Marko's Tacos

Thursday April 29th 2010
Marko's Tacos, 3009 W Cermak, Chicago, IL

Being a couple hours early for the show in Chicago we wandered around the neighborhood in search of more dollar store sunglasses and tacos. We spotted quite a few Mexican restaurants, one Rick thought had come recommended to him by a friend. After closer examination he realized it wasn't the same place, but we decided to to pretend that it had in fact been recommended and go, because the difference between an actual recommendation and a fake one is pretty slim.
My plan was to be economical, keep it cheap, and not eat too much now in case there was going to be some food at the show. I ordered what I believed would be a pleasant and light hunger reliever, two tacos (chicken and chorizo), with sides of guacamole and sour cream. The sides being only 50 cents, it seemed like the right thing to do.
We sat down and were brought the common place and expected bowl of tortilla chips and salsa spread, but were then surprised by the delivery of three cups of lentil soup. Confused looks were shot around the table, but we were the only party of three, so it must have been for us. We accepted the offer.
Then came the tacos. As soon as they were put down in front of me, I realized just how bad the Mexican food situation in Philly really is. I mean I knew it was bad, but just seeing these masterfully crafted beauties and thinking back to Taco Loco, my 'favorite' Philly spot, it was just kind of sad.
The Taco Loco taco's are topped with onion and cilantro only, where as these had both of those plus lettuce, tomato, and queso fresco. Cheese god damn it! An essential ingredient, for which there is no sensible reason for exclusion. All these fine ingredients, tacos loaded with meat, for $1.80 a piece.
I was halfway through my chorizo taco when the sides came. I'd forgotten about them. Look at this "side" of guacamole. That's at least two avocado's in there, and this was 50 cents! One avocado costs at least a dollar in the grocery store, and thats on a good day! (confused baffled silence) At this point, one cup of lentil soup and half a taco down, eyeing the still plentiful spread before me, I realized I might have went a little overboard.
The tacos I put back without a problem, it was the guac and the sour cream that were giving me trouble. Guacamole is a precious and luxurious resource that in good conscience cannot be wasted. I offered some to my dining mates, both of whom had the foresight and common sense to get just a single taco, and yet were still full enough to not put a noticeable dent in the mountain of guac. And with the tortilla chip supply dwindling and no utencils in sight, it was becoming harder to eat. I used the last chip as a spoon, shovling left over taco scraps into my mouth, and sucking the sour cream and guac off of it, until the scraps were gone and i was eating just the sides. A nice taste, but an obnoxious wet and squishy texture that forced me to eat the chip spoon, so I could at least somewhat enjoy the things I had ordered. This experience, plus the amount I had already eaten, combined with the sensation of adjusting my eyes to the real world, after five hours of sunglasses vision, had me feeling pretty loopy when we left. But there was no food at the show, so I did the right thing, and all that only cost five bucks! This place gets an actual recommendation now.