El Paisa Alegre

To be honest I’m a little disappointed by all the 5 star reviews. The Tortas didn’t even come with cheese on them & the meat had very little flavor. The horchata was really good though … It’s an OK restaurant. Nothing to write home about.

Come here Sundays early for some amazing carnitas! They have seating but not really the place to sit down and hit. Order and enjoy at home with family! Now I can see how someone from «the outside» would view this place as messy or not very personal but they’re more of a place to get your meat but also sell tacos, burritos and massive tortas. I love ordering their chicken for parties too, yummy!

Cannot go wrong with anything here. Everything is chopped up right in front of you and the portions are HUGE. They also have the best guacamole salsa that is creamier than the normal salsa verde and spicier IMO. My mouth is watering just thinking about this place, go and you will not be disappointed.

A friend from work and I got the hankering for tacos last Friday. We arrived about 1pm at El Paisa and walked in with no line. Ordered the Carnitas burrito and my friend got 2 steak and 1 chicken taco. My burrito was massive. Literally 2 – 3 pounds and that was without the rice in it. Friend said the tacos had about double the meat as anywhere he had been. Let me say, the food was amazing. Both meals were about $ 12 with a drink.
It was so good we raved about it at work and went back this past Friday with 5 co-​workers. We got there about 12:15 and the line was out the door. We’ll make sure to keep our future visits after 1. Our orders today included steamed lamb burrito, beef tongue tacos, beef head tacos, steak tacos, chicken tacos, and a steak burrito. Everyone was impressed with the quality and the quantity.
We love the small walk in, hole in the wall atmosphere, and these folks work HARD! Food is amazing and service is terrific!
Id give El Paisa 6 stars if I could.

Not only fantastic food… but this family has passion for their business… I have known them for 20 years… quality smiles and service and very accommodating… my kids enjoy going there as they are treated with a big smile and a warm handshake. The food is abundant. …clean. …fresh. …always available… I am so happy for their success

La comida buena y los precios rasonables pero… el sábado en la tarde llame para ordenar menudo q recogería más tarde… lleve a la hora acordada y simplemente m dijeron que no había…la señora en la caja simplemente con una cara de molesta y no ofreció ni un lo siento x el inconveniente ni mucho menos… al contrario simplemente no hay y ya muévete…que mal x el negocio xq la otra señorita q esta antes que ella si es muy amable… simplemente si veo q esa señora está en la caja. m doy media vuelta y no entro

Let me tell you a quick little story about how I stumbled upon this interesting hole in the wall as others have mentioned. I was at work in Buffalo Grove when the ravenous hunger monster awoke from his slumber and suddenly I was hit with the urge for some authentic Mexican food… but I had no idea where to go! Oh no, what a dilemma! I soon consulted my best friend, Unilocal,and found this place along with several other hole in the wall joints in the same vicinity so I asked my friend at work which restaurant to go to for the most authentic food… she said that if I was the only white person in the restaurant it’s probably authentic. I must have picked a winner and I’m sooooooo glad that I chose El Paisa Alegre because it was phenomenal, just as all the previous reviews have stated.
Everyone has talked about how good the carnitas are and I had every intention to get a carnitas burrito so I could see what all the hype was about but then I changed my mind as the spur of the moment and got some al pastor quesadillas though I think I would have been exceedingly pleased with any of my choices. I can only deduce that whatever it is that’s ordered comes in an enormous portion as my quesadillas could have easily fed two people (unless you’re absolutely starving like I was). The food is all fairly priced there, especially since you know full well that you’re getting fresh meat as evidenced by the pounds and pounds of meat slabs in the glass case by the register. With those big ass quesadillas and a horchata my meal came to only cost about $ 12. And that horchata? Amazing! Some of the best I’ve ever had. They say you can judge a Mexican restaurant by its horchata so I guess you can say that El Paisa Alegre qualifies as «excellent».
The only reasons I give this restaurant four stars instead of five are for one, the quesadilla (though very good) didn’t really have any cheese in it… and two, there wasn’t much room for seating though the owner did come up and talk to me and he stated that they have another location down the road that is bigger so that’s some good news. With that being said the owner and all of the employees were very kind, though I was a bit paranoid that they were laughing at me because I was eating my quesadilla so aggresively.
One other thing that I should mention is that it seems you can buy actual meat from them so that’s quite convenient if you need to get some «eats» for now and later. It’s a one stop shop, you could say.
Now this place is somewhat hard to find because there’s not a sign out front that says «El Paisa Alegre» — there is a sign but it says «Taqueria» and it’s on the left side of this small strip mall. Go forth and get full on all that is offered at this awesome place.
Happy eating!

