” A Taste of Pilsen”

[rating=5] Many people who have lived in Chicago all their lives have no idea as to what Pilsen represents. Pilsen is a south side treasure that for years has been home for the newly arrived immigrants to Chicago. When I was a boy, the people who came from Europe ( particularly Poland, Russia and parts of Germany) made this area their home. They were new to this country , taking jobs wherever they could as many of them hardly spoke English. Many of those who resided in the area became general workers in factories and warehouses, others ( who could speak English) opened up little shops and did handyman work for the wealthy residents of South Shore and Hyde Park. I believe the name comes from a hamlet in Czechoslovakia.

Over the years, the area has seen great turnover as new immigrants come here and back around 1990, it became a great place to move for the Hispanic population. In particular, Mexicans. This are is very close to Little Village which is almost 100% Mexican, and people thought Pilsen to be the overflow. However, the area thrived with the Spanish population and a great many restaurants popped up. Bakeries and medical offices also were on every block. During parades, Pilsen became a part of the route with more in Little Village.

Gentrification has hit this area and little by little, as the Hispanics move to the suburbs and other neighborhoods, the general population has made its move to this just south of the loop area. It is thriving with new businesses, new housing and what appears to be a new type of population, Millennials.

Tonight Jane and I dined at La Luna, a wonderful and intimate space on the corner of Racine and 18th street. A marvelous location with a second floor for parties and special events and a dining room that is quite intimate. You can enjoy dinner and perhaps make some friends. This is another spot owned by  Third Coast Hospitality and the menu is very close to Moe’s Cantina that we visited last week. I enjoyed my Old Fashioned, as I did at Moe’s BUT this one was not smoked ( they do offer that) and was whiskey, not tequila. It was a great drink ( I had two).

Tonight was Valentine’s Day so they had some very special specials. For our appetizer, we enjoyed the Elote ( grilled corn, aioli, cotija cheese and chili powder) a delightful teste that reminded me of the corn soup that my grandmother served on winter Sundays, without the broth. Delicious.

The entree’s we enjoyed were the Grilled Lamb Chops ( they are grilled to perfection with chimichurri, apple and herb salad. The homemade chips were great for picking us the extra pieces. The meat, by the way was very tender.

We thought about Entrana ( skirt steak), and the mussels ( Mejillones a La Luna) but opted to try their tacos (Para Ti Solo).

There are five choices and since I could not make up our minds, with the guidance and help of our wonderful server, Elena, selected all five.( yipee, lunch tomorrow).

Broccolini ( grilled broccolini, grape pico de gallo, avocado cream , puffed rice and microgreens. The tacos are served as doubles for sharing. They are very generously served with  enough to make two. The second was Cochinita Pibil (slow cooked pork, cilantro and habanero onions).

The third Taco was the Fish Taco- beer battered tilapia, chipotle ailoi, red cabbage slaw and salsa.

The Carne Asada ( skirt steak) was zingy and flavorful. It is not often one can taste juiciness of the meat and La Luna makes sure that you do. The onions and cilantro allow the meat’s flavor to be perfect. The last Taco was the chicken ( Pollo Tinga)- chicken tinga, sour cream, pico de gallo and lettuce- TO DIE FOR.

The menu is fairly large with so many wonderful choices, Jane an dI agreed that we need to come back again ( and again).

While we had not planned on having dessert, when Elena mentioned that they had a special one , Chocoflan _ WOW!, we had no choice.

Just think, fresh chocolate cake with a layer of flan on top. I love both ( as does Jane), so how could we pass up this special event- after all, it was Valentine’s Day, wasn’t it?

La Luna is located at  1726 South Racine ( at 18th Street). they are open :Tuesday- Thursday from 5 p.m. til midnight

Friday  4 p.m.- 2 a.m.

Saturday  3 p.m. until 3 a.m.   CLOSED  SUNDAY and MONDAY 

Reservations: call 312-248-8957   for info visit www.lalunachicago.com/menu

The only problem with La Luna is parking. It is street parking and not easy to find. I found a great many spaces on 16th street ( a short walk), so I dropped jane off and worked off the meal getting the car and picking her up.