Chicago Bites - Your Restaurant Guide

The shrimp at Los Moles looks great.

Los Moles is a good place to dine on a dime. In addition to a variety of affordable a la carte items, Lakeview’s newest addition to the mole scene offers a $40 five-course prix-fixe menu daily that’s an absolute steal. You’ll taste what’s best on the monthly menu when you let the chef take the wheel.

Los Moles is currently a BYOB, which also helps to keep a few more dollars in your pocket, although an impressive bar lines one wall of the oblong dining space, so bringing your own liquor may not be an option for long.

After I had a full-sized appetizer, salad, meat entrée, seafood entrée, and dessert, I waddled out of Los Moles completely satisfied with my meal and feeling like I’d gotten much more than my money’s worth. My dining companion had the prix-fixe menu too, and since we were served different dishes throughout, we made our way through a total of ten different menu items in one sitting!

Overall, the food is good at Los Moles, but some dishes are certainly better than others. The standouts for me included a dark chili flavored soup called Sopa Azteca, and the seafood special topped with green mole sauce. I also liked the white mole sauce I sampled. It’s a creamy blend of almonds, pine nuts, yellow peppers, white chocolate, golden raisins and white pepper that’s not overly sweet, and I haven’t found it anywhere else. It’s definitely worth a taste.

However, I’d steer clear of the shrimp with mole sauce. I’ve had it twice now, and it looks better than it tastes. Both times it was over cooked and served with too much sauce. Everything else I’ve tried on the menu falls somewhere in between the extremes, turning in a solid, if not spectacular performance.

The dining area is dimly lit, but still manages to have a friendly vibe, and the staff is attentive, but the service is a little slow. Still, this new kid on the block is worth a try. Los Moles is just getting on its feet, but from what I’ve seen so far, it’s a good bet for the price.

Los Moles
3140 N Lincoln Ave
Chicago, IL 60657
(773) 935-9620
Get directions

Related Chicago Bites Posts:
Frontera Grill
Mixteco Grill

Been to Los Moles? What did you think? Drop us a line via Twitter: @chicagobites.

Scenes from this year's Taste of Chicago.

You have until July 5 to enjoy the Taste of Chicago. We have a few tips and tricks to make the most of your experience:

• Stop by the Toyota tent and spin the wheel first. You have a chance of winning free food tickets and other prizes.
• Buy your own drinks and handi-wipes before heading over to the Taste. Napkins are scarce & the beverage tents are overpriced.
• If you need to renew your driver's license, the Secretary of State's office has a booth. It takes 10 minutes!
• Forget the concerts and food demos! The real entertainment is watching out-of-towners try to eat turkey legs and corn-on-the-cob at the same time.
• Unless it's overcast like today, you should wear a hat. There is virtually no shade at the Taste..
• The Original Rainbow Cone is still the best dessert at the Taste!

See more Taste of Chicago photos. Enjoy!

Want a wide-ranging beer selection? Head to the Map Room.

If it's Tuesday, then you can look forward to International Nite at the Map Room. Every week they cater a different cuisine from area restaurants. Recent choices included Israeli from Taboun Grill , Costa Rican from Irazú, and Soul food from CJ's Eatery.

Plate of Nigerian food catered by Iyanze.

Last week was Nigerian night and I got a plate loaded with rice & plantains, greens and ground beef in a pastry shell. In turns, it was greasy, spicy and bland, but went well with the two beers I had to buy to get the free food. Not to say that buying beer here is a problem, because it's not -- the selection is excellent. I quaffed the Metropolitan Flywheel Bright Lager which is on special this month for $4/pint and a Triple Karmeliet that they have on draft.

If you like good beer and want a chance to try ethnic cuisine on the cheap, Map Room should be on your list of places to try.

Get there early to grab a table. It gets crowded!

Map Room
1949 N. Hoyne
Chicago, IL 60647

With the fourth right around the corner, and summertime in full swing, I’ve been craving BBQ. That's why over the past few weeks I’ve sampled some of Chicago’s best! Here are just a few thoughts about Smoque and Smoke Daddy, the two places I’ve been to most recently:

• Smoque has a good catering service. I ordered enough food from there a few weeks ago to feed a small army and was really happy with the result. The order was correct, ready on time for pick-up, and packaged beautifully. The food was even warm when we ate it.

• Smoque and Smoke Daddy both serve up standout mac and cheese. Who knew such tasty cheese creations could be found among mounds of roast beast? Smoque has the better version with it’s crispy bread crumb topping, while the three-cheese blend at Smoke Daddy tries to do a little too much.

• Note to self: Save room for entrées at Smoke Daddy. The starters there, like the pulled pork nachos (pictured), are so appetizing that it’s easy to fill up before the “official” meal begins. Hold out for the ribs. They’re well worth the wait.

• Smoke Daddy is the better place of the two to linger for a while. It features live music seven nights a week and has outdoor seating. Smoque’s “order-at-the-counter” setup isn’t as conducive to sticking around.

• If you like beer, Smoke Daddy has some good choices. But if you’re more of a BYOB person, Smoque is definitely your speed. Sure, you’ll be drinking wine out of a paper cup, but when it’s paired with simply outstanding food, it doesn’t matter a bit.

• The sauces served at Smoque and Smoke Daddy are strikingly different, but the meat is so perfectly prepared at both places that you can’t go wrong with a visit to either one. In the end it comes down to personal preference. If you’re craving BBQ, put them both on your list!

Smoque BBQ
3800 N Pulaski Rd
Chicago, IL 60641-3197
(773) 545-7427
Get directions

Smoke Daddy Restaurant
1804 W Division St
Chicago, IL 60622-6810
(773) 772-6656
Get directions

Noodles are a popular choice at the food court.

We trekked out to Arlington Heights over the weekend to browse the aisles of Mitsuwa Marketplace and to grab a bit of lunch at the food court. Even though Mitsuwa is a Japanese chain, they have Korean and Chinese shops in their court yard as well as hamburgers and ice cream. Looking around the food court, most patrons came for the steaming ramen or cheap sushi.

The udon noodles with prawns were served brutally hot and came with a side of pickles.

One of the problems with the food court is that almost all of the food stations are cash only. However, the sushi station is run by the grocery store, so you can grab some sushi and then go through the check-out line before joining your friends. I like to do this because it gives me a chance to pick-up one of the many odd-ball drinks from their beverage cooler. My favorites are the fruit sodas sealed with glass marbles that you're supposed to pushed into the bottle. Rattle + drink, what could be better?

A variety-pack of sushi is priced to sell but isn't the best quality available.

You should definitely eat at the food court first even though the food quality is about the same as an American food court. Eat so you don't load your shopping cart full of Strawberry Pocky, salty snacks with dried fish or value packs of miso soup.

The shrimp dumpings were a little bland, but much better than a Happy Meal.

In addition to Japanese housewares and kitchen staples, Mitsuwa has an excellent selection of seafood and produce. We have it on good authority, however, that Tensuke Market in Elk Grove has fresher fish. It's a short drive away from Mitsuwa so you owe it to yourself to do a side-by-side comparison.

Mitsuwa Marketplace
100 E Algonquin Rd
Arlington Hts, IL 60005-4618

Tensuke Market
3 Arlington Heights Rd.
Elk Grove Village, IL