Street food that feels like home

For foodies, Chicago's tapestry of ethnic restaurants offers a window to our big, complicated world.

But as Cinco de Mayo looms -- a party for some, a chance to crack the history book for others -- I was reminded that for many people, restaurants in Pilsen, Little Village and Rogers Park offer a taste of mom's and grandma's kitchen.

So it was on a recent visit to Edgewater's Huarache Dona Chio, 1547 W. Elmdale, named last year one of LTHForum.com's "Great Neighborhood Restaurants," where a man sitting alone at one of the five tables explained to me what drew him here almost nightly, the namesake huarache but one of those things.

He lives nearby, he said, and the food was a taste of home -- on his way home.

The huarache (pronounced wah-rah-cheh), so named for its resemblance to the Mexican sandal, is an oval-shaped, fried masa base topped with green or red sauce, onions, potato, cilantro and any manner of protein (ground beef, tongue, even sunflower) and finished with queso cheese.

You can find stands and little restaurants serving huaraches all over Mexico City, the husky, bearded gentleman told me.

Indeed, the "Estilo D.F." -- a line on Dona Chio's menu -- means Distrito Federal, a reference to Mexico City as the nation's seat of power.

Mike Baruch, in his book Street Food Chicago, reminds us that we can get a taste of regional Mexican fare at the Maxwell Street Market, which has existed in some form or another since 1912. There, Latino street vendors serve up antojitos, or "little whims."

In the spirit of the open-air market, a half-wall separates the small dining area from the cooks at Dona Chio, offering curious diners a glimpse of how their meal is assembled.

When making huaraches, a cook grabs a handful of masa dough -- made from a family recipe -- from a big plastic tub, flattens and fries it, then dresses it up.

For $6, it's an affordable meal.

Enjoy huaraches at Huarache Dona Chio and across the city, including at Huaraches Restaurant, 3021 W. Lawrence; Frontera Fresco, on the 7th floor of Macy's, 111 N. State, and El Taco Veloz, 1745 W. Chicago.

Color Photo: Lisa Donovan, Sun-Times / The signature offering at Huarache Dona Chio.