menu of authentic Mexican (mole, soups, flautas) and modified American food (the menu offers a burger, but I've never seen anyone eat one), but I usually just get the steak burrito. A large one is a fully satisfying meal on its own ($4.80), but you can get carne asada with rice and beans as a dinner plate as well. A small burrito is probably the best deal on the menu: not significantly smaller than the large, but only $3.50. And they have bottled beer: Pacifico, Negro Mondalo, XX.
The service is very friendly, the decor frighteningly neon, and there's usually a Mexican soap opera on in the background, but the checkered floor and chrome bar and chairs in the middle of the restaurant remind you of a California diner. Las Maravillas is Mexican-American, properly put, but I go for the Mexican. Enjoy!
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