Dangerously habit forming for someone who lives eight blocks from the Evanston border, 5 Rabanitos is still a craving that can’t be denied. With enough south side connections to warrant excuses for stopping through Pilsen, “the little restaurant that could” keeps pumping out some of the best food in the city.
Sitting quietly on the corner of 18th and Wood, neat as a button and without airs, the dining room leans to the small side. Bare tables and an all-male waitstaff make it seem particularly straightforward.
Every 5 Rabanito meal I’ve had has been notable for its robust flavors. They are always true to the focus of the dish. But it finally took this visit to stumble onto one of the best meals I’ve had the good fortune of experiencing in either recent or distant memory. Confiding in the waiter about the appeal of both the roasted pork with mole (Puerco Al Rancho) and the grilled chicken Rabinitos style for lunch, he leaned in with a sly smile and said, “the chicken”. Odd, I’ve always felt Mexican dishes excelled in beef and pork. Indeed, the carne asada eaten during my last visit could not have been more superb.
It’s that ironclad commitment to excellence that shines so beautifully at this self- effacing treasure. Much has been mentioned about chef Sotelo’s 19 years laboring and learning in Rick Bayless’s kitchens. He’s using his training and his creativity to elevate rustic everyday day food to a level you’d expect in the city center where sublime perfection is both assumed and demanded.
You’ll wait a minute for that excellence to arrive. Might be a good idea to use the time to comb through the menu and decide what you’ll have the next time you’re in the neighborhood. Or, you could check out the crowd. From the looks of things this Friday afternoon, 5 Rabanitos is both local mainstay and a special destination.
When the grilled chicken (Amish) arrived with the little red disc holding the restaurants exceptional homemade tortillas and a robust steak knife, my face probably looked a little querulous. And where’s everything else? No worries. Mushrooms, green beans, yellow squash, red and green peppers and grilled onions were relaxing in a phenomenal broth beneath the breast meat with wing intact. Insanely succulent, I had to lay both my fork and the knife on the table and stare into the kitchen after taking a couple of bites of the chicken and scooping up a tasting of the vegetables. “How did they do that?!” There might have been a swear word in that question, too. The serving was more than ample and I slowed down just to prolong the bliss. All the while wondering again how did they pull that off. The menu did say something about a garlic honey marinade. That marinade recipe should be protected by armed guards. What it did for that chicken is what a brain did for Einstein. But please, if you have an affinity for heat in the form of salsa, don’t forget to ask for the habanero to accompany most things on the menu. A whisper of sweetness balances mellow heat and is a surprisingly agreeable accent to many of the restaurants offerings.
I’m also beginning to think hyperbole is a little contagious when you find yourself at 5 Rabanitos. Fortunate enough to have a dining partner the last time I was there, Sparks ordered a shrimp dish that also featured cheese. By meals end, he had to tell the waiter as well as Rabanito # 3, who happened to stop by the table; that it was the best shrimp he’s ever had in a Mexican restaurant. The passion in his disclosure helps to explain why 5 Rabanitos will remain an itch I look forward to scratching for quite a while.