Very small place but their carnitas are so good. I love their tortas and tacos. Food is amazing. Have to be honest have to be very patient for your food. I always order ahead and pick up to take home. I like nice an quite. The portions are huge you can make two tacos out of one. Weekend they have special that are a must try.

I’m not sure if there are places like this in the Mexican areas of the city, but out here in the burbs there’s nothing like it. As authentic as it gets. A limited menu – in fact, there is no menu, you are expected to know what they have and what you want. With all that, I’m an old gringo, and they didn’t make me feel like I wasn’t supposed to be there. Been there several times. The carnitas (specify white meat only) is the thing to get. I got some yesterday– took home a half pound, mixed it on my stove with a quarter pound of mexican chorizo and some capers, and made some killer tacos. Their carnitas burrito is probably big enough to serve 3 or maybe 4 people!

They waited until everyone else had been served and had left before they put in my order, on my third attempt. Forty minute wait. Hmmm. One problem here is that I don’t eat beef or pork. From what I could see, they do a great job with both. I grew up near San Francisco, where they invented the modern taqueria. The chicken here just did not measure up. They have two types. One is dry and breaded and the other is chopped and flavorless. Huge portions. El Famous is the place to go in these parts if you like chicken burritos.

MONSTER burritos! Great quality. Like home cooking. Except, they have rice inside which I think is a no-​no. The counter people not only speak English but do so like native speakers. They are extremely nice and helpful. I would not get the pork shoulder again because they didn’t clean it well enough. Nothing like picking chunks of cartilage out of your mouth. The pastor was very good, though a bit spicy. Next time its carne asada.

Stumbled upon this place from other reviewers. People were very friendly and gave my daughter a sample of their delicious meat. It was PACKED with people, more of a to-​go place, or maybe eat and go. Definitely worth the wait. Portions are huge for their burritos. I would call this place «authentic». 5 star place for sure. No menu, just people and food. Love this place.

Closed on Tuesdays!
I tried to post this message last week but it was too short for Unilocal.Anyway I returned yesterday and boy am I glad I did. It’s simple food done right. Carnitas, goat, lamb and beef is ready for tacos but they also have other marinated meats that they will cook up for you on request. So tortillas, your choice of meat, and your choice of 4 house made killer sauces! The avocado based sauce is my favorite… not that the amazing meat needed any help! There’s no menu but I know they make burritos and tortas as well but I stuck with 3 tacos for dinner and it was more than enough. Their meat portions are at least twice as much as anywhere else. I took off a star because they were out of lengua and beef cheek. I know I will be back another day for that! Last but by no means least, they serve the very best horchata! Sweet and delicious!

I used to live in San Francisco for many years and I got used to the most amazing Mexican food, so I’m picky. This place is definitely LEGIT. They churn out food at an amazing pace, and the quality is solid. Highly recommend the tortas, but my guess is you can’t go wrong ordering anything. Quick service. Nice staff. Packed with patrons. Get over here if you can.

Best Mexican place in Wheeling. Not much of a place to sit down and eat but for takeout it’s excellent. There’s not really a menu. You kind of need to know what you want before you go there. It’s usually crowded and busy but that’s because the food is excellent. It’s worth the wait.

The food is incredible — the family owners could not be more welcoming and inviting. Run don’t walk for some of the best carnitas anywhere, not just in the burbs. The secret should get out, this place is that good and everything they serve is homemade.

First off, this place is a hole in the hall. This is the greasy spoon of taco dives.
That out the way, the food is amazing. You can’t find a more authentic place in the burbs… I know, I go out with all my suburban colleagues who take me to the worst «fine» dining Mexican restaurants in wheeling, deerfield, northbrook. They are all horrible gringo style/​Pepe’s Mexican restaurant knock offs.
Carnitas, awesome.
Al pastor, awesome.
Steak, good, but not awesome which is a bummer but i’ll stick to the other two.
The portions, two tacos here is almost like three to four tacos you would find in one of the better taco joints in chicago. You dollar def stretches at this place.
If you need more proof, you don’t see many gringos in this place… and Spanish is the spoken language here.

