Elote.
Like most street food, it's a simple recipe that typically consists of some combination of grilled corn, mayonnaise and cheese. This Mexican treat is a quintessential part of Chicago summers, but luckily it's not hard to find it around town year-round.
Need help tracking down some of the best elote the city has to offer? We're here to help!
2101 N. California Ave. - Logan Square
Lonesome Rose steps up to the plate and knocks it out of the park with its generously topped elote with the classic mayo, cotija and cilantro combo!
Photo via Facebook/Carbon
810 N. Marshfield Ave. - West Town
300 W. 26th St. - Bridgeport
Carbon's elote is served off the cob, weighs heavy on the mayo and is topped with the perfect amount of chili powder to give it a manageable level of heat.
Photo via Facebook/Edgewater Taco
5624 N. Broadway - Edgewater
How do you make elote even better? Simply add a dusting of Flamin' Hot Cheetos or Takis to the top! Edgewater Tacos is a real one for making this an option.
Photo via Facebook/El Churrito
3251 S. Halsted St. - Bridgeport
5711 W. 63rd St. - Clearing
El Churrito is mostly known for its sweet treats like churros and ice cream, but don't miss out on the humble corn in a cup on the menu—some of the best in town.
Image Via Facebook.com/greenstreetsmokedmeats
112 N. Green St. - West Town
Grilled corn is classic side to pair with barbecue, but Green Street Smoked Meats makes us believe that corn should probably always be elote style.
Image Via Facebook.com/bavetteschicago
218 W. Kinzie St. - River North
Speaking of Hogsalt restaurants, you probably wouldn't look to a French steakhouse for off-the-charts elote. Bavette's pulls it off though.
Image Via Facebook.com/antiquetaco
1360 N. Milwaukee Ave. - Wicker Park
1000 W. 35th St. - Bridgeport
Antique Taco put its own spin on elote by turning it into an extra creamy dip. A perfect companion for fresh tortilla chips! You can't go wrong with a little Tajín on top.
Photo via Facebook/Proxi
565 W. Randolph St. - West Loop
Of course, we need to include one upscale and out-of-the-box option on our list and no one dish deserves it like Proxi's crave-worthy tempura elote...for when you want a little extra crunch.
Photo via Facebook/Chilango
1437 W. Taylor St. - University Village
If you're going to specialize in Mexican street food, it's best to have elote on your menu. Fortunately, University Village's Chilango passes the test.
Photo via Facebook/Little Bad Wolf
1541 W. Bryn Mawr Ave. - Andersonville
Little Bad Wolf's beer-battered avocado-topped elote will make you realize it's the comfort food you always took for granted.
Image Via Facebook.com/tacostequilas
2919 N. Milwaukee Ave. - Avondale
Tacos Tequilas's elote recipe is classic (roasted corn on the cob, mayo, cotija cheese and chile piquin) and absolutely delicious.
Flo1434 W. Chicago Ave. - West Town
Located in West Town, Flo is a southwestern restaurant and bar, serving brunch, lunch, and dinner. Flo puts a twist on its elote by adding bacon, making it more savory than ever. Flo is open for dine-in, takeout, and delivery.
Of course, the real heroes of Chicago's grilled corn scene are the elote cart owners, setting up shop on popular street corners and tempting us on our walks home from work. We can't list or map them all, but we can appreciate them. We're raising our squeeze bottle butter to you today!
Image Via Flickr.com/santheo
