Mercadito Launches Comfort Sundays

By Molly Durham in Food on Jul 18, 2012 6:20PM

You can never have too many tacos.

Mercadito has some serious taco options, and recently they've been adding specials like their monthly Tacos for Strength. For this new weekly series, chef Patricio Sandoval will feature three different "tacos de canasta," or basket tacos, available from 11:30 to 4:00 each Sunday.

Tacos de canasta are a Mexican street food staple and a weekend treat in many Mexican markets. They're steamed tacos where the tortilla is lightly fried before the taco is assembled. They're then placed in baskets where they marinate in their flavors while being transported to the market. Clearly there's no market or cross-town transportation here, but they definitely end up moist and soft.

For their first edition last Sunday, the three varieties were chicharron (pork rind) in salsa roja, chicharron with tomatillo salsa, and mushroom with salsa verde. All were served with cabbage, black beans and crema fresca. The mushroom taco was the standout. The salsa verde mixed with the wild mushrooms gave a flavor unlike any tacos we've ever had. The chicharron tacos were extra savory, with a chewier texture from those pork rinds.

The tacos are 4 for $15.50. So far, they don't quite beat out the rest of Mercadito's killer brunch menu, which we love, but we trust that they'll come up with even better varieties in coming weeks.

Mercadito is located at 108 W. Kinzie Street.