Oct. 14--Fans of Taco Joint, the chill taqueria and tequila bar in Lincoln Park and River North, have a new reason to clink margarita glasses: Sister restaurant The Mexican is now dishing out chicharrones, fajitas, chiles rellenos and more next door to the original Taco Joint on Halsted Street.
The vibe's more cheerful -- brightly painted tables and chairs, plants peeking out of sunny yellow tomato cans -- and the menu's bigger, starting with cocktails and a "para la mesa" (for the table) section (queso fundido with charred corn, beer-braised pinto beans with bacon and hot sauce) and moving into starters, entrees, sides and desserts.
Chef Edgar Torres balances modern presentation with classic Mexican cooking inspired by what you'd find at a fonda, the term for a small, family-owned restaurant in Mexico. Use the guide below to brush up on a few of the ingredients or dishes you may not recognize:
Queso panela: This semisoft cow's milk cheese is moist like fresh mozzarella and has a light, fresh, slightly salty flavor. At The Mexican, Torres griddles it inside enchiladas rojas with red-chili-stewed mushrooms and guajillo-ancho salsa.
Piloncillo: Think brown sugar, but less processed. Juice straight from the sugar-cane plant is boiled down to a thick syrup and poured into cone-shaped molds to harden; when you buy a cone from a Mexican market, you can chop it with a knife or grate off what you need. The flavor is more caramel-y than American brown sugar, with some notes of rum. Try it in The Mexican's pineapple-serrano mezcalita (mezcal margarita) made with grilled pineapple, lime and piloncillo simple syrup.
Fideo seco: To make this Mexican pasta dish, chefs typically fry or toast noodles, soak them in a (sometimes spicy) tomato sauce and then bake them. Torres serves his fideo seco with a half-chicken and a helping of house-made corn tortillas.
Open for dinner daily; lunch and brunch coming soon. 1967 N. Halsted St., 312-460-3200, themxchicago.com.
mconrad@tribpub.com
Twitter @marissa_conrad
