Chicago (Mexican) - Nuevo Leon

Nuevo Leon
1515 West 18th Street, Chicago, IL; Phone 312-421-1517
Date of Review: May, 2007

Nuevo Leon has been a fixture in the Pilsen neighborhood for over 40 years. They are known for their authentic, home style Mexican cooking.

This storefront BYOB restaurant has a colorful entrance with murals in an assortment of colors adorning the exterior of the restaurant making Nuevo Leon a noticeable spot at the very least. The décor inside is also very colorful with murals painted on the walls throughout the restaurant. The atmosphere is busy and hectic and very family friendly.

Upon sitting down, our server arrived with some warm chips that were glistening with a bit of oil. In addition, a cup of salsa and another cup with jalapenos and carrots were placed on our table. The warm and fresh chips were absolutely wonderful with a robust corn flavor in each bite. The salsa is a nice combination of peppers and tomatoes and is a bit spicy with a hint of smokiness, but not much sweetness. We also decided to sample a small order of guacamole. A generous portion of guacamole (I don’t want to see the large) arrived and we dug in. The guacamole was creamy and piled high with lots of ripe avocado. What I really liked about the guacamole is that they didn’t try and do anything special. It was just good avocado with maybe some salt and pepper. They didn’t chop up onions and jalapenos and everything else in an attempt to get fancy. To be honest, a bit of guacamole on top of a chip with a carrot slice or some salsa was a flavor explosion in my mouth and I could still taste the corn flavor of the chip.

On this evening, my guest ordered the Pollo en Mole. What showed up on our table was a huge plate of food that included a steamed chicken thigh, wing, breast and drumstick served with rice and refried beans with the chicken completed covered in a rich, traditional mole sauce. While they probably could have held back half a cup of the mole sauce that was poured over the food, the chicken was tender, the rice and beans tasty and the mole sauce full of flavor.

I ordered the whole red snapper (HUACHINANGO AL MOJO DE AJO) which was served with rice and an avocado, lettuce, tomato and onion salad. The fish had crispy skin on the outside (as it was flash fried) with tender flesh meat and was served with fresh garlic and a red pepper sauce on top of the fish. The fish was served with flour tortillas. I usually go for corn tortillas but I decided to try the flour based on the suggestion of my server. The tortillas were nice and warm and had those black spots on them throughout which come about when the tortilla has been pulled from a hot pan. The fish had a great garlicky flavor and was fresh and tasty.

Nuevo Leon is an excellent value. Entrees range from $6 for tacos or a burrito up to $13 or so dollars for a steak or fish dish. We ordered a small order of guacamole and 2 entrees (the fish was $13.50 and the chicken $8) and paid a total of $35 and that includes tax and tip.