Taqueria El Molcajete — Restaurant in Belvidere Township

This was our first time eating at Taqueria el Molcajete. We ordered a caldo de res (beef stew) and a cóctel de camarones (shrimp cocktail). The caldo de res WAS SPOT ON! Just how your Mexican mom, grandma, or tía makes it! You could trll & taste this was homemade by how rich and hearty it was with corn, potatoes, chayote, carrots, cabbage and big chunks of meat with the bone still in. It was so flavourful! I ordered the cóctel de camarones, it had plenty of shrimp and avocado. I added pico de gallo to mine, extra ketchup and salsa Valentina. It came served with a basket of individually wrapped saline crackers and limón. If you are used to a cóctel Nayarit style (with cucumbers, ground pepper or octopus in it) you will not get that. For me, exactly how it was served and adding the pico de gallo was all that I needed. 10/10

We're not locals to Belvidere, and we decided on this Taqueria based on the reviews. Being mexican, we can make this food at home but opted to give it a try, and I'm glad we did! We learned that the restaurant has been open for 30+ years, not an easy feat in today's market. ALL OF THE STAFF were super, and I mean SUPER attentive, making sure our agua de Jamaica was always refilled. The interactions did not feel forced, rather these are owners and employees who you can tell take pride in their work and are very happy to welcome anyone who walks thru their doors. 100/100 on service. We thanked the owners and staff for such great service.

The restaurant had a ton of Hispanic people as well as American, and they were all greeted with the same friendly and warm enthusiasm as we were.

Upon sitting down at the table, we were given fresh totopos, pico de gallo, and three salsas with various degrees of spiciness---they're not kidding when they tell you to be careful, ¡Sí pican!

Upon first glance, Taqueria el Molcajete may appear to be a hole in the wall restaurant, well, let me tell you, you'd be making a mistake by driving past it and not trying it out! We will definitely be...

Ah, El Molcajete in Belvidere, mi carnales—I’ve been slinging back their burritos for 28 años straight, like a loyal vato returning to his roots. I bounced out of the hood years ago, but every time I cruise back to visit la familia, boom, first stop: that fat burrito calling my name. Back in the day, these bad boys were packed tighter than a zoot suit on a Saturday night, griddled to perfection with that crispy edge that’d make you wanna dance the mambo. Nowadays? Eh, they’re a lil’ skimpy, like they forgot the extra amor in the stuffing, and the grill game’s slacking—but óyeme, for the legacy alone, it’s cinco estrellas all day, every day. No cap. As a culinarian who’s bounced through the estados, lived it up in México proper, and flipped pans in some of the world’s fanciest kitchens, I gotta say: when these burritos hit right, they’re straight-up world-class taqueria vibes. Like, forget those bougie spots with their foam and tweezers—these are the real deal, the kind that’d make a pachuco tip his fedora and say, “¡Órale, that’s the stuff!” Sure, they’ve lost a step, but who hasn’t after tres décadas? Still, if you’re in Belvidere, slide in, order up, and taste the history. El Molcajete? Puro oro, ese. Five...

Some friends treated us here, and the first thing that stood out was the fresh Pico De Gallo and variety of salsas that are complimentary upon being seated. Each salsa was very delicious and fresh!!!

The service was very good, the owner and staff were very attentive and welcoming! It was a place where you could relax and enjoy a meal with family and friends.

We love our beans and rice, and theirs were prepared and seasoned well.

We ordered the steak burrito, steak tostadas, and chorizo nachos.

The chorizo was sooo good, they didn't miss at all on the chorizo. However, the steak was not good. Not only was it not a good cut of steak, it was very chewy, and even worse was that it had a weird taste, like as if it had freezed burn or something. We couldn't fully put our finger on what the taste resembled. It just didn't taste good. Everything else looked pleasing to the eyes and was delicious!

It was our first time there, and hopefully, that was just not a good batch of steak meat. We'd give it another try, and I'll...