McDonald's on a street named for Cesar Chavez, or ... |
It’s
an event intended to give various restaurants a chance to show off their
special recipes for that uniquely Mexican dish – mole. That mix of the cocoa
bean and assorted spices mixed into a sauce served atop chicken, turkey or
other meats.
... mariachis playing in between Giordano's and Subway? Photos by Gregory Tejeda |
IT HAPPENS TO be a personal favorite of mine, and I was anxious to try unique variations on the dish (which my mother often served atop chicken with rice).
But
the part of the day that caught my attention was the ethnic and racial blend of
people that turned out to what some people would want to believe is the
ultimate Mexican neighborhood in Chicago.
Chato's for pasta, along with ... |
Just
as many white people of assorted ethnicities showed up and gave the mole a try.
The fact that this one-time immigrant enclave that has been through so many
ethnicities during Chicago’s history truly is going through gentrification.
... Memo's for hot dogs |
For
it seems there were so many mixtures of the old (being the Mexicans who have
been a part of Pilsen since the 1950s) and the new (upper-scale individuals who
like the idea of a city address not too terribly far from jobs downtown (it’s
about a 15-minute ride from “the Loop” to the 18th Street CTA ‘el’
train platform).
I’M
STILL TRYING to figure out the most off-beat sight I saw – the stage on 18th
Street where I saw a female mariachi band perform, located in between Giordano’s
and Subway franchise restaurants.
Or the McDonald's franchise located on Chicago's Cesar Chavez Street.
Or the McDonald's franchise located on Chicago's Cesar Chavez Street.
A faded Mexican mural on a barbecue joint |
I
also couldn’t help but notice several restaurants in the neighborhood being
operated – based on their names – by people of Mexican ethnic origins. But who
are serving up most definitely un-Mexican foods.
Still sights w/in Pilsen ... |
PASTA
AND HOT DOGS, to be exact. Assimilation at work. Perhaps somebody figures that
even Mexican-Americans are anxious for something else to eat, even though the
ideologues might have inane thoughts about serving up burritos.
Now
I know some people see these sights and they get scared. They’re afraid the
white people are going to drive up the rents and make it too expensive for
others to afford to live there.
Although
there has to be a mid-ground we can reach between a neighborhood remaining an
ethnic enclave and becoming the latest version of Lincoln Park – which itself
was once a Puerto Rican neighborhood back in the days when Pilsen had an overflow
of Czech immigrants and it made sense the neighborhood was named for one of the
largest cities in what is now the Czech Republic.
... that I'm sure will manage to offend ... |
It
was pleasing to see so many interacting with good behavior.
I
DIDN’T SEE any bad incidents, and in fact there wasn’t even a heavy police
presence.
I
saw two lone officers walking along 18th Street, and they said it
was a pleasant afternoon. Which is something I'm sure the ideologues will refuse to believe can occur in an ethnic enclave in Chicago. We are, after all, the "murder capital" of the country -- even though it's really St. Louis, with Baltimore and New Orleans close behind.
... the ideologue idiots amongst us |
Not
even the presence of $5 beers got people to misbehave. Perhaps it was the
presence of all the food that kept people from acting up. Or at the very least, kept us all stuffed to the point where none of us would have felt compelled to start up any trouble.
Although
I have to admit to one thing – despite not being displeased with anything I ate
or drank, I still have to say; none of the moles compared to the way my mother
use to make them.
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