Arandas Taqueria — Restaurant in Maine Township

We stumbled upon this cute little Mexican restaurant and decided to grab some lunch. It looks like a nice Mom & Pop Taco Shop. It's really cute and the staff was super nice. There was only three people working. The one lady ran the register and was our waitress. The two cook's rocked the grill and our food was made fast and fresh. While we waited for our food the waitress brought over chips and salsa. There were also a red and a green sauce for the burritos. The red chunky salsa for the chips was just fantastic. I wish I knew how to make restaurant style salsa. I tried to get the authentic salsa secrets from our waitress but she said they didn't even shared the recipe with her. It's back to the drawing board for me. I'll have to unlock the culinary secrets of authentic Mexican salsa.

We ordered two chicken burritos with rice & beans. I loved that our waitress was super smart and brought over an extra plate for the three of us. This really impressed me because I usually have to ask for the extra plate. I love it when someone just reads the situation and solves the problem. She gets 5 stars from me!!!

The burritos are made with shredded chicken which is my favorite. I hate grilled chicken chunks because they are always dried out. The shredded chicken always has more flavor and is juicy. The burritos come with beans, cheese, tomatoes, onions & lettuce. The burrito was just perfection. I must be honest and say the burrito was really clean too. I liked it because it felt healthy to me and didn't sit in my stomach like a greasy brick.

The verde sauce was my favorite. I always love green salsa. The rest of my family loved the red sauce but it had too much chipotle in it for me to really enjoy.

There was a lot of carry out happening here which is great to see. The tables did not really fill up on a Monday and we dined at lunch time. I'm not sure if this a Covid hangover. The world has changed in the last year when it comes to eating in a restaurant.

I'd highly recommend this place for some tasty Mexican food, if you find yourself in the area and you are hungry. Dine in was a great experience and the service was spectacular. The food was very good and that's why we eat out...to enjoy a fantastic...

Tried to walk to a local church since it snowed last night. Alas, there was no one there. So, we tried walking to one of the fun taqueria's nearby, Arandas.

The place was busy! There were 3-4 other tables with families in for their morning meal, and everyone was keeping busy. We ordered a platter and sopa's for a 10am breakfast, not their breakfast items. Service was good, and the food came out hot and fresh. We had been their many times as regulars, but less so as another taco place opened up nearer to our house, but I always miss their rich and aromatic flavors.

The sopa's were very good, though when I asked for them with cilantro and onion, those were just added to the tomato, lettuce and sour cream of their Americana style - not my favorite. I'd have preferred it made with cilantro and onion, though I'd take the tomatoes but would leave off the sour cream. ;-) Both the Steak and Al Pastor were very good! Steak was my favorite, but both were flavorful, and good portions to make a filling meal.

For drinks, they offer Pepsi products, and standard Mexican drinks such as Horchata and Jarito's sodas. Be aware that you don't get refills on the soda's, however!

Overall, still a great place to come. We need to spread our taqueria visits across some great Des Plaines restaurants, but this one should remain high...

From the Mexican native perspective, I write this review. I came to Arandas because it has good reviews. However, the place looks unmaintained. The chair covers are ripped, the wood needs another coat of paint, and the windows need cleaning.

The chips were stale, and when I told the waitress they were not fresh, she just said ok, and she left. Later she came with newer chips, but the flavor was off and did not smell like corn.

The salsa with the chips is refrigerated, meaning it is not fresh, and the tomatoes are not cut into small pieces as they should.

The Asada tacos are ok, but nothing outstanding. The limes with the tacos have seen better days. Not fresh.

Salsas are the same—I advise finding employees with better attitudes. Give the place a good TLC and serve fresh chips and salsa, or don't give anything. FRESH means you got the ingredients in the morning and cooked them the same day.

And please don't use these not compostable containers from China. They pollute the...