La Esperanza Restaurant Pilsen — Restaurant in West Chicago Township

I haven't write about restaurants in a while.. if I'm do it it's because I really do have something to share.. little context first. We found this place because I was looking for a book in Spanish, Mein Kampf by Adolf Hitler; this political times and changes reminds me the poor Austria back then early 20'.. so there is this Lozano branch, Chicago public library wich has the biggest Spanish collection around here..after getting all our books for the month we decide to have lunch around there, we Google the best option and this little place pops out. " Best mole de Mayo.." they claim.

And that's so true.. it was week day.. we found it exquisite. Then we decide to come back on weekends.. to try all the weekend menu. Oh my God.. everything is delicious from breakfast, caldos, the green pozole.. oh my.. I tried the cabrito.. oh man. It's close to Monterrey. The salsa it's delicious. My favorite .. chilaquiles Verdes with meat.. and Cafe de olla.. the best..

Very kind people, Doña Gaby.. the best fine lady who attends you with patient, kindness, always smiling, and I don't know this other guy's name yet, with tattoos, the same, very fine person. I'm glad we found this little and quiet place over Blue Island.

If this is your first time, give it a try.. if you don't speak Spanish, no worries, nobody is perfect. Lol. Menu is easy to...

I came here for the mole and now I see why La Esperanza won Best Mole at Mole de Mayo. Honestly, it’s on another level. I’ve had mole before and thought I liked it, but this one just hits different. The sauce is super rich and velvety, like it’s been simmering all day. Smoky, earthy, a little sweet, then every so often you catch a tiny kick of spice. Each bite keeps you hooked.

The chicken was tender and juicy, but really it’s just the delivery system for that sauce. I kept dragging every piece through it like I wasn’t about to let a single drop go to waste. Portion size was spot on, left full but not weighed down.

The place has this chill, cozy vibe, nothing flashy, just comfortable. The staff was super friendly too, joking around and making you smile while you eat.

If you’ve never had mole or you think you already know mole, this is where you start. I’ll be...

I took 2 stars because of the service. There are only 2 servers so we had to wait nearly 15 minutes before we got drinks. They actually gave us salsa and chips before drinks but how the hell do you give us spicy dip and no water at least?! I had to wave down a waiter and ask a 2nd time for drinks. So I wouldnt come here unless you dont mind waiting that long. Their horchata is better than other Mexican joints tastes like real cinnamon and not sugary fake horchata. The food was good, I recommend the Cecina dinner comes with cactus, salad, beans, home made tortillas. The green posole with chicken was also very good but I still prefer pork instead of chicken for this soup but still worth trying! Enchiladas dinner was okay. I wont be returning just because of the wait time, rather go somewhere else with shorter wait time. Its metered...