Taco to Deep Dish Pizza: I Live Here Too!

By Laura Oppenheimer in Food on Nov 30, 2006 8:57PM

Chicagoist has never been shy about our love for the Mexican food in Chicago. From the cheapest tacos, to new takes on traditional dishes, to the city's upscale offerings, we've been all over the city tasting tacos, tamales, and tortas. Though we love our Mexican food in the Chicagoist office, we sometimes get the sense that the Mexican offerings in the city are overlooked by many in favor of some of the more "traditional" Chicago dishes, like hot dogs and deep dish pizza.

Eat Chicago has a great post today about the general ignorance of Chicago's Mexican food:

What's most troubling about this is the outright dismissal of the large and varied ethnic populations that have exploded in Chicago in the past 25 years. What was once a town defined by the German-influenced hot dog and the Italian-influenced pizza is now a town defined by the authentic Mexican antojito and bowl of birria. From post-barhopping taco and burrito joints in Lakeview to authentic pozolerias in La Villita to Bayless and his upscale offspring that dot the North Side, Mexican food covers Chicago like a blanket.

Amen! While we don't yet have a burrito named for our fair city like some cities, we think it is only a matter of time until people realize how prevalent — and, even better, how delicious — Mexican food in Chicago is. To learn more about the food from different regions of Mexico, Eat Chicago has made it easy, by providing all the links to "Gorilla Gourmet" David Hammond's six-part series on regional Mexican cuisine in the Chicago Reader. Ay Chico!

Image via Frontera Kitchens.