Raymond's is a diner style Taco joint that's BYOB on the DL (when we asked the one woman cooking and waiting staff if it was BYOB she nodded enthusiastically but told us we had to drink out of styrofoam cups). The tiny restaurant has a lunch counter surrounding an expansive grill with a chrome smoke hood, the walls are lined with yellow formica booths beneath saucy framed Aztec paintings. The woman working the counter was friendly and didn't seem to mind our pidgin Spanish. After ordering a heavy-set adolescent boy walked into the restaurant, spoke briefly in Spanish with the lone staff member, set the television to the home shopping network then left abruptly with QVC roaring and a bottle of water in his balmy palm.
Hank: The food arrived quickly and in mountainous portions. I ordered three tacos: pastor, carne asada and bistec. After being asked whether I wanted cilantro/onion or lettuce/tomato, la senora asked if I wanted cheese. Did I? I did. But this was not tu abuela's shredded cheese garnish; the two corn tortillas wrapping each of my tacos were fused together with a slice of melted, yellow American cheese. It was a little off putting at first but the cheese gave the tacos a salty richness that I'd never really experienced before (think Mexican cheese steak). The meat on the taco's was fresh and good but relatively unremarkable. The carne asada was tender and juicy and the pastor was good as well. The bistec, which was the most memorable of the three tacos, was hefty, fatty, slabs of un-chopped ribeye on corn tortillas and was, again, good but incredibly heavy. The meal was a serious gut buster. I would go back, but probably not until I was severely drunk.
Gen: The vegetarian menu section was maybe a little crappy. Maybe. I opted for a quesadilla with corn tortillas and a taco carne asada because I am not not a vegetarian. I preferred the quesadilla cheese, which I believe was chihuahua, to the American cheese in the tacos. The simple salsas complimented the greasy fare extraordinarily well . The rojo tasted smokey con a tame kick and the verde was fresh and spicy. I had to stay later than usual at work prior to our outing. I am unsure how this affected my dining experience. I would certainly return to Raymond's but, ideally, instead of bringing half a bottle of red wine in my bag, I would bring a full bottle of consumed white wine in my gut.
The prices were reasonable, about the going rate for tacos in chicago (2 bucks and change). No Chips, BYOB. The restaurant and its bathrooms were very clean. WOULD RETURN (not weekly but maybe weekendly and drunk).
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