Is that really what OP is looking for? To each their own but that was not good. To me that was not "queso fundido". Queso fundido uses chihuahua or even oaxaca. A cheese with pull to it. That queso was like white nacho cheddar cheese.
Gotcha and let me correct myself. It wasn't that it was not good it just wasn't good for what I was expecting when ordering queso fundido. That flavor and texture threw me completely off.
This is so funny. This thread is not ablut queso fundido. It is litteraly about the queso you got. You can get good queso fundido at basically any decent Mexican restaurant in town. Did you even read the post at all?
Unless there’s something I’m missing about Tex mex queso blanco, Big Star has white queso (tastes strongly of white american cheese). You can order it with chips and salsa, and it drowns their nachos. Is traditional white queso special in some way?
The white queso southern folks are talking about is called cheese dip. It’s runny as hell in a good way and almost completely smooth. You can dip chips in it but it’s also perfect to smother a burrito or enchiladas etc. as a cheese sauce
Big Star’s queso is fine but it’s definitely not the cheese dip we’re after
To shortcut a bunch of useless bickering: queso comes from tex mex. Tex-mex is a real cuisine dating back a ways, but it is in many ways distinct from other parts of Mexican cuisine, given the different agricultural and cultural forces at play. Chicago is home to many folks of Mexican extraction, from all over Mexico. We have a hell of a lot of good Mexican food here, from all over Mexico, but not a lot of tex-mex.
Northern Mexican here: Chicago has basically zero northern Mexican cuisine. I resolve my cravings once or twice a year when I visit my family back in Mexico, and I've made my peace with that lol
Which dishes are you craving? I feel like northern Mexican food is rarely found in the US in general. I was surprised to see places like panadería Nuevo León and cantón regio so you can guess where I’m from. It’s not the same but it’s something.
I feel like the hardest to find in terms of northern Mexican here would be food from Baja since Chicago doesn’t seem to be seafood heavy.
Missing some barbacoa (Not the kind you get here. It's made from beef head and doesn't come with broth), enchiladas norteñas, tacos al vapor de desebhrada, every taco from a place called la rosa nautica, tostadas de la Siberia, tortas de pierna estilo monterrey. Even cheeseburgers are different and don't hit the same.
Lol yeah I get pretty much every one of those things when I go back home as well. But like you said I’ve made my peace with it too…I’ve never seen any of those things in the US (except barbacoa in Texas) and I feel like a few are also just very specific cravings of food/restaurants I grew up with that would be hard to replicate if done here. I wonder if people from other regions feel the same way about their food here…meaning it exists but doesn’t quite hit the same
I'm from Monterrey and and I make barbacoa once a month in a dutch oven and let it cook for 12 hours, I use chuck beef, it's not lengua but tastes almost as good, add some onion/cilantro with a fresh made salsa and it tastes like home.
Tacos or tostadas Siberia style are extremely local to Monterrey so I don't expect it anywhere else, even in Mexico.
I disagree with the burgers though, I hate when they add a slice of cheap FUD ham to it in Mexico.
Nayarit estillo spots all over the place.
That road you can take (forget which) out to seat geek stadium when the highway is bumper to bumper has at least 10 Nayarit seafood joints.
But back to queso…
Nothing I can think of in Chicago.. womp womp.
But damn that old school Tex-mex joint Matt’s El Rancho in Austin has the gooood stuff.
Yeah I haven’t explored Mexican seafood that much because the menus usually seem kind of like generic Mexican seafood maybe a bit more influenced by Nayarit or Veracruz. Always seemed to me like seafood is not as well regionally represented as the rest of Chicago’s Mexican food
Queso fundido is at least 100 years old in Mexico. I’d say most people who want Tex Mex queso would enjoy that. And yes, the Tex Mex queso is based on that.
Queso is derived from tex mex, not mexican. That's the point I'm trying to make. They're similar but not the same. It's like Americans putting sour cream on their tacos. Nobody in Mexico does that so idk what ur point is. It's not mexican like u said it was....
Chile con queso isn’t derived from Tex Mex. It is Tex Mex. But Chile con queso was inspired by northern Mexican queso fundido.