I need to brush up on my Spanish but I’m pretty sure that «El Paisa Alegre» means «Pigs on Crack». You would never know that this place is called «El Paisa Alegre» because it’s tucked inside a mini-​mall of Dundee with just a sign that says «Taqueria» and there is usually a technicolored banner in the window that says «Carnitas». I am honestly tempted to leave a horrible review because it is such a gem and I selfishly don’t want to share this place with the rest of the world. But after years of going, I think I should let the secret out.
This place handsdown has the best carnitas in the suburbs and maybe in the entire Chicagoland area. Mind you, I used to live in Pilsen where 18^th street has some of the best Mexican food in the world (even according to Mexicans). But I dare say… that this place has better carnitas than anything I have had anywhere! Although the portions are crazy big, it’s the taste and flavor! Each taco is like BOGO because they double up on the corn tortilla and the amount of meat is just insane.
I know it may seem hard to believe from my opening statement, but I am not a native Spanish speaker. Carnitas isn’t just carnitas, as far as I can tell its a blanket statement for pork BUT there is so much more to it. At this place depending on availability you can get all sorts of parts. If available you need to try cheek meat and rib meat but you must get at least one that’s just «mixed’, I forget what it is in Spanish but it’s basically a little bit of everything! Intestines, liver, skin… EVERYTHING. It’s so good! Don’t worry you don’t have to know the Spanish for some secret insider menu item, they all speak English and you can just say you want it «mixed». Then the dude just picks up slabs of meat and starts hacking away at it with a machete, they don’t use just any old knife!
I know this post was 100% about their carnitas but they have other amazing stuff too but the carnitas is definitely their crown jewel. In the winter months they have this beef soup, I have no idea what it’s called but its freaking amazing too. You may think this post is just a lot of exaggeration from a fat guy. You got me, I’m fat but this is not hype.

I thought I’d try a new mexican place out and came across this restaurant on Unilocal.I was kind of hesitant to try it out for a while because they don’t have a website and there wasn’t many details on the Unilocal page, but I decided to give it a go one day. I have a big appetite and was not ready for the massive burrito I got. I payed $ 8.75 for what I got and you could easily feed two people with it, and they would feel very full. Pictures don’t even do the portions justice.
They we’re helpful in deciding what type of meat I wanted in my burrito and they let me sample a few meats. I sampled this pulled pork braised is some type salsa and decided with that one. It had a smoky hint to it and it was very flavorful. They were also accommodating when I asked for guacamole on the burrito, and I don’t even know if they charged me extra. Although if they did, it was worth it for the price
I don’t really know why that one review on here was saying the place was gross or unclean because although it wasn’t as clean as you’d fine a chain restaurant to be, it was absolutely clean and has an authentic feel to it.
I usually don’t write reviews but I thought this restaurant deserves more business for doing food service right, and maybe this review will bring in some more customers for them. I 100% recommend this small, authentic mexican joint.

Ok. yo en lo particular me encanta este restaurante su comida es muy rica especialmente sus cárnitas si por mi fuera comería carnitas todos los días… pero o o peroo tienen un gran gran problema servicio al cliente aclaró por teléfono sin mentir ya perdí la cuenta de finés de semanas que eh llamado para pedir una orden de cárnitas en primera no entra la llamada suena el teléfono ocupado adicer verdad eh ablado al rededor de las 11:30 am –12:00 ih cuando por fin entra la bendita llamada sólo para escuchar sr. se acabaron las carnitas oh dios mio si ya saben que son días ocupados por que no hacen suficiente si van a tomar órdenes por teléfono pon más líneas. Telefónicas una No es suficiente (paísa alegre) hoja la ítesirva esta opinión Cómo consejo antes que te vallas ala quiebra ok…

Best burrito I’ve ever eaten, crazy portions. The carnitas are so good and their habanero salsa is like crack water

What a hole-​in-​the wall-​find! They got the most tempting and down home looking pans full of of taco goodness I’ve seen on display lately. But only come if you’re a taqueria conniseur — boiled beef, carnitas w/​ears-​tongue-​skin-​fat, lamb, goat, and chicharron.
Garnishes are for the hard core too — onion, cilantro, lime, and choice of red, green, and habenaro salsa.
But was very diasppointed the other day that I drove 7 miles for a quick taco fix only to find that they put up a «Closed Early» sign, turning customers away for a private party. Good restaurants know how to plan and handle both. You don’t screw your loyal customer base like that. Ever see McD’s or Yu’s Mandarin do that? Hey, we keep you in business Amigo!