Lunch at De Cero: an update to Places in Chicago

Yesterday was a fantastic day in Chicago - low 60s and sunny. It's nice to see other urban cave dwellers emerge squinty eyed from their dens. Of course Cold Miser is not quite through with us here in the Land of Lincoln. It's dropping to the 30s over the weekend.

Delightful weather is cause for celebration in my book, so Josh and I went to a favorite lunch spot in the west loop, de cero. Since we always eat outside at de cero, I had all-but forgotten its very existence during the longest winter ever. (Ye from Lands other than Lincoln didn't believe me about urban hibernation, did you?!?)

Anyway, tagged as a modern taqueria, ordering at de cero is great fun because ordering a lot is encouraged - necessary, even, given the itty-bitty sizes - and I like ordering lots of different things. My general M.O. there is to get three soft tacos. My absolute favorite is the strip steak and I always have that. A pork and a fish taco round out the plate. Yesterday it was the tomatillo pork and the salmon with cilantro pesto. Possibly the best thing was that I also bought a bottle of their signature hot sauce for home. Mmm. It's so yummy - hot, smoky, sour and a brilliant red, to boot. I dribbled some on my breakfast potatoes this morning and look forward to slathering it on my huevos this weekend. The Egg Soft Taco is a favorite morning breakfast at Casa Fairbank. What movie is "Vaya con huevos" from? Was it Nobody's Fool?

The skinny:
de cero
814 W. Randolph Street
Chicago, IL 60607
(312) 455-8114

Love the small soft tacos! My favorite: skirt steak with potatoes, onion, cilantro, lime, and chipotle mayo.

photo courtesy of de cero