Ten Foodie Spots To Visit In Rogers Park For Tacos & Tamales

I moved to a neighborhood of Chicago called Rogers Park over a decade ago. Originally, I planned to stay a year or two, sell my condo, and buy a house back in my old neighborhood. After living here a couple years, however, Rogers Park began to feel like home.

The charm of the old buildings, the easy access to the lakefront and beautiful pocket beaches, the friendly community and most importantly, the food, has kept me here for ten years now, going on eleven.

The R.P. is an eclectic community  filled with all walks of life. Artists, musicians, business people, families, singles, young, old, pretty much any category you can think of.

It is considered one of, if not THE most, diverse community in the city, maybe even the world. These things have made Rogers Park a foodie destination that is often often overlooked.

For those in the know, it is a Mecca for any kind of cuisine you can imagine.

One of my favorite cuisines in Rogers Park is the Mexican Food Scene. From Devon Avenue to Rogers Avenue, on Clark Street, there are countless Mexican Restaurants, Taco Stands, Tamale Carts, and Grocery Stores.

I’ve frequented a lot of these places and of course I have my favorites, but it was time to discover some new ones. Hence the idea of The Clark Street Taco Crawl was born.

I visited ten different places and at each one I tried the steak taco with lettuce or cilantro, onions, and cheese with the exception of the two tamale places I tried.

Here is the comprehensive list of my taco adventure.

Oh, and if you’re looking to make your own tacos, my recipe for Crispy Chicken Tacos is a great place to start!

Now let’s get moving.

1. Supermercado Chapala 

The lines are long at all times of the day, so you know it’s good. My favorite thing about their taco is the spiced cheese they use.

I also love the ability to grocery shop while I wait for my order. My other favorite thing about Chapala is that it has become an unofficial gathering place of all people from the community.

On any given day you see everyone, from locals to police officers, to delivery people eating here together.

2. Rocky’s Tacos 

Rocky’s is known for their giant Tortas, but there are tons of great things on their menu.

One of my favorite things about Rocky’s is their pico de gallo. It’s made to order when you dine in. The unique thing about it is that it has little bits of ham in it and an interesting tangy flavor.

They also have some really cool art up on the walls.

What I love about Rocky’s Tacos is that every bite is consistent. The meat is perfectly seasoned and in every bite you get the perfect amount of meat, cheese, onion, and cilantro.

3.  El Famous Burrito

El Famous has an awesome Taco Tuesday special: $1.50 tacos all day!

They are also open late night. Their tacos are perfect and for $1.50 you can afford to eat ten of them.

4. Taqueria Hidalgo

This is a cute little place and they have the kind of tiny tacos you could eat 100 of. The service is always friendly and the place is always packed with locals.

My favorite thing about Tacos Hidalgo is the large shreds of seasoned taco cheese. Every bite is a cheesy bite of goodness.

5. Tamales Lo Mejor de Guerrero

This was a new stop for me. I’ve been wanting to go here for years, and after visiting today I have no idea why I waited. They have handmade tamales that are $1.75.

I got the spicy pork and it was to die for. They also come in other varieties, both spicy and non spicy with a variety of fillings.

I can’t wait to go back. I will for sure be ordering these in bulk to take to parties.

6.  Taqueria Hernandez

This is an old favorite of mine. I was introduced to this place about 13 years ago by the grandmother of a student of mine and I haven’t stopped coming back for more.

Everything is perfect about this taco. Perfectly seasoned meat, crisp raw onion, fresh cilantro, and huge chunks of delicious cheese.

It would be very hard to choose just one Mexican restaurant on Clark, but if I absolutely could only pick one place to eat steak tacos from for the rest of my life, this would be it.

7. Tamales Garibaldi

Across from Taqueria Hernandez is a sweet little man selling the most delicious homemade tamales from his little cart. He didn’t want me to take his picture but he let me take pictures of his cart.

I had the chicken tamale from him and it was incredible. Stop by and see him, you won’t regret it.

8.  El Pueblito

Their standard steak tacos are great. What I like most about these is that they have red onion on them. It adds a nice layer of flavor.

Their menu also features favorites like menudo and great shrimp dishes that I have been told are fantastic! Their creamy salsa verde is also perfection.

9. Taqueria Chorrito

This was also a new place for me to try. What was awesome about this place is the grilled onions on the taco. It really added a layer of flavor different from the rest.

This taco was also HUGE so you really don’t need to order that many. I will for sure, be back.

10. Taqueria El Charro

This was my last stop on my Taco Tour.  I’ve been told the pozole on the weekends is really great.

Based on their delicious tacos I would have zero doubt that the pozole is as good as they say.

My favorite thing about this taco was the fresh taco shell. I could literally taste that it was freshly made.

I could eat the tortilla alone but the meat and cheese were equally delicious.

My Taco Tour was a success. I was able to stop in at my old favorites and I discovered so many new places.

There are also so many more to try.  If you decide to come and try some of these places yourself, note that most of the places are BYOB and do not serve alcohol.

I look forward to exploring many more of the cuisines of Rogers Park!

Happy Eating!