#chico's

Chico’s is one of the older Mexican restaurants in Highland Park. It was established in 1993. The building is covered by a colorful mural and they even have a few parking spots in the back.

The menu includes breakfast (eggs), appetizers, salads, combination plates, soups, seafood, tortas, burgers, tacos, sopes, burritos, enchiladas, etc. They even have a vegetarian section of the menu. Breakfast is served all day. Meat choices: asada, lengua, carnitas, pastor, pollo. Prices are reasonable.

Chilaquiles (choice of rojo or verde sauce) with corn tortillas, sauce, cheese, and two eggs your way ($12.75): The eggs were a little over but the yolks were still moist with a bit of runniness. The chips were thin and still had some crunch. The red sauce wasn’t spicy at all. The refried pinto beans were thick and creamy (probably made with lard). Spanish rice was fine – fluffy with peas. It was on the plain side – chips, sauce, cojita, eggs and nothing else – no cilantro, no onions, no crema.

Cafe de olla ($3.75): Hot Mexican coffee with cinnamon, comes with free refills. Very sweet. He combined it with regular coffee for me to dilute the sweetness.

Chips and salsa ($1.50): I didn’t realize these weren’t complimentary. When I sat down, I was asked, do you want chips and salsa? Anyway, the chips and salsa were worth the $1.50 – plenty of thin, crispy corn tortilla chips (housemade?) and a chunky fresh tomato salsa

There’s a 3% surcharge if paying by credit card. Beer is available. Service was friendly. The place was cozy and cluttered. The booths were comfortable. They were even selling nutritional supplements there.  

3.5 of 5 stars