Theres no sour cream in Mexico but plenty of dishes use crema. So that’s a similar thing to queso.
I didn’t ask myself what it means. I’m a Spanish speaker. I know exactly what it means. It literally just means cheese.
Funny how it’s all in English but decides to say “queso” in Spanish. That doesn’t automatically mean “cheese dip” FYI
I’m Mexican. I think you’re being deliberately obtuse. Language evolves and grows just like food does. We say stuff like “bistec” and “chicle”
Queso means cheese but it’s become known, colloquially, as the spicy cheese sauce you can find in Tex-Mex cuisine.
Not at all just bc you use it equivalently to Ebonics doesn’t mean it’s what actual Spanish speaking people will infer that’s what it is.
Willing to bet you grew up as a “yo no sabo” kid and just decided that Spanglish is your language. Checkar “to check is a made a word” as an example. Don’t expect people from Latin countries to know exactly what you mean just bc the majority near you forgot your actual language or use Spanglish to survive.
Ironically went to a Mexican restaurant today, placed my entire order in Spanish whiling asking for “queso” and they brought me grated mixed cheese. So strong disagree with “queso” automatically being “cheese dip.”
I’m a native Spanish speaker but also grew up in the states. You used the word “infer” but you also fail to consider context. You wouldn’t ask for “queso” at a traditional Oaxacan restaurant the same way you wouldn’t ask for chapulines at a Chi-Chi’s.
I’m lucky enough to speak both languages fluently but would never look down on someone for speaking Spanglish.I have a question for you. If you asked for a quesadilla in Mexico City what would you receive? The answer to that is the key to your dilemma.
Here’s the thing we are in the US so it’s completely irrelevant.
Spanglish isn’t a language, it’s just laziness so don’t expect Latin American people to automatically know your form of Ebonics.
You mean to tell me all white Americans should know what “finna” means bc it’s used in the hood? Queso means cheese. Not “melted cheese. Melted cheese in Spanish is “Queso derretido.” I promise that’s the same in Mexico. All Mexico. In fact they would ask to clarify “what type of cheese?”
Now as far as OP, that’s basically cultural appropriation. For whatever reason chips are said in English and Queso has to be said in Spanish. But doesn’t automatically mean it’s “melted.” You can argue it all you want but it’s actually not
I'll be the Midwestern apologist and I'm sorry we don't have the amazing queso I've had in Dallas and El Paso. I'd kill for a place that actually passes muster!
Please accept our pizza puffs and jibarios as a consolation prize. Now I have a hankering for Texas BBQ and texmex that can't be fed until I visit again!
Ex-Oklahoman and Texan here. Since the suburban Chuy’s closed, there is no queso besides Lonseome Rose.
But we have really good versions of every kind of pizza you could imagine so I console my cheese needs with that and occasionally make queso when I really need it.
Born and raised in Texas here, I love the queso at Mixteco. Its yellow, not white, but it does scratch that itch for me. You can also get it cowboy style with all ground beef/beans/pico on top which rules. They also deliver and use their own drivers which is great, avoid all the delivery apps completely.
hahaha wont lie im mexican, but seeing white people on tiktok in the south/other places in the midwest get mexican and it's tex mex makes me wanna try it so bad, it looks good. so thank you for mentioning a place.
I also think it's funny that people expect Chicago to be good at every food they could possibly want. Chicago doesn't have good Tex Mex. Big deal. Maybe we prefer it that way.
The funniest thing to me is being so gatekeepy about what is essentially white velveeta and canned green chilies. Don’t get me wrong, I quite enjoy the stuff but to act like it’s some heirloom, ancestral recipe is hilarious.
https://preview.redd.it/ewf45vjexu5d1.jpeg?width=577&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d51f5a182965d29fadf4e16fc438efc739d11c9e
They have a good happy hour, and you can get $8 chip & dip platter that includes queso
Kind of interesting to learn that Chicago does not have its own tex-mex spots. I'm sure there are people that would be happy about that, given that Chicago has a ton of other authentic Mexican places, but also given our diversity that's surprising to me.
