Rinconcito Ecuatoriano - Chicago

Any self respecting Ecuadorian is a true snob when it comes to plantains. Picking a good one while still green itself is a not so subtle art. The next challenge is getting a proper crisp without being a nauseating mess of oil when you mash the star of a proper Bolon de Verde..Today Monday November 6th 2023 I had zero expectations walking into Rinconcito besides getting a black coffee and tomate de arbol juice to set the tone for a busy day.I was humored to see a bolon de verde mixto on the menu and gave in.. if you're African, Central American, Carribean or Ecuadorian a simple joy comes in the form of a plantain for breakfast. I'm not making this up.I didn't expect a well prepared bolon but I was curious...This is the closest I've had to fruteria Monserrate in Quito, Ecuador.The hot sauce was sorta similar to my grandma's sauce that was served for a few generations in Quito and likely Esmeraldas and Guayaquil where she had also lived..I wasn't hungry for breakfast but I could only do this masterpiece justice by eating a quarter of it while remembering how lucky I am. I don't know about the other dishes but if you want to taste my childhood get a bolon de verde mixto extra crispy, un cafe negro y un jugito de tomate en agua.

Ecuadorians are an interesting type of people. My parents are from Quito and I lived there but most Ecuadorians are picky about their own food. So, many criticize the food because it doesn't taste like home or Grandma's or the vecina... That being said, this place definitely has its own home style flavor and charm. We ordered the mote with habas and it came with some cheese on top. We topped that with homemade aji and that was fire. Empanadas were ok, the dough was not that good but it's ok. Then our meals came, the fritada was good but I wished the pork was crispier and slightly less salty but definitely flavourful. The watita was excellent with a good amount of tripe and potato's. I love more peanut flavor on mine but it's still good. The llapingachos was an enormous plate and packed with food. Delicious and so filling. We also tried the fried trucha, although it was overcooked and too dry the floors were there and on point. We also had batidos (fruit milk juice) of passion fruit and tomate de arbol. The juice was amazing. We ended the meal with higos cheese and the caramel sauce was the star. Overall a great experience, not too overpriced, a bit too salty but definitely Ecuadorian. Also the Andino cumbia on 24/7 had my non dancing feet tapping.

I went to eat there with my husband and kids and after 5 minutes of getting my food there was a roach crawling next to my food my husband had to kill it and we told the owner and she didn't care she picked it up and walked away after that we left we didn't eat our food and at the end made me pay for the food we didn't eat so disgusting this place should be shut down for that

Portions are big, but the food isn't that good. Encevollado was not good, rice had a hair. Besides that the juices/drinks were good and the other food I had was good.Kid-friendliness: They didn't have a kids menu but there's definitely food that a kid can eat, you may want to share- it's a large portion.Parking: The have a small parking space at the back of the building. But there's also street parking.

Great food, great service, loved it madde my last meal in Chicago the best!!! Ambiance fine