The McKinley Park neighborhood sits almost smack dab in the middle of the city.
It offers all kinds of interesting things to eat, but along one short block near 35th and Archer, there are two delicious spots to eat, featuring the food of very different countries.
One is a Mexican diner where the chef worked for Rick Bayless for many years, until going out on his own. The other, a Portuguese bakery, where they make a couple of items you’d be hard pressed to find anywhere else in town.
The day starts with a strong espresso and any number of Portuguese-influenced pastries at Cadinho, a new bakery and café hugging the slender corner at Archer and 35th Street.
“When we were in Portugal we really enjoyed going to these cafes where you can just hang out and enjoy a good espresso and a good pastry,” said Maria Alejandra Rivera, Owner of Cadinho Bakery & Café.
There’s one item always on the menu – until it runs out.
“The pasteis de nata of course,” she said.
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Laminated pastry dough, layered with butter, is pressed out into small tins. Into each cup: a few ounces of custard.
“Made with a lot, a lot of egg yolks…”
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Baked for 10 minutes at high heat, they emerge beautifully blistered, soft and crunchy.
“The puff pastry gets this flakiness, and then you get those beautiful dark spots,” she said.
There’s Bolacha Hungara – a shortbread cookie sandwich housing sweet dulce de leche, and Pudim Abade – a sort of soft pudding cake infused with port wine and prosciutto.
It’s a very rich dessert, very sweet, and I add blackberry just to balance some tartness,” she said.
On weekends, they make a fantastic passionfruit tart: into a base of short dough with almond flour, a sweet and tart custard is piped in, then baked, and finally, Italian meringue borders the edge, filled in with tart passionfruit seeds.
Just a few doors away, Chile Toreado offers Mexican comfort food. Jaime Sotelo worked for Rick Bayless for more than 20 years and his cooking is rooted in the state of Guerrero. One example: updating a Tlayuda, normally a product of Oaxaca.
“The original Tlayuda they came only with the black beans; it was nice and dry. The Chile Toreado they make a tlayuda with more texture,” said Sotelo.
Here he’ll add cheese and grilled steak; pickled red onions, queso anejo and cilantro, for a meal or snack somewhere between loaded nachos and a pizza.
“Because Guerrero was in Acapulco so basically we’re using a lot of ceviche,” he said.
Again, loads of vegetables like chiles and jicama, tossed with fresh lime juice along with shrimp, octopus and calamari. His mole is available every day – a fine balance between sweet and heat, thanks to four chiles.
“Ancho, pasilla, mulatto, guajillo,” he said.
Sotelo says the dish is in honor of his grandmother, so he takes special pride in serving it.
“I know she’s not here, but I’m pretty sure she’s listening to me, because this honors her,” he said.
Here's where you can go:
2022 W. 35th St.
773-823-7793
3483 S. Archer Ave.
773-801-0508