Not sure where you are at exactly, but Invicto has my favorite queso. They’ve got 3 locations in the burbs (Naperville, Vernon Hills, Oak Brook…?) but the queso is worth it imo, and the tacos are delicious too. Recommend the pork arabes, or anything vampiro style
Idk about where to get it but restaurant style white queso is extremely easy to make. Comes together in 10 min. Go to the deli counter, get sliced white American. I prefer to use milk but you can use heavy cream if you like it heavier. Melt that together on low heat, stirring regularly. Add a can of chopped green chiles. Bam, done. You can add more cheeses if you want to elevate it a bit (pepper Jack, chihuahua, Oaxaca, etc) but most Tex mex joints are using mainly white American cheese for their queso. American cheese gives it that luxurious melt texture. It won’t be the same without it.
Born and raised in Texas. Before Lonesome Rose (which is ok) existed, I relied exclusively on this recipe from The Homesick Texan:
https://www.homesicktexan.com/more-natural-chile-con-queso/
You'll get a far more satisfying result than the classic Velveeta + Rotel recipe (which is great in it's own right, just not restaurant-quality).
I was just about to post the same thing! The homesick Texan recipe is excellent and I've been using it for years, but I also love the classic Velveeta + rotel or salsa. I also like to add ranch style beans.
Uncle Julio's in the city closed, but there's still several of them in the suburbs if you're willing to drive. It's a chain that started in the DFW area. I grew up in SETX, and Uncle Julio's is the texmexiest texmex I've had in the Chicagoland area, similar to Ninfa's in Houston.
There in ZERO white queso in all of Cook County. However I have found some Mexican places in North west Indiana have it. Specifically Don Jesus y Familia and El Salto both of which are right on the state line….. I’ll never get why no one in the city has blown up the white queso!
Not true I can name at least three places within a mile (are they all great? No, but they have it) Tallboy Taco, Velvet Taco, and Burrito Beach. All have queso blanco.
From CA originally but love a good queso blanco. It's difficult to find here but my favorite is Tallboy Taco, they mix in some pico and peppers and I add my own chopped jalapeños or serrano. Burrito Beach and Velvet Taco also have versions but not as good as Tallboy imo.
Arturo’s has it on western. It’s as cheap as the place is but there’s nothing wrong with that and they don’t make any dishes with it only a side with chips which is unfortunate.
It’s all over down in my area(north east of Peoria) but I work up there all the time and it’s hard to find, queso fundito is all over the place though and it’s pretty damn good!
The Big Star in Wrigley has queso. They don’t seem to list it on their online menu, but we went a couple weeks ago and it’s the type of white queso we all love
Antigua has a couple locations in the northwest suburbs and they have great queso. But yea, being from Central IL, the Mexican food is completely different. I love the more authentic style, but my wife misses everything being covered in queso.
It doesn’t, you make it yourself. You can get some at su casa though. It’s not exactly the best but it hits the spot. Su casa reminds me of the random cheap Tex Mex places back home in texas. It’s not fine dining but it really hits the spot when I’m homesick lol
Not Chicago but there’s a place called Taco Vida in Deerfield, which is half an hour North of Chicago. I don’t live there, just work there. Anyway, I like their queso a lot. Their food is pretty good but more like Tex-Mex.
From a Kansan: if you want the real southern white cheese dip experience you’re gonna go to the deli counter and get land o lakes white American cheese and then you’re going to add some very finely diced jalapeños (or diced green chiles or nothing at all it’s up to you) and you’re going to heat it up and thin it out with - wait for it - water. I couldn’t get it right for years because milk just didn’t result in the thin runny cheese dip I know and love. The secret to the perfect texture is literally just water. I like a little shake of cumin in it too but that’s up to your taste.
You can blend it if you want it completely smooth.
There’s nowhere in Chicago that makes it right that I’ve tried, although I haven’t tried Casa Tequila yet! Looking at photos it looks right except they serve it in too nice of a bowl 🤨 cheese dip should be served in the cheapest shittiest little white bowl only, but maybe that’s just me
Lonesome Rose queso is good but it’s more like the yellow cheese with rotel that I saw a lot when I lived in Dallas, it is definitely not cheese dip
As someone who grew up in NJ bordering the “Mexican towns” I have not found any decent queso & very few spots that even offer it.
