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LakeForestLeader.com DINING OUT
the lake forest leader | August 10, 2017 | 23
Lalo’s Mexican Restaurant offers family-style dining
Alyssa Groh
Contributing Editor
Focusing on family and providing
a warm and welcoming
environment for customers is
the main focus for the founding
family and staff at Lalo’s Mexican
Restaurant in Glenview.
Eduardo, who went by Lalo
for short, migrated to the United
States from Mexico and wanted
to bring a little piece of home
with him to the U.S.
“[Lalo] migrated from Mexico
with his family and got the
idea to bring [the Mexican] culture
and the authenticity of our
food and bring it into our own
place and share it,” said Stephanie
De Luna, the manager at the
Glenview location and a family
member of Lalo’s.
In 1970, Lalo, along with his
family, opened Lalo’s Mexican
Restaurant in the Little Village
neighborhood in Chicago. Since
then, the family has opened a
total of six locations throughout
the Chicago area.
Since its opening, Lalo’s has
remained a family owned restaurant
with a majority of its
staff being related.
De Luna has worked at the
restaurant since she was 13 and
has never felt the need to venture
out and find a job outside of
the family business.
“I have a business degree. I
could go anywhere, but I choose
to stay here and work and be
with my family,” De Luna said.
“[Lalo’s] is home. It is who
I am, it is my roots. I am very
grounded here and I think what
the family atmosphere provides
is that homey feel.”
Feeling at home while working
is not only important for De
Luna, but she also tries to make
her customers feel at home
when they come in for food.
“We love to emphasize it is
a family restaurant. It is family
owned and it is meant to be for
family,” De Luna said. “[Customers]
are home when [they]
come here. [Customers] are
The fajitas de bistec o pollo ($17.95) are a mix of steak and chicken
sauteed with onions, tomatoes and peppers, served with a choice
of flour, corn or mixed tortillas, rice, beans, sour cream and
guacamole. Photos by Courtney Jacquin/22nd Century Media
not just coming to a restaurant.
[Customers] are family and are
welcome.”
In keeping with the family
theme, Lalo’s has kept its families
recipes on the menu since
its inception.
“Everything on the menu is
what you find as traditional
Mexican dishes,” De Luna said.
“[The food on the menu] is very
traditional and authentic. It is
very close to what you would
have in Mexico. This is what
you would eat at my house.”
After hearing about the authentic
food offered at Lalo’s,
a group of 22nd Century Media
editors were eager to dive in and
try some of the food.
First up was Lalo’s signature
chicken soup, served to
all customers who order food.
The chicken soup was created
by Lalo and includes broth,
chicken, noodles and chunks of
carrots and zucchini. The small
portion of chicken soup was a
great start to the meal and gave
us a taste of authentic Mexican
food.
While Lalo’s has a different
menu for lunch and dinner, we
were fortunate enough to taste
items from both menus.
From the lunch menu, we
Lalo’s Mexican Restaurant
1432 Waukegan Road,
Glenview
www.lalos.com
(847) 832-1388
11 a.m.-9 p.m. Sunday-
Thursday
11 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday and
Saturday
tried the mini grilled carne asada,
which is large enough to fill
you up for lunch and take home
some leftovers. The carne asada
($20.95) is made with tender
skirt steak sauteed with Lalo’s
homemade seasoned grilled
mushrooms and served with
grilled zucchini, pico de gallo
and guacamole. The skirt steak
was extremely tender and the
seasoning added a bit of extra
flavor without overpowering the
dish.
As for the dinner menu, we
tried the enchiladas suizas and
fajitas de bistec o pollo. The
enchiladas suizas ($15.95) contained
three rolled up corn tortillas
filled with chicken and
topped with melted Mexican
cheese, green tomatillo sauce
and sour cream with rice and
beans served on the side. The
enchiladas were soft and easy
to cut into and the cheese topping
helped keep it all together.
The mini grilled carne asada ($11.95) is a lunch menu offering
including skirt steak sauteed with grilled mushrooms and served
with grilled vegetables, pico de gallo and guacamole.
Lalo’s enchiladas suizas ($15.95) are three rolled corn tortillas stuffed
with chicken and topped with melted Mexican cheese, green tomatillo
sauce and sour cream with rice and beans served on the side.
To our surprise, the enchiladas
were on the sweeter side rather
than the spicy side, which
paired nicely with the cheese
and beans.
Finally, we had the fajitas de
bistec or pollo ($17.95) which
bursted with a variety of flavors.
The fajitas are served with a
choice of steak, chicken or both,
and come sauteed with sliced
of tomatoes, onions and bell
peppers, and are served with a
choice of flour, corn or mixed
tortillas, rice, beans, sour cream
and guacamole. If you come in
hungry, this dinner portion will
be more than enough to fill you
up. The dish is sauteed to perfection
with tender meats and
fresh veggies and fruits.
Lalo’s prides itself in making
everything daily with fresh and
local ingredients, and it is evident
when you taste the food on
the menu.
With the idea of bringing a
taste of Mexico to the U.S., De
Luna invites people to taste the
authenticity Lalo’s offers.
“Come and have a little taste
of our tradition and our roots of
where we come from,” De Luna
said.