El Norteno Resturante

4000 E. Lake St.
hours: 10am-9pm Mon. - Sat.
plenty of street parking/family style sit-down/patio!
specialty: tamales
price: $7-12

As our first candidate, El Norteno, was a good way to ease into this adventure (okay Taco Bell is technically the first restaurant on Lake Street from the bridge -you got me). Its appearance is inviting and the neighborhood is nice, located on the banks of the Mississippi river. Peering into the window it appears as though there is a bakery inside and the size of the place is quite substantial. There is not a bakery inside but rather a small Mercado (carpet samples $3!) selling a scant amount of chili powders and canned goods. Off to the side of the Mercado is a small deli case with tortillas, meats and a few individually wrapped desserts and behind it is the kitchen where you can view the cooks making your order. Note: the main door to the place is shattered and so there is a sign directing patrons to the emergency exit door off the dining room.

Walking into the dining room portion of the business, we immediately noticed that the clientele was entirely gringo. For a Monday night the place did well -nearly half of the room was full. We seated ourselves at a pleather covered table near the window and opened our menus to find a hearty list of items and a good variety. Our server was friendly and offered a list of their specialties which includes tamales (homemade on site), enchiladas and and tacos. She added that the enchilada sauce is made from tow different types of chilis, which caught our interest immediately. My compadres and opted to order a variety of items off the "pick 2" menu so that we could sample everything. While we waited, we soaked in the typical Mexican restaurant ambiance, the Mexican memorabilia on the walls and the door to a patio off the back and took the edge off our appetites by chowing on chips and salsa (first basket free, after that you are charged).

Chips and salsa deserve their own category, and these I would rate a 2.5 (out of 5). They tasted as though they were fried in the kitchen but then sat a few days. The greasy taste was good but the crispy factor lacked. I like my salsa fresh with a bite because I believe that salsa, rather than chili sauce, should be fresh and made with tomatoes (you can believe what you want but this is my idea of good salsa). This salsa lacked the two qualities I uphold, it was watery and not fresh but I ate it none the less.

Our food arrived quickly from deli counter/kitchen and smelled devine! We dug into the thick portions of beans and rice and each made noises of mmmmm in sync. The beans were an automatic hit, made with lard, no doubt. They were creamy and flavorful, defiantly notable (there is an option on the menu for vegetarian beans if you so please). Since enchilada sauces are different from each region in Mexico, it is hard to know what to expect. The red sauce on our cheese and chicken enchiladas was tasty, but defiantly consisted of mostly a tomato-based sauce, rather than chili. Overall, the quality of the ingredients was good, the meat was fresh and from good cuts. Fresh cilantro topped the tacos, which were made with handmade taco shells. Out of all the items we sampled, the tamale proved to be the winner (you might be able to tell that this was the thing to order by the huge "TAMALES" sign outside). Filled with pork and a mild seasoning they melt in your mouth and define the meaning of comfort food. I usually like my tamales more chili infused, but this was defiantly edible.

Other things to note about this place, there is no happy hour but they do serve beer and a "margarita wine". As far as we could tell there was not any live music, but we did go around back and view the patio which could really heighten the experience on a nice day. A virtual jungle, the patio is a gated utopia surrounded by beautiful plants and flowers (someone has a green thumb). On a nice day, I would hang out there for sure! In fact, I may become a regular there next summer so watch out. For this reason, I am lifting the overall rating from 3 to 3.5 and making note to stop there on my next trip to St. Paul.

chips and salsa: 2.5
overall rating: 3.5
(out of 5)