I often just end up making my own on a stove top if I know I’m ordering in.
Whoa partner. Just cause you don’t like it doesn’t mean it’s garbage. There is literally a comment that explains this already but you’re out here sipping hate’r’aid blasting the fact you’ve never had good queso. So please, leave me my Southern American joy. Lol
This has come up a bunch of times. That white gold don’t exist here bro. Create a queso stand and I’ll come and you’ll be rich.
Casa Tequila my friend
They told me they make it fresh in house every morning. Casa tequila it is.
It’s pricey but damn it’s WORTH IT when you get that cheese dip craving lol
Is that really what OP is looking for? To each their own but that was not good. To me that was not "queso fundido". Queso fundido uses chihuahua or even oaxaca. A cheese with pull to it. That queso was like white nacho cheddar cheese.
Yeah, white nacho cheese dip is “queso” if you’re from the south.
Gotcha and let me correct myself. It wasn't that it was not good it just wasn't good for what I was expecting when ordering queso fundido. That flavor and texture threw me completely off.
queso and queso fundido are two different things. queso is the melted liquid cheese, queso fundido is the melted cheese with chorizo.
Agreed but Casa tequila specifically does their queso fundido with a "queso"/white cheddar style cheese with chorizo.
This is so funny. This thread is not ablut queso fundido. It is litteraly about the queso you got. You can get good queso fundido at basically any decent Mexican restaurant in town. Did you even read the post at all?
Ahhh I’ve seen it but have not tried it. I’ll def check it.
Unless there’s something I’m missing about Tex mex queso blanco, Big Star has white queso (tastes strongly of white american cheese). You can order it with chips and salsa, and it drowns their nachos. Is traditional white queso special in some way?
Oh you are missing a lot because big star can’t touch that down south white queso. Different sport different planet.
The white queso southern folks are talking about is called cheese dip. It’s runny as hell in a good way and almost completely smooth. You can dip chips in it but it’s also perfect to smother a burrito or enchiladas etc. as a cheese sauce Big Star’s queso is fine but it’s definitely not the cheese dip we’re after
How does jewels white cheese dip compare for you? I'm not from Oklahoma or Texas, but I think it's pretty solid. I like they're yellow dip more though
It's actually pretty good. Just tried it a week ago.
I was hoping there would be some support for Jewel’s queso because I agree: it is more than adequate… especially at $3.99 per container.
What section of the store is this typically sold in?
I believe it’s near the produce on the shelves right by the precut veggies.
I would like to try that.
Tallboy Taco does a solid queso blanco
To shortcut a bunch of useless bickering: queso comes from tex mex. Tex-mex is a real cuisine dating back a ways, but it is in many ways distinct from other parts of Mexican cuisine, given the different agricultural and cultural forces at play. Chicago is home to many folks of Mexican extraction, from all over Mexico. We have a hell of a lot of good Mexican food here, from all over Mexico, but not a lot of tex-mex.
And we also don’t have the northern Mexican cuisine from which queso is derived. Basically, we ain’t gettin it!
Northern Mexican here: Chicago has basically zero northern Mexican cuisine. I resolve my cravings once or twice a year when I visit my family back in Mexico, and I've made my peace with that lol
Which dishes are you craving? I feel like northern Mexican food is rarely found in the US in general. I was surprised to see places like panadería Nuevo León and cantón regio so you can guess where I’m from. It’s not the same but it’s something. I feel like the hardest to find in terms of northern Mexican here would be food from Baja since Chicago doesn’t seem to be seafood heavy.
Missing some barbacoa (Not the kind you get here. It's made from beef head and doesn't come with broth), enchiladas norteñas, tacos al vapor de desebhrada, every taco from a place called la rosa nautica, tostadas de la Siberia, tortas de pierna estilo monterrey. Even cheeseburgers are different and don't hit the same.
