Little Village

Little Village continued...

Adjacent to the tortilla factory is El Milagro's taqueria. Here, locals and visitors -- one family with roots in Nuevo Laredo and Tijuana makes a monthly pilgrimage from northwest Indiana just for this -- take their places along the cafeteria line for made-to-order tacos (try the carne asada), for guisados (stews . . . sample the lengua), for any of seven different kinds of tamales (eight on Fridays, with the addition of tamales de camarones -- shrimp tamales).

And this is just El Milagro (literally, "the miracle"). An easy stroll past the "bienvenidos" (welcome) sign on 26th Street is Los Comales, another taqueria -- and after that, a succession of taquerias and restaurants (El Fandango, Mi Tierra, La Justicia and more, some with music, especially on weekends) that invite anyone with a need to satisfy their south-of-the-border cravings.

And that's besides the carts and stands that offer elotes, fresh corn served as it's found through much of Mexico, or tamales, or sugary churros or fruit or crunchy snacks.

Stop at one the panaderías (bakeries) and try something. Anything. Or risk entering the shop at 26th and Spaulding Avenue called Dulcelandia (Candyland) and test your ability to resist the zillions of wrapped sweets ready for stuffing into any of the riot of colorful piñatas also on sale. (One favorite sweet: Glorias, a chewy candy from the state of Nuevo Leon made of goat milk and pecans and, certainly, other good things.)

Supermercados. Jewelry stores. Rocio's Children's Wear, with its window display of little communion dresses.

Look for the Western wear stores and poke around for surprises, like the Stetsons at Durango Western Wear, on 26th Street a block west of Pulaski Road that sell for $1,600 -- a price that amazes even the people who work there. Says salesman Jose Soto: "How good can you make beaver?" Then he'll explain who buys $3,200 Stetsons . . .

Little Village is more than Little Mexico. Troha's Fish and Shrimp House, a takeout joint on 26th near Keeler Avenue, has been doing brisk business out of the same compact storefront since 1920. Chicagoans argue pizza the way Texans debate barbecue -- and the unique, medium-thick pies at Home Run Inn (31st Street at Kildare Avenue) have been celebrated since 1923, two decades before the invention of internationally promoted "Chicago-style" pizza.

Still, it's the Mexico vibe that draws the big crowds, especially during the three-day Cinco de Mayo Festival and, in October, the Little Village Arts Festival.

But any time, Little Village is a fiesta for the senses.

For more information about Little Village, please contact Enlace Chicago (773.542.9233) or Little Village Chamber of Commerce (773. 521.5387).