Casual Mexican Dining at ” fast food ” Menu Prices.

Highly Recommended **** We all know the saying “never judge a book by its cover”, and know that what we should get from this is that one must know the facts before someone can determine the value of the product or service. Many of us learned a great deal more about this from our recent President. When we pulled into the fairly new shopping center in Kildeer ( just west of Long Grove and right across the street from Deer Park), Jane thought this might be a Taco Bell type of restaurant, but Tacos Guanajuato (pronounced Juan-a-woto)  is  owned and operated by chefs Jovanny Diaz abd Margarita Paredon Challenger, who  developed the Guanajuato, located in Glencoe, then they brought the North Shore to the Northwest suburbs, with style, grace and some really great flavors.

We met our granddaughter Caitlin there. She is a graduate of culinary school with a great knowledge of all types of sauces, flavors and techniques. She felt that this was indeed a solid, family restaurant that was both affordable and yet. had the meals that could be served on the North Shore ( at a much higher price). Our server, Fredys, greeted us and showed us to our table. Even though he wore a mask ( as we all did) one could sense the smile in his voice and demeanor. We started out with drinks and of course, I veered from y usual to enjoy something that is NORMAL here, a margarita. Delicious and they used a lot less salt.

Rather than select from the menu, we allowed the staff to bring out the items that are the most popular and ones that chef Diaz loves to prepare. Of course we began with a special arrangement of fruit with guacamole and chips. Later, we had their special salsa with more chips ( very tasty as side).  They have a lot of taco choices ( at $4 and $4.50)- we did the  3 Specialty Tacos served with rice and beans, but they made it 4. steak, Grilled Mahi, grilled shrimp  and Al Pastor (pork). FYI- they bring three sauces to the table, mild, a bit spicy and then the green ( not for cowards-Caitlin was in heaven).

The Burritos look tremendous, but we skipped them for the next visit going instead to the other meals- Carne Asada (grilled skirt steak served with beans , rice and tortillas) that was grilled to perfection and easily shared by all three of us. In fact all of the portions were very shareable. The steak and chicken Fajitas was a delight and the Enmoldas, one steak, one chicken and one cheese dipped in mole sauce and topped with melted cheese was amazing. They have many other starters and of course tortas.

For dessert, we selected the tres Leches and an amazing vanilla flan ( I am pretty sure that this is the one Chef Diaz creates daily). It was superb!

The kitchen is serving finely-crafted “street food” served on freshly made tortillas (prepared in their kitchen daily) , in an atmosphere that is family friendly and at affordable prices. What appears to be a “fast food  place” when you pull up and enter, turns out to be a very special dining room where you can grab a quick lunch during the day, get some take-out food to bring home to the family or bring a date for a nice sit-down and great libation. On the week-end they also have a little music to bring out the romance in the dishes they serve. They use real plates and silverware, so this is not a plastic fork and paper plate place, but rather a solid dining experience with the best of Mexican Street Food, served in a family atmosphere but with the elegance of a 4 star restaurant.

The are open every day until 8 p.m. ( Friday and Saturday until 9 p.m.) but maybe that will change as the world opens up again. To check out the web, visit www.tacosg.com.

Enjoy the authentic flavors of Mexico’s famous street vendors right in the Northwest suburbs. They even have a great little outside patio area so you can feel the warmth of the foods you are tasting. Savor the flavors! They are terrific!

The location is 20771 N. Rand Road in Kildeer ( close to Long Grove, Deer Park, Palatine) with gobs of free parking.

The phone number is 847-847-1056