We biked to this location a few weeks ago and were pleasantly surprised with our experience. They have many drink specials for different days of the week so definitely reference those if interested. The chips and salsa were very tasty and I enjoyed my burrito, our server was very kind and checked on us often. read more

What a cute spot! This small street food inspired spot really packs a punch and is definitely worth making the trip out for. We went on a Tuesday and found out they had $6 house margaritas on special. The house margarita was simple but delicious. They had plenty of other drinks to choose from, including sodas and fruit smoothies. Originally I thought I'd come in and get tacos, but everything looked so delicious. We ordered the chips and three salsas (spicy red salsa, verde salsa, and mango salsa). The salsas were warm, which I wasn't expecting, but we all loved them all. The chips were a little on the stale side. I ordered the chorizo and the goat cheese empanadas, someone ordered the three tamale meal, and someone ordered the chicken and bacon tacos. All entrees come with a side and we all decided on the pozole soup, which was fantastic. The person who ordered the tacos loved them, saying the tortillas were really good and the caramelized onion and bacon bits in the taco were delicious. The person with the tamales liked them all and said the spicy pork was her favorite. Both of my empanadas were great, I think I liked the chorizo one more. Service was nice and friendly, the interior is decorated really cute, and everyone loved all the dishes. Prices were super reasonable. All in all, this is a great place I'll be coming back to. read more

Estrella Negra - Pozole soup - Mexican Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Service was good, food was tasty. My portion size was smaller than I imagined though. I came for dinner. The portion would have been more appropriate for lunch. I'd like an option of specifying a lunch portion or dinner portion. Ordered the steak enchiladas. Covered with cheese and a sweet mango salsa. Salsa was not overly sweet. Steak was tender, pieces were chewy. Before the enchiladas got pozole. Had the right amount of kick. Art is neat! Skulls and bright colors. Music was some weird techno. read more

Estrella Negra - Mexican Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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First time here Sunday brunch I try the coconut avocado fries The steak torta cup of pozole and bloddy mary Was pretty good I be back to try more Mexican streets food Service on point Skulls all over o like that read more

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This restaurant is an amazing taste of Mexican food in Chicago. We had their red house wine, which is a delicious Merlot. We paired the wine with their star Guacamole as an appetizer. The guacamole will surely make you feel like you are in a trendy restaurant in Mexico. The best thing about the restaurant, and probably Chicago, is their pozole. We tried the vegan pozole and the chicken pozole. Both of them are amazing, although the chicken pozole is a little bit spicy. I paired my pozole with a Corona michelada and my companion paired it with another glass of red wine. We certainly enjoyed our delicious dinner and we'll be back really soon! This place is a must if you're around Logan Square or Wicker Park. read more

Estrella Negra - Mexican Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Meh. I could've made a better burrito myself. The burrito was made with one of the veggie wrap pitas similar to the kind you get at jewel osco. Overall, the chicken burrito was pretty bland and relied on salt as the only seasoning. The shrimp tacos were good, but lukewarm. Which is notable because we waited 20 minutes for my order only to receive cold food. The worst part was the price. 31 bucks for 3 shrimp tacos and a terrible chicken burrito. Quality of food does not warrant the price points. I'll pass next time. read more

Estrella Negra - Mexican Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

So improved over the years!! The pozole... yum! Great friendly service every time! During the pandemic, the take home mezcal margarita is delicious!!! And well priced! read more

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Loved our food and drinks here, and we will definitely be back soon! Started with the Jalapeno Margarita and loved the spice of it...enough that I got two. My husband got the Mexi-Mosa - I think it's tequila and prosecco. I definitely liked my margarita better. We started with the Coconut crusted Fried Avocado. Delicious! Especially with the spiciness of the Chipotle sauce. We kept the sauce for our entrees, too. Our entrees come with a side to start and we both got the spicy chicken pozole. Definitely get it. It was so tasty and warm on a cool night. It was a perfect starter. But...not for someone who can't handle some spice. I got the chorizo tacos with bacon and onions, and my husband got the Surf and Turf Burger. It was a poblano stuffed with shrimp, muenster and goat cheese on top of an beef patty served in a pretzel bread with dijon mustard. It was messier than can be, but he loved it and would get it again. I, too would get the tacos, too. I almost got the "known" mango enchiladas, but our waitress told me that if you don't care for sweeter salsas (which I do not), that I should avoid it. So glad she steered me in the right direction! The restaurant is not very large, so definitely make reservations as they were filling up quickly on a Saturday night. The food is so good that I can see us going there again soon! read more

