Addison, Illinois: Land of Enchantment

When I think of Illinois, as I'm sure many people would agree, I think of many things: Chicago, Oprah (damn you, you big beautiful thing), lakes, The White Sox, and deep dish pizza. Chicago is one of my favorite cities, and I've really only been there twice. But the impression was so strong, the city so dominantly beautiful, that it's become a favorite.

But taco country? Perhaps not.

I was recently in Addison, Illinois--a quaint, brick house lined suburb about 20 minutes outside of Chi-town. Addison ain't much to look at: a chain hotel, about 8 places to eat, and very limited television. Still, I'm on a quest, see, and Addison wouldn't deter this hunt for tacos--even in a snowy, windy, bitter freezing cold vein of mother Chi-town.

Truth be told, it didn't take me long to find the one and only taco shack in town. Maria, the sweet and kind lady that cleaned my hotel room, tipped me off to an off-the-beaten-path taco place tucked away along Factory Road. There actually is, in Addison, something called Factory Road. Felt a little Steinbeck, but ok, I'm game.

It's tough for a Mexican taco shack to exist in Addison. As you can see from the picture on the front of my blog, the shack itself is done up in the classic taqueria style: bright garish colors, hand lettered food specials on the glass, intermittently flickering neon signs--everthing about it is in complete contrast to the bloodless landscape that surrounds it. A real sheep amongst the wolves.

First, it was really warm inside, and that was nice. There's not much better than a warm chow house when there's a ripping wind and it's 18 degrees outside. Inside, it smelled like posole, grilled meat, and warm tortillas. Perfect. I settled in to a plastic chair, ordered a Tecate, and got down to business.

My goal here was to try something a little off of the taco path, so I rolled with a torta--basically a Mexican hamburger. Like the taco, there are many versions of the torta. You can rock these with seafood, pork, beef, chicken, eggs, and on. The defining element is usually the bread--which should be crusty, almost brioche like. And believe it or not, this place was on point. I ordered a torta with carne "deshebrada"--basically a shredded beef torta. Safe, I thought, very safe.

When the goodness arrived and I took the first delicious bite I was floored by the following:

1. Juicy!! The carne deshebrada almost had a French Dip style quality to it. the meant was perfectly cooked and expertly shredded into fine strands. And then there was some sort of delicious "jus" drizzled over it. Amazing beefy flavor mixed with the spice rub on the beef was out of this world!

2. The lettuce/slaw that was layered over the carne was mind blowing!! Rather than a garden variety (no pun intended) slaw--phlaccid, over seasoned, industrial--this slaw was crisp, had a nice bite to it, perfectly seasoned, and only added to the savory rich quality that the beef itself brought to the party.

3. The bread was heaven. I have no idea if it was fresh, and at that point I could have cared less. The outer layer was a buttery golden brown, and the inside was fluffy and absorbant. It both sopped up the meat juices and held the whole rig together. Masterful bread!!

I destroyed this torta. Complete devastation before moving on to the sides of frijoles, rice, and pickled jalapenos. Again, I was completely amazed at the quality of the frijoles, that tasted as if they'd been cooked with bacon bits (although none were visible). The rice had that wonderful flavor that great Mexican rice has--sort of like onions and cilatro--light and delicious. The pickled jalapenos demanded another frosty Tecate, which I was happy to supply.

There are times when a meal seems out of place geographically. But you take the chance, hoping that it comes close to what you're looking for and that it isn't a complete train wreck. I have to tip my hat to the crew in Addison. Your torta meal #5 was the real deal. I'll be back, next time I'm back. Good on 'ya boys!!