La Casa de Samuel

Of all the ethnic cuisines represented in Chicago, Mexican is one of the most prevalent. This makes a lot of sense considering the massive population of Mexican-Americans in Chicago. There are more people of Mexican descent in Chicago than anywhere in the US, aside from California and Texas. We have everything from hole in the wall taco joints to high end places like Topolobampo and Mexique. 

Nick and I were contemplating Mexican for our latest GFC meeting. He recommend a place called La Casa de Samuel in Little Village. I had never heard of this place but was pretty sure it would be good given its status as an LTH Forum GNR (Great Neighborhood Restaurant). The restaurants location in Little Village threw me off a bit as I had never considered it as a dining destination.. LV is heavily Mexican neighbourhood just southwest of Pilsen. Oddly enough, this is the neighborhood my mom grew up in. Evidently the neighborhood has slowly changed from being predominantly eastern European to being almost exclusively Mexican. La Casa de Samuel specializes in Cuisine from Guerrero state in Mexico. Guerrero is a coastal state known for their seafood as well as wild game from the mountains. This place has a lot of random meats, everything from rattlesnake to bull testicles.

So I hopped on the Pink Line and headed to 22nd and California. We started out with a baby eel appetizer. baby eel appetizer. Aside from a bit of overcooked garlic this dish was completely devoid of any flavor. I tried everything, a squeeze of lime, a dab of salsa, nothing worked. I normally like eel, although I've only had in in the context of sushi, This was a truly horrible dish with absolutely no redeeming qualities. 

 

Baby Eel

After that app, I figured it could only get better, and it did, much much better. We started out with a couple  huitlacoche tacos. Huitlacoche, also known as corn smut, is fungus that grows on corn ears. Originally consumed by the Aztecs, this fungus has a very earthy flavor. Huitlacoche is a truly delicious taco filling. The taco also contained tasty guacamole on a housemade corn tortilla. The tortillas were unreal. I think I would drive back to this restaurant just to buy their tortillas for home use. Really remarkable

Huitlachoche Taco

Next we ordered the venison. These thin slices of venison were lightly marinated and grilled. The venison was very tasty and slightly gamey, I was definitely aware that I was eating the flesh of a deer. It did have very iron-y taste that reminded me of liver. The slices of venison were served with more of their mindblowingly good guacamole and beans. Once wrapped into a tortilla and garnished with a bit of lime juice and fresh salsa, we had a real flavor explosion on our hands.

Venison

Our third course consisted of two orders of baked goat. These goat chunks were cooked on the bone in a savory brown sauce.  The meat was very tender and juicy and had just the right amount of gamey goat flavor. Also, as a little extra treat, there were a few bones filled with tasty marrow to be sucked out. This was the icing on the cake. A great dish, again wrapped in just made tortillas. We were definitely taken aback by being served two orders of this dish. I was pretty sure we only ordered one but there may have been a slight language barrier.

 

Baked Goat

I would highly recommend this place if you are looking to branch out beyond the standard Mexican favorites. I also find it rewarding to check out new ethnic neighborhoods that are a bit off the beaten path. Neighborhoods like Little Village are always exciting to check out and are a great asset for the City.