I've been to Estrella Negra for years and have never really been big on writing reviews but this place is well deserved of one. I was at Estrella Negra for Valentine's Day. Their customer service is amazing, always welcoming and very friendly. Their dishes are really thought out to perfection as each dish is very different front the next. Very eccentric and creative but above all very delicious. My favorite is the chilaquiles but I also highly recommend the pozole and also the chocolate tamale for dessert which was a hidden gem to me until this past Valentine's Day when It was highly recommended. Definitely a place worth visiting. It's also in a prime location right off the Fullerton exit 90/94. If you haven't been here yet, you're missing out. -Luis read more

Love the service, food and drinks. Prices are reasonable and can wait to return and try something new. A total new exited experience. Lengua del diablo is now my favorite drink and their new unique beer 9. read more

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Driven pass this place for the last three days, I mistaken it as a tattoo parlor. Opps! The colorful sugar skull reminds me of tattoo joint than Mexican restaurant. Inside was very decorative, colorful for sure. Left side with tables, right side is the booths. FYI, if you check in you get a 20% off on a weekday brunch! I got the green tea horchata which was DELICIOUS! If you haven't tried this version, you got to. GET IT! Haha. It has a great balance between the sweet hotchata and butter green tea. Very refreshing especially since the Chicago weather is getting H-O-T. We shared the carne asada fries which I would describe as knock off poutine. Very delicious. The steak was cooked PERFECTLY. Usually, I am afraid if I had steak bits on anything because its usually dry but not this one. As an entree, I got taco trio that had steak bacon tomatoes and such. There wasn't a specific name them so I can't fully recall, but it was very tasty! The only weird is that you can't mix and match the tacos so you get the SAME three tacos. Not a huge deal, but most places would have tacos at different price ranges as oppose to a set trio of the same ingredients. Will love to come back to try the rest of the menu and get the horchata. read more

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I just recently revisited this place after first dining here about four years ago when we moved to the neighborhood. Boy am I glad I did! The food is absolutely delicious (try the shrimp diavolo and the tamale sampler), the atmosphere adorable, and the staff friendly and fun. We also came on a live music night (which I guess they have once a month on Wednesdays in the summer). Definitely coming back to this place and ordering other things off the menu, or getting takeout! read more

It's okay. The "meal" is just one side, served first like an appetizer so when your tacos come it's like "that's it"? The meal price is $10-12.95 so I kinda expected rice, beans and my side of soup. That's what I would get at Arthor's down the street of Western Avenue, or any other Mexican place. The wait time for our food was loooooooooong. I'm glad we had good company but 1.5 hrs total time spent for a quick dinner is a long time. I'm having a snack now as I type this bc two empanada dinner later I'm still hungry. read more

Nicely done as tonight was the last night for Lotería (Selena Style), as the background videos and music were all Selena out beautiful Queen of Tex Mex. now this was a fun time, as we ate and played Lotería (not Bingo) for a few games at our table. Come on though, does it have to end? The fact that a restaurant can have awesome foods and be able to give the audience a taste of Selena is amazing. Although I didn't win, I think I won due to the fact that I will be returning at a later day. I started my entree of tres tacos de pollo and they were okay, not as good as I would think they would be but of course pasable as authentic. Now mind you, they did serve sick and amazing pozole that was spicy but beyond good and that is just one of the sides that they offer as a side for entree. I can appreciate that served pozole on a weekday. The good is good no question about that, and the attentive waitresses helped the cause.!Awesome work ladies! . read more

Best enchiladas in the neighborhood! The enchiladas (poblano and chicken are our favorites!) and empanadas are both delicious. All the sides are also amazing from the seasoned fries to the bean dip. Lastly, we've eaten at the restaurant, ordered takeout, and ordered catering and the service is always incredible. read more

