| Expect the unexpected!
Near the beginning of Villa
Park's Restaurant Row, on the east end of St. Charles Road near Route 83, sits
Tierra Grill, a south-of-the border diner at once steeped in
tradition but also on the cutting edge when it comes to
cooked-to-order Mexican style cuisine. Operated by proprietors Bob
and (Chef) Manuel Díaz, the fare is a
pleasant mix of the traditional and the inventive. Though hardly
Mexican nouvelle or classic Mexican continental, the dishes still offer unexpected twists
on taco stand stalwarts as well as creations unique to
Tierra. For example, the Green
Chicken Enchiladas are a welcome alternative to the grease-soaked cheese blobs which many local taquerias offer up. In
addition to being surprisingly light, they are also easy on the eye - 3
corn tortillas rolled around shredded chicken breast, drizzled with and
outstanding, tangy Salsa Verde of green tomatillos, and topped
with (not stuffed with) crumbled Chihuahua and grated cheddar cheese.
Though originally offered as a special entrée,
this platter has now been added to the regular menu. Served with refried beans (cooked with 100% vegetable oil) and Mexican
rice, they are meant to be savored slowly, and pair nicely with Tierra's
Margarita Dorado, an on-the-rocks tour de force laced with
Cointreau.
Tierra's take on the Steak Burrito is equally
pleasing, with all the traditional trimmings yet wrapped in a grilled
whole wheat tortilla. Like any typical giant Burrito it is a meal in
itself, and is excellent drenched in either of Tierra's two table salsas -
the Salsa Verde or a surprisingly earthy Salsa Roja which is
smoky and sultry with, I believe, overtones of Chipotle (dried, red Jalapeńo).
And by the way if I hear Sherman Kaplan pronounce this as
chi-POTTLE - as in BOTTLE, one more time on his
WBBM News Radio
restaurant reviews, I'll feel compelled to hurl a brick at the dial!!!
Charbroiled Pollo (Chicken) is
offered two ways, Borracho ("drunken" - marinated in Mexican
beer) and En Adobo, with a savory traditional rub, and
served as a quarter, half or whole bird.
Completely unexpected are the range of simple and
elegant salads, all made to order. The Ensalada Victoria
is my favorite, and consists of a bed of mesclun topped with sliced fresh
pears, walnuts, dried sweet cherries and cotija cheese, tossed with a
homemade vinaigrette. A more familiar Taco Salad, as
well as a range of other entrée salads, are also available.
Interesting too are the Trenzas, a
Tierra invention, hardly traditional, akin to a Mexican
calzone. The choice of five different fillings includes both
vegetarian and meat-filled combinations.
Perplexing, though are some of the basics. You,
know, the staples you would find at any hole-in-the-wall taqueria, but
with which both Tierra Grill and the unrelated
Frontera Grill will surprise you. You will likely be taken
somewhat aback by the Chips and Salsa. The salsa is
quite chunky, visually appealing, and consists of the basic, seasoned
tomato-pepper-onion-cilantro mixture. However, the tomato chunks are
on the large side (understatement!!!), squeezed free of any juice, and in
the several times I've tried it (hoping to detect some variance) it comes
across as dry and unexpectedly bland. Because of the size of the
chunks and the lack of moisture, the salsa does not adhere well to the
chips; the chunks will actually roll or fall off - IF you can even
scoop them up in the first place! So while you're busy practicing your
scooping technique (triangular chip, round shallow bowl, dry salsa -
you know the drill!!!) you begin to make more than the usual Salsa
mess!
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What to do? Easy - just doctor it up with the two
excellent table salsas mentioned before and you suddenly have a salsa with
body, flavor, and "chip-clingability" - it works!
The chips? Home made, of course, they are of a
crisp consistency which is very pleasing to the palate, but (and also
after several tries) they have a pronounced bitter aftertaste that could likely be
attributed to the corn, the oil, the cooking temperature, or even all
three. This bitter taste also surfaces in the rolled tortillas
of both the Pancho's Flautas (heated in oil - more
pronounced) and the Green Chicken Enchiladas (not heated in
oil - less pronounced, and not as distracting), so I suspect it is at
least due to the corn, and exacerbated in combination with the oil.
Timing can be rough, too. Accustomed to Tierra salads that come
to the table at the same time as Tierra entrees, I experimented with
asking at the counter if I could have my salad first. (By the way,
the counter is so offensively and unnaturally high that you actually have
to reach up to pay, and prompts like "easy beans" and
"medium drink" have to be repeated, often two or three times, due to the
sound barrier between customer and server). And I was
happily obliged - only problem was that a second server was not three
steps behind the first (they actually walked out together!), placing my
entree in front of me a scant fifteen seconds after my salad hit the deck!
Similar problems have occurred with soups and a pick-up order for burritos
which, when I arrived fifteen minutes after calling (the time specified),
had not even been prepared (the steak for my burrito was a frozen brick -
being thawed out on the grill) - but unfortunately that evening, my dining
partner and I had to be somewhere and needed to eat fast, hence the
call-ahead, so we had to
bail, canceling the order in the process, and scrambled to find some fast food at a drive-thru.
But overall, dining at Tierra Grill is a satisfying experience - the
staff and proprietors are more than just friendly, and in season, you can
escape the extremely cramped table set-up for the very appealing outdoor garden.
Though the dining room is a tight squeeze, the beautifully hand painted decor is very easy on the
eyes and makes for a relaxing dining experience as you jab elbows with
your neighbor. The food in the
best cases is exceptional, and even in the worst cases could be attributed
to the teething pains of recipe development in a relatively new
restaurant. In ALL cases Tierra is easy on the wallet, and well
worth the visit for lunch, dinner, or a relaxing cocktail.
Monday -Thursday: 11am - 9pm
Friday - Saturday: 11am - 10pm
Closed Sunday
- Entrees range from $4.95 - $12.95
- Soups, Sides, Desserts and Extras Vary
- Kid's Selections
- Beer, Wine and House Drinks
- Local Delivery Available
- Special Catering Menu
- Accepts All Major Credit Cards
- Seating is cramped indoors, wide open outdoors in season.
- Tunes are above average - generally Latin Rock
(Maná, Alejandra
Guzman, Mecano, Miguel Bosé),
Latin Pop and
Latin Traditional.
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