Las Carnitas Uruapan

Carnitas Uruapan Restaurant - Review - Little Village - Chicago - The Infatuation

"This Little Village restaurant is the third location of one of our favorite Mexican spots. They have slow-cooked pork, tacos dorados, and other Carnitas Uruapan classics—but it’s their first spot to have mezcal cocktails and beer. We haven’t been here yet, but want you to know this spot exists." - John Ringor

Carnitas Uruapan’s new Little Village location is now open | Eater Chicago

"After years of searching for a flagship location in the heart of La Villita, the father-and-son team of Inocencio and Marcos Carbajal have launched the next chapter in their restaurant’s 50-year history in a former concert venue for Mexican grupera acts, transforming a three-story 1920s-era art deco building (the former La Concordia) into an artful, spacious dining room that ownership hopes will remind visitors of home. The new space opened Monday, January 27, and—unlike the other two locations—adds cocktails and beer, with a beverage program by cantinero Luis “Luigi” Estrada (who has created bar menus at notable Mexican restaurants Tzuco and Kie Gol Lane). Estrada and Marcos Carbajal worked on draft cocktails that emphasize regional Mexican spirits like mezcal and charanda from Michoacán, using ingredients “that even an abuelita or tia can relate to,” says Estrada; the beverages also include micheladas and a lineup of Mexican beers, including a collaboration with Mexican American–owned Casa Humilde Cerveceria, which recently relocated to suburban Forest Park. For Marcos Carbajal, the second‑generation restaurateur whose father built the stalwart emporium for crispy golden carnitas, crunchy chicharrones, and craveable tacos dorados in Pilsen, expanding into Little Village feels like a full‑circle moment: “[Little Village] feels very much like a place where I’m at home, it’s almost like stepping back in time, it feels very familiar, with street vendors, you hear Spanish everywhere, it’s just kind of a throwback vibe for us,” says Carbajal. Designer Aida Napoles of AGN Design (who, according to Carbajal, grew up around the corner from the restaurant) created a culturally resonant interior: the backs of the booths use the same textile as a rebozo, chairs and banquettes are accentuated with ostrich leather frequently used for cowboy boots, walls are lined with custom-cut slabs of terracotta, and the dining room floor is hand-painted with a stencil pattern reminiscent of designs found on the patios of old homes in Mexico. A 40-foot exterior sign now proclaims La Villita, the dining room seats 150 with a corner patio for 50 and a private-events room, and there is parking across the street on two lots purchased by Carbajal; the upper levels are being renovated into apartments to bring in additional revenue. The building had been vacant for 15 years (with eight inches of standing water in the basement) when Carbajal purchased the property in 2021, and work has been done to restore the decaying façade and reuse materials that offer an homage to Mexican culture. The food menu at the new location remains the same as the family’s established offerings; the business was founded by Inocencio “El Guero” Carbajal in 1975 after he immigrated in 1969, drawing on a recipe he learned from his grandfather and an uncle who ran a carnicería in Uruapan in the 1940s and ’50s to deliver “a real taste of Michoacán.” Carbajal has focused expansion on neighborhoods where the Mexican community has migrated (a 2019 location opened in Gage Park), and he notes: “When people actually visit from Mexico, they’re impressed how it’s, you know, it’s a real taste of Michoacán. It’s because we have a direct line, a great direct lineage that goes back to Michoacán.” Open hours: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday–Thursday; 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Friday; 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., weekends." - Serena Maria Daniels

Chicago’s best cookies | Eater Chicago

"As the name says, this Edgewater cafe specializes in cookies — seven varieties, including maple bacon, gluten-free double chocolate, and oatmeal cherry." - Naomi Waxman

Where to Eat and Drink in Edgewater | Eater Chicago

"When chef Brad Newman opened his new location on Broadway, he created two spaces in one: first a cafe serving tacos, pizza, and cookies, and then a more formal sit-down restaurant and bar offering more substantial entrees like cioppino, flank steak, and cassoulet. And also tacos. Both operations use the same ingredients sourced from local farmers markets, a recognition of where Newman got his start." - Aimee Levitt

Five decades of Michoacán-style carnitas, now showcased in a 26th Street flagship that opened in 2025. Celebrated by the Michelin Guide and featured in credible local reporting on the new location. ([guide.michelin.com](https://guide.michelin.com/us/en/illinois/chicago/restaurant/carnitas-uruapan/?utm_source=openai), [blockclubchicago.org](https://blockclubchicago.org/2025/01/07/carnitas-uruapan-opening-long-awaited-flagship-restaurant-in-little-village/?utm_source=openai))