Live too far to be here every other week for the shrimp mango enchiladas they are phenomenal. Only thing I don't like is the tall thin server was a bit more friendly and attentive to a certain ethnic group. Were there over an hour and checked up on us only once towards end. Incoming customers were checked up on more frequently & more than once. Felt a bit discriminated. Other than that the food is fantastic. Really hope the owner of still Otto can bring some attention to that one server. read more

I wouldn't say that the location is amazing, but it's very close to my friend's place and so... I really like the location. The ambience is okay, but not great. The service here was AMAZING. They were very willing to accommodate all my special requests and made my dish from scratch. When I pointed out that they accidentally added cheese even though I asked for it to be taken off, they immediately took care of it. I really really liked their customer service. The food options are very interesting and I really enjoyed the food. I do think that the food prices are a bit on the high side. I would go back here if I had some extra money to spend read more

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Went there for the New Year's brunch and the food was excellent. I had the huevos rancheros which were incredible. I also had the Diez beer and really enjoyed it with my meal. Been coming here for years and the food never disappoints! read more

Estrella Negra - Diez beer! - Mexican Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Delicious! I am Mexican and Puerto Rican and i love (and am really critical of) Latin American food. I ordered the pork tamales which were excellent. Plenty of meat and tender, moist outer layer. The toppings added a greater depth of flavor and the pork was perfectly seasoned (I typically don't like pork so this means a lot). You are able to choose a side dish with your entree. I recommend going for the pozole. It's not as good as my aunts haha, but it's still Damn good. Wish it had been served with tortilla chips as I normally eat it. Definitely recommend. Good service too! (: read more

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We just started going to this fine gem of a eatery. Everything we have tried from empanadas to tacos to shrimp appetizers deelisch! Really love all the choices they have given to have margarita's. Love the window seating . Definitely make reservations this place is on the smaller size which makes it even more special but can fill up quick. Oh yes the staff very knowledgeable about the menu and offers for cocktails. Staff very efficient and great attitude they definitely treat you right. Dont skip this place read more

Oh bucktown, back in the chilapan days you used to own the mexican food scene. And now... the neighborhood has turned into an overpriced bougie approximation of mexican food. This place unfortunately is no different. If you order a side of guac you get ... a teaspoon of guac. The entrees were small and unexceptional. The cookie tamale that everyone raved about was meh. I'm still hungry, search for good bucktown mexican food continues. read more

It was the rave reviews from friends that got me interested in this place, but it was a Living Social deal that finally got my butt through the door. Since then, I've returned twice. The decor of the place is cool, colorful and likely inspired by Dia de los Muertos/Mexican folk art. While the decor may be Mexican inspired, the cuisine fuses a variety of latin flavors together. If you're looking for the heat found in many Mexican dishes, you will probably be a little let down here; if you go with an open mind, I think you'll enjoy yourself. I've really enjoyed everything I've eaten here. So far I've tried: *chips and salsa - A *ceviche - A *goat cheese tostada - A *la garza cheese fries - B+ *mango salsa enchiladas (corn) - A *el apache burrito (corn) - B- *mozzarella goat cheese empanadas - A- I really like that most items either come with a vegetarian option or can be easily tweaked to be vegetarian. On my first visit our server noted that one of the items came with a salsa that contained chicken broth. I appreciated the heads up and the great suggestion to replace the salsa with their mango one. Entrees come with a starter/side too. Service here has always been extremely warm and friendly, but not quick. Usually, there is one server who acts as host, busser and server to the entire restaurant. As long as you keep that in mind and don't expect to get in and out quickly, I don't think you'll be disappointed. One of my visits was for brunch. We were shocked at how empty it was, but that may have been because they don't open until 11. They offer both the brunch and regular menu during brunch; I opted to order off the regular menu since the brunch menu is egg heavy and eggs and I "have issues." BYOB, reasonably priced, free wifi, good food, not too hard to score a table = all-around win! 4 stars read more

Great food great attentive service, good fun atmosphere. We had the chicken pozole the ceviche and the asada tacos, everything was VERY good. read more

