Taquizas Valdez
Mexican restaurant · Albany Park
3038 W Irving Park Rd, Chicago, IL 60618
Highlights
Flavorful tacos, huge tortas, pastries, and vibrant murals.
Flavorful tacos, huge tortas, pastries, and vibrant murals.
"A relatively new Irving Park taqueria is participating in a charity collaboration called Bite Club; through April it’s offering a Cali-style breakfast burrito stuffed with andouille sausage, scrambled eggs, fries, Muenster cheese, black beans, pickled red onions, avocado-jalapeño crema, and cilantro, with $1 from each sale benefitting the Irving Park Community Food Pantry." - Ashok Selvam
"Taquizas Valdez is a new Mexican restaurant in Irving Park. In addition to tacos with fillings like al pastor or lime-marinated chicken, the counter-service BYOB spot also has tortas and a mushroom pambazo. They’re only open for lunch and dinner on weekdays, but they open earlier on weekends with a menu full of breakfast tortas, pastries, and cafe de olla." - john ringor, veda kilaru, nick allen
"Taquizas Valdez in Irving Park has a vibrant large mural depicting the owners’ Mexican and Chicago backgrounds, and tables covered in psychedelic streaks. And like how this counter-service spot bursts with color, their tacos are bursting with proteins—two tortillas can barely hold it all. The steak and al pastor have an excellent char, while the chicken (albeit a little dry) has a great citrusy marinade. Aside from tacos, their massive tortas with pillowy bread and steak-loaded fries make us wish they were open for midnight munchies. Food Rundown Taquiza Fries This combination of steak and fries is one of the best things on the menu. The fries maintain some crunch even when covered in a mountain of steak, beans, guacamole, and lime crema, plus some slices of fresh radish for crispness. photo credit: John Ringor Tacos Our favorite is the al pastor. The pork has a few crispy sections, plus a decent amount of sweetness from the diced pineapple. The steak taco is a close second—the beef is great, but the flavor gets slightly buried under a bunch of vegetables and crema. photo credit: John Ringor Tortas If you’re more of a sandwich person (or just want something heftier), get the torta. The soft bread absorbs the sauces and juices from meat and beans very well and gets a burst of freshness from the red onion, tomato, and lettuce. photo credit: John Ringor" - John Ringor
"A Chicago native, Ivan Valdez, has opened a restaurant in Old Irving Park with stellar tacos, tortas, and more. The spot focuses on Mexican pastries on the weekend. Valdez, a former Marine, also cooked for Loba Rey, Homestead on the Roof, and Quiote." - Ashok Selvam
"A recently opened Old Irving Park counter-service restaurant with seating for 45, the colorful long mural along the wall traces the owner’s family journey from a small Mexican town to Mexico City and finally to Chicago, includes symbols from his military time, and even features his 2-year-old daughter; "I want to showcase and voice my story," says Valdez, who grew up in Logan Square. His food reflects that personal narrative: signature al pastor is "made from thinly sliced pork shoulder marinated in guajillo and achiote for 24 hours and cooked on a spit." "It’s labor intensive but you can’t replicate that slow roast," he says. Pollo al limon features marinated grilled chicken thigh seared on the plancha to order, topped with onion, cilantro, avocado, and Fresno peppers on lightly charred chicken. Build-your-own tacos are available with add-ons like pineapple-habanero relish, lime crema, and salsa macha. Tortas use freshly baked housemade bread; the four tortas range from skirt steak with black beans to the more complex pambazo de hongos (mushroom medley topped with queso fresco, crispy fries, salsa macha, and avocado). On weekends the space morphs into a panaderia with pastries and specialty Mexican-style coffee drinks — examples include dulce de leche cream cheese-stuffed conchas and cinnamon-topped bunuelos — made by head baker Jose De Jesus Cortez; "My mom was a big sweets person," says Valdez. Valdez’s culinary path began cooking with his mother, Rosa, followed by culinary school, six years in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, and professional stints at West Town Bakery & Diner, Homestead On the Roof, Quiote, and Lobo Rey. After his mother fell ill in 2020 and died less than a year later he took a sabbatical, later earned certifications in electrical maintenance and construction and a bachelor’s in engineering technology, and restarted the weekend catering business he began with his mom — it was during those backyard taquizas that he refined his taco-making and rediscovered his passion. After numerous clients urged him to open (and his wife wanted her house back — "There was kitchen equipment everywhere," he says), he opened on Wednesday, December 18. He continues to work as a laboratory engineer while overseeing the operation alongside chef de cuisine Jesus Aguilera. For now the menu is kept deliberately simple, with weekend specials planned (including a Sonoran hot dog and multi-course Mexican dinners that highlight his fine-dining background) and future plans to feature dishes that showcase his mother’s recipes. "Instead of cooking on Mother’s Day for my mom, I was cooking for others’ moms," says Valdez." - Lisa Shames
Sara Yang
Hugh Balsam
Erica
Nikki Hurt
Melissa F. Haley
Anyssa Arceo
Sabrina Crawford
John Rodriguez
Ali R.
Sabrina C.
Jim D.
Nazia C.
Camille K.
Cheyenne G.
Yayo T.
Tom G.
Nathan H.
Brianna Z.
Ryan S.
Peter S.
William C.
Cheryl F.
Edward E.
Cris V.
Julie D.
Joe John J.