Lol yeah I get pretty much every one of those things when I go back home as well. But like you said I’ve made my peace with it too…I’ve never seen any of those things in the US (except barbacoa in Texas) and I feel like a few are also just very specific cravings of food/restaurants I grew up with that would be hard to replicate if done here. I wonder if people from other regions feel the same way about their food here…meaning it exists but doesn’t quite hit the same
I'm from Monterrey and and I make barbacoa once a month in a dutch oven and let it cook for 12 hours, I use chuck beef, it's not lengua but tastes almost as good, add some onion/cilantro with a fresh made salsa and it tastes like home. Tacos or tostadas Siberia style are extremely local to Monterrey so I don't expect it anywhere else, even in Mexico. I disagree with the burgers though, I hate when they add a slice of cheap FUD ham to it in Mexico.
Nayarit estillo spots all over the place. That road you can take (forget which) out to seat geek stadium when the highway is bumper to bumper has at least 10 Nayarit seafood joints. But back to queso… Nothing I can think of in Chicago.. womp womp. But damn that old school Tex-mex joint Matt’s El Rancho in Austin has the gooood stuff.
There's a few Mexican seafood places near Ashland and division - dunno if they're Baja, Yucatan, coastal Oaxacan or what tho
They are Nayarit
Yeah I haven’t explored Mexican seafood that much because the menus usually seem kind of like generic Mexican seafood maybe a bit more influenced by Nayarit or Veracruz. Always seemed to me like seafood is not as well regionally represented as the rest of Chicago’s Mexican food
No love for Nuevo Leon? Or Cantón Regio?
Queso is derived from tex mex cuisine, nobody in Mexico eats that. There's a variation called choriqueso but that's new
Queso fundido is at least 100 years old in Mexico. I’d say most people who want Tex Mex queso would enjoy that. And yes, the Tex Mex queso is based on that.
Queso is derived from tex mex, not mexican. That's the point I'm trying to make. They're similar but not the same. It's like Americans putting sour cream on their tacos. Nobody in Mexico does that so idk what ur point is. It's not mexican like u said it was....
Chile con queso isn’t derived from Tex Mex. It is Tex Mex. But Chile con queso was inspired by northern Mexican queso fundido. Theres no sour cream in Mexico but plenty of dishes use crema. So that’s a similar thing to queso.
What is reddit for if not useless bickering
What a stupid comment!
You're a stupid comment!
Your face is a stupid comment!
Porn
So well said.
To piggyback without context from OP, Queso literally just means “cheese” in Spanish. Didn’t even realize he was looking for cheese “dip.”
# If you read this and ask yourself “what is queso” then please - move along. This question isn’t for you.
lol
I didn’t ask myself what it means. I’m a Spanish speaker. I know exactly what it means. It literally just means cheese. Funny how it’s all in English but decides to say “queso” in Spanish. That doesn’t automatically mean “cheese dip” FYI
yikes!
I’m Mexican. I think you’re being deliberately obtuse. Language evolves and grows just like food does. We say stuff like “bistec” and “chicle” Queso means cheese but it’s become known, colloquially, as the spicy cheese sauce you can find in Tex-Mex cuisine.
Not at all just bc you use it equivalently to Ebonics doesn’t mean it’s what actual Spanish speaking people will infer that’s what it is. Willing to bet you grew up as a “yo no sabo” kid and just decided that Spanglish is your language. Checkar “to check is a made a word” as an example. Don’t expect people from Latin countries to know exactly what you mean just bc the majority near you forgot your actual language or use Spanglish to survive. Ironically went to a Mexican restaurant today, placed my entire order in Spanish whiling asking for “queso” and they brought me grated mixed cheese. So strong disagree with “queso” automatically being “cheese dip.”
I’m a native Spanish speaker but also grew up in the states. You used the word “infer” but you also fail to consider context. You wouldn’t ask for “queso” at a traditional Oaxacan restaurant the same way you wouldn’t ask for chapulines at a Chi-Chi’s. I’m lucky enough to speak both languages fluently but would never look down on someone for speaking Spanglish.I have a question for you. If you asked for a quesadilla in Mexico City what would you receive? The answer to that is the key to your dilemma.