Great and friendly service immediately after walking in. Despite being busy, our server was attentive but not pushy, and he was there to get us everything we needed and wanted. The interior is small, nice but not over-the-top. It has an artsy feel I feel you could find in a cool, artsy place in Mexico City. Top start off, we ordered El Diablito shrimp, 3 tamales, a mango Mojito and a sangria. The first mango mojito was perfect, the 2nd one was good but not nearly as amazing as the first. The fresh mango was a nice touch! The Sangria was great- not too sweet and not overboard with the wine neither. The Diablito shrimp was delicious, warm and with sizable shrimp, just keep the water by you cause you'll be sipping on it. 2 of the 3 tamales had a very interesting twist to them. There was an elote style one, artichoke one and a regular one. The elote and artichoke were absolutely delicious, but I wasn't a fan of the last one. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't anything special neither. We also had pozole (think of it like a soup) and the enchiladas. I was skeptical to get the pozole at first, but I LOVED the pozole! It is very spicy, but not to the level where you can't taste the other flavors. GET IT. Now to the enchiladas...they're supposed to be one of the best things about this place and were even featured in Chicago's Best and Check, Please I believe....I didn't like them personally but the person I was with did. My dislike for them may come from the fact that all the enchiladas I've ever had in my life, taste very different, so if you've never had enchiladas, ignore this as it may have just been me expecting it to taste a certain way and being disappointed it didn't. To me it was lacking in flavor and I was particularly disappointed by the sauce on top, which reminded me of light canned sauce. Overall, I will for sure love to come back to this place, especially for the amazing pozole and to try other things. I'll just make sure to skip the enchiladas next time! read more

Being proud of my culture and the flavors I grew up with this place got it right!!! The decor and music matches the life style many of us live everyday. The food is worth every penny, although it is very affordable. I thought my pozole was the best but the one I just had makes me think twice... jeje! The tamarindo margarita is out of this world!!! Takes me back to my childhood when I used to eat tamarindo flavored dulces. Definitely recommend this place to any one who enjoys buena musica y comida!!! read more

Estrella Negra - Estella Negra: Comida, Musica & Cultura. #MuyChingon! - Mexican Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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We dined there on Sunday! Long time customers and let me tell you this... they are firing on all cylinders! Great cocktails and food! But they hired a new server... he kind of looks like the owner, but younger, fitter and much more handsome! Very knowledgeable about Mezcal to and super friendly. My only criticism of him is that he clearly needs to wear a larger shirt. top class gem in Bucktown! read more

Overpriced,overhyped and not good. The vegetarian burrito was dreadful! Slimy and full of CORN. Yuck. I've never had corn on my veggie burrito. Then again they put corn on EVERYTHING. I'm assuming to cut costs as corn is a filler. The nachos were mainly made of corn..I'm sure I'm wrong but it all tasted canned-beans,rice,corn . All of it. I've been here 3x and will not be going back. Last time our order took over 1hr(I ordered nachos,veg burrito,bf ordered a burrito) . Drinks alone took half hr. & then the icing on the cake-our order came out wrong! There were only 2 other couples in there AND we were first ones there but served LAST. Made zero sense. Awful service did it for me. Save your time and don't just choose a place because it looks cool. That's all they have to offer. read more

Estrella Negra - Their nachos are cute but mainly corn . I'll pass - Mexican Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Came here for a Sunday Brunch. I had huevos rancheros and added chicken. So good! I love the marmalade. The food was Mexican but had a great twist. All the food was fresh, and the service was friendly. The banana avocado smoothie was too thick so I didn't enjoy it that much. Will be back! read more

The food and value for the money probably deserves 4 stars, but the service was definitely lacking on the night we went. There was one server working about 7 tables, so we found ourselves waiting quite awhile for just about everything. It's probably not his fault, but there were just too many tables for only one guy. When he finally came to bring us menus, he didn't bring a drink menu, but of course when he came back he wanted to know what we wanted to drink... We wanted to know too! Once that was sorted out, I ordered the tamarind margarita and my boyfriend stuck with a Corona. The server asked if I preferred a classic margarita and I should've said yes because I didn't taste anything special about the tamarind one. It wasn't bad though. We started with some chips and salsa--one roja (spicy) and one mango. They aren't lying when they say the roja is hot... There's definitely a good bit of heat in it. I was hoping the mango salsa would be chunky like a pico but it was more of a purée, almost baby food texture. It had a good taste to it but the texture just wasn't right. Leave the mango chunks in there! It was also a little spicy, but much less so than the other. Each entree you order comes with a "starter" so I got the goat cheese salad and my boyfriend had the fries. We agreed both were good but nothing special. My entree was chicken tacos which were actually VERY good. I could've just eaten the seasoned chicken on its own but wrapping it up in corn tortillas with some salsa verde on top is the way to go. The tomato, onion, queso and cilantro made for a simple, clean taste. My boyfriend got the steak enchiladas which he scarfed down really quickly. I snagged a bite and can vouch for the tenderness of the steak. The entrees were the stars here. We eventually ordered another margarita and a pomegranate paloma. The paloma would've been better if they threw some mezcal in there because otherwise it was just too sweet--needed some smokiness. I would come back here but only if I knew in advance that more than one person would be working!! read more

