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Taqueria Puebla Mexico
3619 North Avenue, 773-772-8435
Antonio Zurita (above left) doesn't let distance stop him. Since he can't get certain ingredients he needs shipped to him, he travels to his birthplace of Puebla, Mexico, about once a month to load up. "He'll pick up the phone, call his cousins, and say, 'I'm coming and I need five pounds of moritas [smoked jalapenos], some chile arbol and some cheese,'" says Zurita's 29-year-old son Tony (above right), who opened the restaurant three years ago at the urging of his father.

As the only restaurant in Chicago that specializes in the food of Puebla, the place fills up with a steady stream of loyal Poblano (people from Puebla) customers on weekends, but during the week, the place is empty. All it takes is one bite of the cemita milaneza to hook the uninitiated: The sandwich features thinly sliced, deep-fried, breaded pork loin; avocado; strands of Oaxacan string cheese; a dense chile sauce made from pureed moritas; and a layer of intense green papalo, a cilantro-esque fresh herb that the younger Zurita grows in a window box at home.

While the cemita is truly Poblana, another specialty of the house is a combination of cultures. The taco arabe—cinnamon-spiced pork in a thick flour tortilla—is similar to shawarma, which isn't surprising when you learn that Antonio picked up the recipe from a Middle Eastern immigrant living in Mexico. The dish fits in perfectly with the eclectic decor: Just about every surface in the restaurant (minus the floor) is plastered with pictures of the Zurita patriarch alongside soccer players, boxers, baseball players and assorted celebrities. "We're not trying to be [Frontera Grill chef] Rick Bayless, you know. But we want to reach people and introduce them to this food," Tony says. "You just can't get this stuff anywhere else."—Seth Zurer