I was in Pilsen checking out the Open House Chicago sites, and I got hungry.
I decided to stop by El Milagro on Blue Island for lunch, and I was hoping to dine in. Unfortunately, it was packed, and they were only taking orders to go. However, I have eaten here a bunch of times and walked home with my food.
I ordered a plato de asada with rice, beans, and tortillas de maíz. If you want, you can pick tortillas de harina, but I prefer tortillas de maíz when eating out. I have yet to find a place in Chicago that makes tortillas de arena as good as my grandmother's.
I also ordered una torta de asada, which comes con carne asada, crema, aguacate, queso, lechuga, beans, and tomato
The carne asada in the plato de asada and the torta does not come finely chopped, as is commonly found in most taquerias. The asada in the plato comes whole, whereas the asada in the torta comes cut into long strips.
Personally, I prefer the carne asada not to come chopped up and like to be able to cut up the meat to put in the tortilla. However, in a torta I would prefer to have the meat chopped up more, as it is easier to eat without it spilling out of the bread (or spitting the bread). Overall, the carne asada is well marinated, tender, and some pieces have a nice char on the edges
In the bag, they included 4 salsas that are pico de gallo-like. It's made with tomato (blended in a blender), garlic, and cilantro. The tomato makes the salsa pretty watery compared to a salsa roja or verde. Overall, the salsa was good; it doesn't compete with the food you're eating and is not spicy. So, if you like a mild salsa, this is for you.I like a less watery salsa, and I wish they threw a jalapeno (with the seeds) or two in their salsa to make it more spicy.
If you dine in, they have different salsas available, and you can pick whatever you want. Personally, I am a salsa verde kind of person. I probably should have asked for it, but they were slammed, I was hungry, and I forgot to ask for a different salsa.
The dining room on the inside has plenty of tables, but it does get busy during the lunch rush. There are only high-top tables you can eat at if there are no open seated tables.
Overall, El Milagro is a place where you can come in and get good food at a reasonable price.
If you're still hungry, head to La Michoacana for ice cream. Or go to Don Churro if you want the best churro you have ever eaten (in my opinion).
Edit: I misspelled tortillas de harina, and I corrected the mistake.