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Went out with the ladies for dinner on a Friday night. The staff was very friendly & courteous towards my friends "gluten free" needs. We started off with the Tamale & Empanada sampler. Being from Mexican decent I really enjoyed the pork tamale So much so that I ordered it as my entreé. The chorizo empanada was my favorite of the three. I loved the eclectic decor & the music was awesome. I will definitely come back for the ambiance alone. Did I mention it's also BYOB? read more

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Not only is the food amazing, but this place gets extra points for the best wait staff ever. We came here for my birthday and had reserved a large table...everyone was late because of the weather and they NEVER gave us dirty looks or questioned us on the status of the rest of our party. It was a busy night (El Dia de Los Muertos), Metromix was on their way to do some taping and there was a small wait and again...no nastiness from the staff!! Now for the food...everything was so flavorful and delicious. You definitely have to try the goat cheese quesadillas...some of the best I've ever had. And they put pomegranate seeds in the guacamole!!! Sounds kinda weird, but is a super refreshing and an unexpected twist. We also tried the empanadas, tacos, spicy shrimp cocktail and some other things I don't remember because of all the wine we brought. As we were leaving, everyone asked if I had a good birthday dinner and seemed truly interested in making sure we had a good time. Love this place!! read more

Last Saturday morning, my boyfriend saw the posted specials on Facebook and we decided to head over to Estrella Negra for brunch... I gotta say, I still love this place! I had the Goat Cheese Chilaquiles (minus the eggs) and I was floored. I seriously wanted to lick the bowl clean. Shayla is still a sweetheart and she is also giving out free hugs!! Like their page on Facebook, they always post some really great specials!! read more

Estrella Negra - Table art @ Estrella Negra - Mexican Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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I have been dying to try this place since I heard about it in Check Please many years ago. My only complaint? I wish I didn't wait so long !!! They make veggie pozole.... y'all I was in heaven. It's the exact thing I have been missing in my life! I forgot to take a photo but I will tell you that I ordered a cup to go as well, that's how good it was! I usually just stick to vegetarian menu items (which there were plenty!) but I had a couple of cocktails prior to my arrival and my waitress recommended the shrimp tacos so I was ready to roll the dice. They were amazing and the shrimp were large and extremely flavorful. 4/5 because of price but completely willing to come back because of how good my meal was. Don't make my mistakes, try Estrella Negra ASAP! read more

After a long day of furniture shopping I was famished and not in my hood. I pulled up Groupon Now and was on my way to Estrella Negra for the first time, and man am I glad I gave it a try! On a rather non descript section of Fullerton I probably never would have stopped in on my own but the sign out front was cute enough so we gave it a try. 4pm on a rainy Sunday afternoon is definitely not one of their peak times. The service was quick and friendly. Its a modern and exciting twist on Mexican food and the decor is similar, modern and a little wacky. My chicken tacos were super flavorful and tasted like their might be some bacon mixed in (the menu did say the tortillas were fried in bacon). All entrees come with a side. I choose the sweet potato fries at $1.50 extra and they were well worth it. Crispy and sweet, reminiscent of a donut! My dining partner had the empanada sampler which was definitely the star! She got a side of the bean dip as an app that was well presented in an edible tortilla chip bowl and star tortilla chip topped. Though its a little bit of a drive for me there is plenty of parking and I will definitely be back to try the ceviche BYOB in hand! Maybe a chocolate chip tamale for dessert too! read more