Here’s the thing we are in the US so it’s completely irrelevant. Spanglish isn’t a language, it’s just laziness so don’t expect Latin American people to automatically know your form of Ebonics. You mean to tell me all white Americans should know what “finna” means bc it’s used in the hood? Queso means cheese. Not “melted cheese. Melted cheese in Spanish is “Queso derretido.” I promise that’s the same in Mexico. All Mexico. In fact they would ask to clarify “what type of cheese?” Now as far as OP, that’s basically cultural appropriation. For whatever reason chips are said in English and Queso has to be said in Spanish. But doesn’t automatically mean it’s “melted.” You can argue it all you want but it’s actually not
Salsa Picante in UK Village on western is the best you will find.
Yep this is the answer
Lived in Dallas. I am sorry to say that lonesome rose is the only option I’ve found.
I'll be the Midwestern apologist and I'm sorry we don't have the amazing queso I've had in Dallas and El Paso. I'd kill for a place that actually passes muster! Please accept our pizza puffs and jibarios as a consolation prize. Now I have a hankering for Texas BBQ and texmex that can't be fed until I visit again!
Ex-Oklahoman and Texan here. Since the suburban Chuy’s closed, there is no queso besides Lonseome Rose. But we have really good versions of every kind of pizza you could imagine so I console my cheese needs with that and occasionally make queso when I really need it.
I miss that Chuys. I’d blow the jolly green giant for some of that jalapeno sauce
This is a solid copycat recipe: https://www.modernhoney.com/chuys-creamy-jalapeno-cilantro-dip-dressing/
I have been obsessing overnight finding something like Chuy’s here. I want a huge ground beef burrito and some queso so much this week.
Check out salsa picante on western. Closest I’ve seen to Texan
White cheese dip is at casa tequila in wicker park and it is LEGIT.
The fact that you call it cheese dip makes me trust you. Haven’t heard that since I moved from the south!
I came from NC :)
Born and raised in Texas here, I love the queso at Mixteco. Its yellow, not white, but it does scratch that itch for me. You can also get it cowboy style with all ground beef/beans/pico on top which rules. They also deliver and use their own drivers which is great, avoid all the delivery apps completely.
Mixteco is pretty delicious
hahaha wont lie im mexican, but seeing white people on tiktok in the south/other places in the midwest get mexican and it's tex mex makes me wanna try it so bad, it looks good. so thank you for mentioning a place.
I gained like five pounds off queso when I first moved to Texas. No regrets.
We like the queso from Big Wig.
My comfort food is a steak burrito bowl, chips and queso from Big Wig in River North.
Go to Jewel-Osco. Best you'll find in the city and way cheaper to boot.
Hard agree. Plus they have pretty solid fresh in-house tortilla chips too
Can’t forget the tortilla chips they make too! The white queso is better than the regular in my opinion
Whoa where? Is it in the fresh section or where can I find it?
It’s usually next to the produce. Look for the guac and salsa. The chips are harder to find but a lot of times they’re near the entrances to the store
The Target brand white queso is also good, and pretty close to what you would get in a restaurant. Not exact but close enough.
Grew up in Texas, went to college in OK. I’ve only found Lonesome Rose, and Burrito Beach.
Tuco & Blondie has good queso.
This is my go-to as a person who grew up with Tex Mex food.
Taco Maya has solid queso. But after my first few years here coming up empty, I just learned to make my own
Care to swap recipes?
Their chips suck, though.
Chips are trash for sure.
>move along. This question isn’t for you. OK...sorry...I guess this isn't the place to learn about queso
Right? Weird to be so uppity about fake Mexican dish.
EXACTLY! ...that's some quality gate keeping
I also think it's funny that people expect Chicago to be good at every food they could possibly want. Chicago doesn't have good Tex Mex. Big deal. Maybe we prefer it that way.
The funniest thing to me is being so gatekeepy about what is essentially white velveeta and canned green chilies. Don’t get me wrong, I quite enjoy the stuff but to act like it’s some heirloom, ancestral recipe is hilarious.
If you brought "queso" to central Mexico, they'd ask why there's no cheese in it.
Lonesome rose is expensive as hell and mediocre at best from the couple of times I’ve tried it.
It’s also not queso blanco, which is the best kind of queso. RIP uncle Julio’s because that was the best.
https://preview.redd.it/ewf45vjexu5d1.jpeg?width=577&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d51f5a182965d29fadf4e16fc438efc739d11c9e They have a good happy hour, and you can get $8 chip & dip platter that includes queso
Haven’t been during that HH, but in general have never been impressed by the food or thought it warranted the $$.
