'O'd to the 'L' and The Flautista

After sleeping in this morning, I decided I felt like taking a train ride. Now I've made no secret of how much I love riding the 'L'. Maybe it's because I'm from a place where efficient public transportation doesn't exist, but it never ceases to fascinate me that I can pay $2.25 and go anywhere I want in the city. In the spirit of this(and a rare day off from the MICU), I decided to take a little 'L' field trip. As many times as I've ridden the Red Line, I've never been to it's northernmost stop, Howard, which is in Rogers Park. And I had to have something to do once I got there, so I searched Yelp! for some good Rogers Park lunch spots and came across a mexican restaurant with 4 1/2 stars. Done and done. I packed some headphones, a little reading material, and my camera, and I was out the door.

The Chicago 'L' is definitely one of the Top 5 coolest things about this city, along with the Lake Front (see Relishing the Lake Front from June), the Art Institute, Wrigley Field, etc. The 'L' is one of the things that distinguishes this city as among the best in the world. It is a fixture in the beautiful Chicago landscape. It's been featured (and even serves as the setting) in a multitude of TV shows and films, including ER, While You Were Sleeping, Risky Business, Ocean's Eleven, and my favorite, The Fugitive. The "L" is Chicago.

Dr. Richard Kimble (The Fugitive) boarding the Brown Line

A little bit of history and a few factoids about the "L" (with the help of Wikipedia):
- The nickname 'L', comes from "ELevated" rail"; purists spell it 'L' not 'El'.
- It had its beginnings in 1892 when a steam powered locomotive carried passengers from the southwest side into downtown along Congress Ave. (upon tracks still used by the Green Line)
- Consists of 224 miles of rails
- Originally consisting of several private operations, it was taken over by the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) in 1947
- Different lines were named after colors (Red, Orange, Pink, Green, Brown, Purple, Yellow) in 1993
- The Red Line is the city's busiest line, averaging 238,000 riders per weekday, connecting North and South Side Chicago to the Loop, and is the rail the connects Chicago's two MLB ballparks, Wrigley and U.S. Cellular field

One of the great things about our River North condo is that we are literally a stone's throw from the Brown Line-Chicago Ave stop. This connects us to the Loop (this is how Wendy commutes to work every day), cool Northwest neighborhoods like West Lakeview, Southport, and Roscoe Village, and serves as an easy connection to the Red Line and the Northern Neighborhoods like Lincoln Park, Andersonville, and Rogers Park, the latter being my destination today.




My best Dr. Richard Kimble beard impression at our home 'L' stop

Brown Line approaching Chicago

After a quick photo op I hopped on the Brown Line train headed north. To connect to the Red from the Brown Line going north, there are a couple of options, but I figured it was only fitting to switch at our former home stop, Fullerton (Lincoln Park/DePaul).

From here, I rode the Red Line all the way to it's northern terminus, Howard, before getting off to find my lunch destination.

It was about a 10 minute walk to Restaurante Cuetzala Gro, the spot I found on Yelp! that's getting rave reviews.

I walked in to find that not a single person was speaking english and the only background sound was the telenovela playing at a robust volume on the big screen TV. I knew I was in the right place.

The waitress tended to me immediately, bringing water and chips/salsa. I also ordered some fresh guacamole and a big glass of horchata, both barometers of a good mexican restaurant and both were awesome here. The guac had an amazing consistency, with big chunks of avocado and the perfect amount of spice. The horchata was super sweet, but refreshing and the perfect contrast to the spicy morsels to follow.

As I usually do at new places, I asked the waitress what her favorite menu item was. She touted the flautas as the best thing coming out of the kitchen. I'm not typically a flauta guy but she was putting on the hard sell. I caved. I wouldn't be sorry.

"Crispy tortillas stuffed with stewed chicken and topped with green chile sauce, sour cream, and mexican cheese crumbles."

Senorita was not kidding around. The flautas were amazing. The description above says as much as you can say without actually taking a bit of these crispy flavor explosions. The navy beans were a nice, mild touch, and something I've never seen at a mexican restaurant before.

With a full belly and a little bit of acid reflux, I hiked it back to the Howard station to head back south. I thought about riding the Red Line all the way down to Sox Park to catch the last half of the day game, but when I saw that the Twins scored 6 in the top of the 1st I thought better of it.

All in all, a great little excursion. Gonna miss that ol' 'L' train.