Take a walk down 18th Street in Pilsen and you won’t go far without passing a carnitas shop, pizza joint, hot dog stand or Mexican grill. It’s a varied mix of cheap (read: affordable) and cheap (read: not very good). For tablecloth dining options in the neighborhood, diners are often limited to May Street Café or Picante Grill, two places both given the Chicagoist review treatment. The former closes down when convenient (e.g the previous... more ›

By the time you read this, Chicagoist will be in a New York state of mind. We'll be catching up with old friends, eating a slice of "Original Simply Famous Really There Can Be Only One" Ray's pizza, gawking at David Blaine's "douchebag in utero" performance art piece - "douchebag" being the word of the week around here - and sniffing out a bar with a wide selection of premium tequilas. This week's primer on... more ›

During a field trip by the Chicagoist staff a few weeks back to Pilsen's Picante Grill your humble Bridgeport corespondent paired his pato almendrada entree with a $3.50 glass of tempranillo. It turned out to be an inspired pairing; the lighter almond molé sauce complemented the tobacco and vanilla notes found in the wine. Chicagoist loved it so much that we just had to share that love with you. more ›

Pilsen is a neighborhood currently battling the winds of change from the neighborhoods surrounding it. With the gigantic University Village development project reaching its northern edge businesses throughout the neighborhood are undertaking minor repairs or full-on overhauls in the hope of courting new homeowners down to spend their money in the galleries, storefronts, and taquerias, while still maintaining the working-class family feeling that draws so many Mexican immigrants to settle down there and the... more ›