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For a time it seemed that there was no stopping the inexorable advance of Empire La Pasadita. For decades, the taco triangle just south of the Division/Ashland intersection was a safe haven for legions of late-night drunks in need of hangover intervention. Frankly, I think the collective esteem people hold for La Pasadita carne asada tacos is heavily tinted by the persuasiveness of alcohol. And I say this as someone who’s been saved by those tacos on numerous occasions over the last 18 years. But they were always simple and dependable, and I was more than happy to see the company expand under the Taqueria LP Express banner to North Mayfair and Irving Park, if only to have more outlets for the Espinoza family’s fantastic roasted jalapeño salsa negra.*
I usually feel duty bound to order the most obnoxious thing on the menu on a first visit and I was leaning toward the shrimp-stuffed pineapple until I spied the quesadilla burger, a thick patty sandwiched by two chihuahua cheese-stuffed quesadillas, lettuce, onion, guacamole, and sour cream. My particular burger was nicely charred but overcooked (a problem I also encountered with the carne asada tacos and the shrimp, chicken, and steak fajitas), in direct opposition to the limp, undercooked fries. It wasn’t bound by quesadillas either, but rather two flour tortillas topped with cheese. The burger was dry, but still juicy enough to completely degrade those tortillas after a few bites. A noble experiment, but a sloppy, failed one.
- Mike Sula
- Cantina Pasadita
