One of my many “to do” lists while living here in Elgin is to sample as many of the restaurants as I can, starting with the fine looking restaurants in our revitalized downtown. A sub category on that list is to find the best Mexican food in the city. In a city with a 33 percent Hispanic population, there has got to be some “to die for” Mexican food. We had already tried Jalepeno’s which was OK but not remarkable and had the traditional Tex Mex combo plates served with rice and beans and corn chips and salsa on the table, but we have not really had time to explore any others. Mike is also not an adventurous eater. He pretty much likes things like baked and fried fish, hamburgers and chicken….he really doesn’t like herbs and spices so I have to do some arm twisting to get him to try something ethnic.
Although I am dying to try La Quebrada (and get a good look inside that beautiful old library building), after working a string of 12 hour days, I pulled into the garage dead tired last night wanting to do nothing but shed the work clothes and get into some “beyond casual” attire. La Quebrada looks like a sort of fancy place so we decided instead to try El Rincon de Pastigel Restaurant, located in the basement of the Pastigel Bakery on Chicago Street.
The minute we walked in the door our senses were hit by the most delightful bakery smells and we made a mental note to visit the bakery on the way out, however we were hungry enough to eat a burro so we headed down stairs.
El Rincon de Pastigel Restaurant is like a Mexican version of your average American coffee shop. It is simple, friendly and clean and the basement with it’s brickwork and arched doorways and Mexican decor is charming as was our waiter.
The first thing Mike said when he opened the menu was “where’s the tacos”. This has been our experience with your average “made for an American” Mexican cuisine restaurant we have ever been in and Mike always looked as tacos as relatively safe, with few surprises.
At El Rincon de Pastigel, there were no tacos or burritos on the menu, but several types of sandwich style items that we did not recognize. They did have Quesadillas and Gorditos and I recognized those from forays to Taco Bell. Our charming waiter did not speak English so we couldn’t ask anything about any of the offerings but we were there for a culinary adventure so that didn’t matter so much.
We decided to get three different types of sandwiches just to check out a variety and share between us.
We ordered a shredded beef Quesadilla, a shredded beef Gordito, and something else, the name of which I’ve forgotten but it began with an H and was a large puffy thick, plate sized tortilla, open faced, spread with beans and the most delicious salsa verde I have ever had. It can also be ordered with a variety of meats. It was love at first bite and I’m going back there for another one one of these days.
The Quesadilla and Gordito bore no resemblance to the the Taco Bell variety and were also outstanding. Also, each sandwich was HUGE!!!!! There were not tortilla chips on the table and no rice and bean side dishes but the food was plenty and we walked out of there very satisfied…so satisfied that we decided to put off checking out the bakery for another day.
So….if you are looking for some authentic Mexican cuisine in a very casual but charming place, El Rincon de Pastigel Restaurant is an excellent choice.
Filed under: Mexican Restaurants, Restaurant Reviews | Tagged: Downtown Elgin, El Rincon de Pastigel Restaurant
great review!
la quebrada is actually inexpensive (and delicious). the restaurant is in the basement, the upper floors are used for banquets…
As an Elginite recently transplanted to the East Coast, I’m shocked by the fact that no one mentioned the legendary El Faro (2 Elgin locations) or Azteca de Oro. El Faro #2 on Lillian and McLean Blvd is great for late night fare or for take out, but he dining room is nothing special. Huge and delicious burritos, great tacos & tortas. I would probably skip El Faro #1, on State St. (Rt.31), as I’ve always found their food to be disappointing. Azteca de Oro on National Street and Villa is also delicious, and good place to go for a night out. Restaurant is very charming and sometimes they even have a live band.
I second the comment on the great review above! I have been to the El Faro in the Tyler Creek Plaza in the northeast corner of McLean and Big Timber Road and was not very impressed. I enjoyed the complimentary chips and salsa that were located next to the soft drink machine. However, the barbacoa burrito I had ordered was sub-par. I was expecting pulled beef in the burrito as the name barbacoa suggests… Instead there were large cubes of grissle both attached and unattached to the almost non-existent pieces of beef. The iceburg lettuce resembled the name itself as it was almost colorless. Good luck getting diced tomato added as the FDA currently has a tomato ban. Then again not everyone pays attention to that sort of stuff…
Taqueria El Paraiso is across from JB’s on McLean, just north of 20. They have a tasty selection of food at modest prices. Best of all they are open very late for the night owls and have a drive thru!
I hear that the new restaurant in downtown Elgin, Mad Maggie’s, is going to have outdoor seating. Finally –an alternative to Prarie Rock for outdoor dining downtown Elgin!