Sunday, October 7, 2012

Lalo's Mexican Restaurant

Location: 733 W. Maxwell St., Chicago, IL 60607
Lalo's Mexican Restaurant on Urbanspoon

A Quick Word:
Lalo's is a so-called Mexican restaurant located near UIC.  It has more tex-mex style food if anything but regardless what type of food... it is awful.  I can never understand why people request going here for birthday dinners... it may be the margaritas but definitely can't be the food.  The best option in my opinion is the UIC Student special and the only reason it is OK is because its a good amount of food for only $6.00.  The cheap price is always tempting but after every time my friends and I order this special, we are full, but not satisfied.  I would never recommend this place to anyone.  Just drive to Pilsen and try out some of the authentic Mexican Restaurants, like Nuevo Leon.

What We Ate:

Steak Burrito (UIC Student Special)

Lalo's is nice enough to offer a UIC student special... unfortunately, the cost is maybe the only good thing about this meal (and it must be take-out between 11am and 5pm).  For $6.00, you get a burrito (definitely smaller than their actual burrito) with choice of steak, chicken, or vegetarian. You also get a side of mexican rice and refried beans as well as a small bag of chips and a little cup of salsa.  A 20 oz drink finishes off the meal.  When you hear that much food for $6 it sounds amazing.  Unfortunately, the taste is not very pleasant and not very mexican in my opinion.  The burrito itself has the same beans and rice that is given as a side and in my case, had some chopped steak.  The tortilla shell was rolled up on itself a couple of times because of the lack of filling.  There is no additional vegetables and unfortunately, the entire burrito is DRY.  They give the smallest cup of salsa so you cannot even add much to the burrito if you want to eat it with the salsa.  The chips are plain and non-salted.  If you decide to try this out, make sure to use half of the salsa on the rice and then eat the chips with the beans and then whatever salsa is left use on the burrito.  This makes it somewhat OK tasting but still not satisfying.

Vegetarian Burrito (UIC Student Special)

For the vegetarian option, there are two different kinds.  My friends tend to ask for the steak burrito without the steak just because the filling is just rice and beans.  Unfortunately, half of the time the staff do not understand the order and they give the typical vegetarian burrito that has the most random mixture of vegetables.  It has mushrooms, peppers, onions, and some other random veggies that are either mixed into the vegetarian rice (green beans, peas, corn (which were definitely frozen at one point)).  They also use whole pinto beans instead of the refried ones.  It comes with similar sides as mentioned above except the vegetarian option so whole pinto beans and the veggie rice.  Everyone was not happy with this option either.  It is just too bland and once again not enough salsa is ever given.

The DOs/DON'Ts:
DO:
- If you do decide to order the student special, make sure to ask for your drink without ice so you get extra drink.  They tend to fill the cups with more than half ice.
- If you do decide to come here, make sure you are hungover and too lazy to eat anywhere else because that is the only time I order from here.
- CLARIFY your order! They get confused a lot!

DON'T:
- The other food options at Lalo's is also extremely expensive.  I have eaten there are a couple of other times (not by choice) and the food is definitely not worth the cost.  Bland, more tex-mex style food is just not my favorite.

How far would I walk for this food?


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