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Really fun dishes! Beautifully mixed. Had the tamale sampler the goat cheese jalapeño was my favorite a nice salty sweet. The carne Asada fries were AMAZING! My boyfriend enjoyed his steak burrito! Our waitress Elizabeth was AWESOME and helped us pick out things we loved from the menu. read more

Estrella Negra - Carne Asada fries! - Mexican Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Ok seriously, why haven't I been here before?!?!?! Came in for brunch (with a Groupon) and didn't get that "oh you have a GROUPON attitude lol. The guy who served us was extremely cool and polite. My mom and I each had a burger cooked to perfection. Flavor was reaaaallllllyyyy good. I had the breakfast crossaint burger with an egg. It had goat cheese and I added avocado. My mom had a traditional burger. Seriously this was one of the best burgers I've had in a while. I also ordered a pomegranate tea and appreciated they served it with a little pot of hot water so you can keep refilling. Over all feel of the place was nice. Can't wait to go back and try something else!!! read more

Estrella Negra - Croissant Burger... Delicious!!!!' - Mexican Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

First time visitor - overall great place and innovative, fresh menu. FOOD: Tasty and seasoned well - creative combinations and presentations. Had the El Sol Empanadas with sweet potato fries, carne asada fries, and el cameron ceviche tostadas. All delicious and plentiful portions. ALCOHOL: Yes :) Had the candy cane rum horchata and mojito - awesome! SERVICE: Prompt and courteous. ENVIRONMENT: Brightly colored and artistically decorated Extra points: almost all items can be made vegan friendly read more

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Only come if you have a lot of time to spend. We were the only table the restaurant had and the service was still slow! But our server was nice and the food was delicious! I had ordered the chorizo tacos and my friend ordered the banana pancake and black bean burrito. The chorizo tacos were surprisingly delicious! The taco shell was soft but with a little bit of crunch to them. The chorizo was cooked with eggs which blended well with all the other ingredients. The banana pancakes were really sweet and delicious made with wheat and agave nectar! Some reviews say the portions are small but I thought the portion size was just perfect! read more

I really enjoyed this place from the moment I pulled up....Hello free street parking :) I park right out front, walked in with my bottle of moscato, and was greeted and seated right away. I think we lucked out and got the best seat in the house by the window. Right away we ordered the cheese fries with the jalapeño. They were sooooo good! I definitely could of used another order till i remembered I'm trying to lose weight before I go to Costa Rica. lol....we then ordered two tostadas which were really good and great flavor 1) carmon ceviche 2) black bean goat cheese and we added chicken. We finished our meal by sharing a horchata (rice milk) which was refreshing. I also have to mention it was like torrential rain outside, so I like that they didn't rush us to leave and we were able to sip on our wine and enjoy great conversation without feeling the need to hurry up and pay. The food was very affordable and good quality. I may bump it up a star after a few more visits. read more

Estrella Negra - Clockwise: carmon ceviche, cheese fries, chicken black bean toastada, borrocho postole soup - Mexican Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Was I simply that famished or were Estrella Negra's la Garza nacho cheese fries with sliced jalapeño peppers just that damn tangy, creamy and scrumptious? I'm sure it was the latter because I wasn't the only one loudly moaning at our cute, front window bistro table. Though I do confess that this _was_ after sipping down nearly the entire bottle of '09 Catena Reserva Malbec in their vibrant, cozy basement. (It's slightly reminiscent of Hungry Brain bar, see pics). I could have happily called it a night during the apps course because along with the fries, la Calavera goat cheese tostadas topped with black beans, salsa verde, tomatoes and sour cream almost made me jump up and start sloppily dancing the Cabbage Patch haha. The crispy corn shell tasted freshly-made and I could have sworn there were bits of chilled avocado mixed in. This was a great blend worthy of being featured as an entree, no doubt. Finally we ordered the shrimp mango salsa enchiladas and la Bandera empanada sampler, with both the spinach and artichoke and chorizo and corn varieties standing out. I think the mango fruit was fresh but kinda did funny things with the bottle of Carmenère we opened next. Thanks to Yelp, we received a complimentary chocolate chip tamale, flanked with some of the best custard ice cream I've had. Though it was an intriguing effort... I'd be tempted to skip the tamale portion next time, as the ice cream portion was just that good! read more

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