Goat Barbacoa
XOCO
449 North Clark Street
Chicago, IL 60654 (River North)
You can pretty much bet on any torta on XOCO’s menu. Bayless is like the “Heisenberg” of tortas and arguably of all Mexican cuisine. If you’re blessed to have tried a few different ones, then you can already assume you’ll change your order three or four times before you get to the register (also to aid in your indecision is the inevitable line out the door). But on Saturdays they like to make things real easy for you. Goat Barbacoa. Using any slow cooked meat in a sandwich is a sure shot (Smoque’s brisket), but the braised goat + Oaxacan pasilla-tomatillo salsa allow Saturday to officially lay claim as the best day of the week.
Steak Sandwich
El Cubanito
2555 N Pulaski Rd
Chicago, IL 60639 (Logan Square)
Alberto and Laritza Ramos have it locked down. Moved to the States in ’07. Opened the postage stamp size, 400 sq. ft. El Cubanito six months later, and now churn out 400+ Cubano sandwiches/day—in addition to the totals from the other 6 sandwiches on the menu. Skills. It needs to be mentioned that the husband and wife duo are also infectiously nice and gracious hosts. Located on the 2500 block of Pulaski in the Avondale/Logan Square neighborhood in Chicago, El Cubanito is so small, you’ll probably pass it a few times before you convince yourself that the tiny joint with all the cars in the parking lot is probably it.
