Restaurant Review: North Center’s Taqueria El 5 de Mayo celebrates Cinco de Mayo year-round
With Cinco de Mayo celebrations happening throughout Chicago this weekend, you can celebrate year-round with the one restaurant in Chicago that bears the name–El 5 de Mayo, 2415 W. Montrose Avenue.
Thefamily-owned restaurant is the brother location to Taqueria El Asadero on Montrose and Lincoln and Taqueria Las Flores on Foster and Kimball.
While the North Center storefront lacks the fancy décor of more commercial venues for celebrating Cinco de Mayo, (honoring Mexico’s military victory in 1862 over the French forces of Napoleon III, per Brittanica.com) the family-owned restaurant has stood the test of time for the past eight years by refusing to compromise on quality. Their family mission is to *provide the finest tacos, burritos, and guacamole to hungry bellies.”
As they say on their website, they source grade A skirt steak and other meats and fresh ingredients from local businesses in their neighborhood “who are also our dear friends.”
Start with an order of GUACAMOLE, made with avocados, chopped tomatoes, onions, cilantro, and lime juice, or PICO DE GALLO, with chopped tomatoes, cilantro, jalapenos, serrano peppers, and lime juice.
Their entrées include PLATILLO DE CARNE ASADA, a Grade A skirt steak accompanied with rice, beans, salad and tortillas. PLATILLO DE POLLO is achicken dinner accompanied by rice, beans, salad, and tortillas. CHILE RELLENO PLATILLO offers a Poblano pepper in light egg batter, stuffed with cheese, with rice, beans, salad, and tortillas.
Other specialties include TORTAS, served with lettuce, tomato, sour cream, cheese and beans, which comes with your choice of skirt steak, chicken, chorizo, lengua (beef tongue) barbacoa (braised beef), Al-pastor, Jamon, Bistec de Res (breaded steak), or Bistec de Pollo (breaded chicken), or vegetarian. BURRITOS are served with onion, cilantro, lettuce and tomato and have the same options as the TORTAS.
Their seasonal dessert menu includes homemade LIME SORBET and FRESAS CON CREMA, strawberries & cream ice cream served on a sweet, crisp flour tortilla bowl, topped with fudge and strawberries.
Mine was not the only good opinion.
“This place has the best tacos in the north side of Chicago along with El Asadero!” said one recent Google reviewer. They use the best quality meat and ingredients! This is my favorite place to get some good guacamole with a torta, taco’s, and their chips and salsa.”
Taqueria El 5 de Mayo is open Tuesday -Saturday, 10am-10pm, and Sunday, 10am-8pm. They are closed on Monday. They do not accept reservations. For more information, click here.
Alison Moran-Powers and Dean’s Team Chicago
