Morena's Kitchen

Morena’s Kitchen Dominican restaurant has opened in Humboldt Park | Eater Chicago

"Chef-owner Miriam Montes de Oca recently reopened her longtime Dominican restaurant at 3758 W. North Avenue in Humboldt Park after closing the original Armitage Avenue location during the COVID downturn. The menu focuses on Dominican staples — sancocho, oxtail, rabo guisado, chivo guisado, mondongo, lengua — and signature items like los tres golpes, rotisserie chicken, and a much-loved Dominican fried chicken made with a secret spice blend and traditionally 'washed' with citrus or vinegar to remove gaminess and sharpen flavor. Sharing a space and a sliding-door connection with a neighboring Mexican bar led to retaining popular Mexican items (tortas, tacos, burritos, chilaquiles), which eased the transition for regulars and broadened appeal; the restaurant also sells less-commonly served meats and stocks Dominican sodas such as Country Club. It stays open late (usually until midnight and 1 a.m. on weekends), sources specific Dominican ingredients through community contacts, relies on Facebook and Instagram for accurate hours and updates due to lingering online listing confusion, and serves as an important late-night and cultural hub for Chicago’s small but growing Dominican and Caribbean communities while navigating food-cost pressures and the challenges of restarting after a prolonged closure." - Nylah Iqbal Muhammad