Chicagoland -- Pulque?

Before you take a pilgrimage into The City, you may want to check out some of the local Mexican grocery stores. Algonquin Road has a number of markets between Busse and Meachum. Other than Michoacan and Sun Harvest, I haven't been to any of the other stores. I got this list through a web search of grocery stores by zip code.

I haven't checked for pulque, but the last time I went to Michoacan they had imported Coca-Cola from Mexico. If you can't find it at one of these places, you might want to try Hanover Park, Elgin, West Chicago or Aurora.

Hanover Park has a few stores on Irving Park Road (and also Lake Street between Roselle Rd and Barrington Rd) starting with a store next to the True Value Hardware store just east of Barrington Road west to route 59. From there you can stay on Irving Park and check out the stores in Elgin or go south to West Chicago.

Elgin's Mexican stores are sprinkled in the old part of Elgin, anchored by a big supermarket at Clock Tower Plaza (just south of the river boat).

West Chicago's stores are in two groups, between 64 and 38 (North and Roosevelt) on Nestor (59) and on Roosevelt. If you continue south on 59, go west on Aurora Rd. Aurora turns into Galena Blvd. Once in Aurora, you will find it hard to find a store that isn't Mexican.

If you can't find pulque in Aurora, there's something wrong.

(847) 397-4720

(847) 593-1621

Mount Prospect, IL 60056

(847) 364-4011

Happy hunting.

Pulque, from what I've learned, does not keep more than a couple days, so is not likely to be found to far from a maguey plant. Supposedly, there is a company, Bebidas Naturales San Tsidro, that is marketing a canned pasturized pulque under the name Nectar de Apam, but I don't see any non-Spanish websites advertising it.

If you do run across it, let us know.

nb

Right. Like sahti, only more so. At least I've been able to try Lammin's sahti-like brew, if not their actual sahti.

Boulder Imports is allegedly importing it (or a similar one) to Chicagoland, but I haven't found anything more specific than that.

I haven't had the time to hunt more yet, but will try to call Boulder Imports this week...

/* ----- */

Craig Bergren wrote:

Good point... I also saw a "Burrito Jalisco" restaurant that might be a long shot try, but I haven't stopped in yet. Possibly later this week, as I have a package to pick up at UPS, and the restaurant is in that neighborhood.

Heh. I'm not sure I want to venture that far, but who knows, maybe I will.

Thanks for the pointers! I guess I'll try to make some calls to those stores too.

Okay! I haven't actually gotten to the stores yet, but a call to Boulder Imports got me some leads...

First off, in the city, the Miska chain and Maureno on 26th (correct spelling not guaranteed on either of these!) are a couple choices.

Since I'm in the NW burbs, the guy at Boulder pointed me to the distributor Shamberger Bros, and they provided me with three possibilities -- in Rolling Meadows, there's Sal's Beverage World (4001 Algonquin) (wasn't this an Armanetti's a few years ago?), and in Palatine there's Los Atas (or Atos?) (2001 Rand) and Loredo (or Laredo?) (1198 Dundee). I might get to Sal's tomorrow night...