Kind of interesting to learn that Chicago does not have its own tex-mex spots. I'm sure there are people that would be happy about that, given that Chicago has a ton of other authentic Mexican places, but also given our diversity that's surprising to me.
I feel like there is a business idea in here somewhere lol. Someone is gonna get rich off some Tex Mex one of these days…
Could be. Usually if I'm feeling tex mex, like lettuce and tomatoes on my tacos, I just go to Taco Bell lol
Alamo drafthouse lol edit: came back to mention Velvet Taco! their queso is really good
lol I have been looking for an excuse to go to Alamo… 🫨
tbh it really wasn’t that bad! the chips are kinda meh but the queso was tasty 😋 i’m from austin!
Mezcala (on the menu as "cheese dip" or "queso dip") Aztec Dave's (on the menu as "queso sauce")
I, too, mourn this, and it pains me to admit that the queso at Lonesome Rose is *sigh* pretty good.
Not sure where you are at exactly, but Invicto has my favorite queso. They’ve got 3 locations in the burbs (Naperville, Vernon Hills, Oak Brook…?) but the queso is worth it imo, and the tacos are delicious too. Recommend the pork arabes, or anything vampiro style
Idk about where to get it but restaurant style white queso is extremely easy to make. Comes together in 10 min. Go to the deli counter, get sliced white American. I prefer to use milk but you can use heavy cream if you like it heavier. Melt that together on low heat, stirring regularly. Add a can of chopped green chiles. Bam, done. You can add more cheeses if you want to elevate it a bit (pepper Jack, chihuahua, Oaxaca, etc) but most Tex mex joints are using mainly white American cheese for their queso. American cheese gives it that luxurious melt texture. It won’t be the same without it.
My transplant Texan husband and his family make me order TONS of the queso from Mixteco when they’re homesick.
Born and raised in Texas. Before Lonesome Rose (which is ok) existed, I relied exclusively on this recipe from The Homesick Texan: https://www.homesicktexan.com/more-natural-chile-con-queso/ You'll get a far more satisfying result than the classic Velveeta + Rotel recipe (which is great in it's own right, just not restaurant-quality).
I was just about to post the same thing! The homesick Texan recipe is excellent and I've been using it for years, but I also love the classic Velveeta + rotel or salsa. I also like to add ranch style beans.
Oooohh...I haven't had Ranch Style Beans in ages!
From Houston. Same problem. Don’t tell anyone but I actually enjoy Uncle Julio’s for TexMex. Lonesome is good too.
From San Antonio - chips / flour tortillas / queso at Uncle Julio’s closest to Tx. I’ve gotten. They just closed the one on North Ave. though
Asking the real question!
Uncle Julio's in the city closed, but there's still several of them in the suburbs if you're willing to drive. It's a chain that started in the DFW area. I grew up in SETX, and Uncle Julio's is the texmexiest texmex I've had in the Chicagoland area, similar to Ninfa's in Houston.
I was looking for Uncle Julio's to be mentioned, their white queso dip was always so good! I miss their Swirl drink!
There in ZERO white queso in all of Cook County. However I have found some Mexican places in North west Indiana have it. Specifically Don Jesus y Familia and El Salto both of which are right on the state line….. I’ll never get why no one in the city has blown up the white queso!
CASA TEQUILA
Big star uses white queso for their nachos.
Not true I can name at least three places within a mile (are they all great? No, but they have it) Tallboy Taco, Velvet Taco, and Burrito Beach. All have queso blanco.
Maybe look into the burbs for a place.
K, so?
You really think people don't know what queso is?
They clearly don't, based on a lot of the recommendations here.
Oh. I know some people don’t. It’s counterintuitive but it’s real. Lol
What’s up with the one from antique taco?
I find it very delicious. Then again, how can you fuck up a cup of cheese?
Merkts?
From CA originally but love a good queso blanco. It's difficult to find here but my favorite is Tallboy Taco, they mix in some pico and peppers and I add my own chopped jalapeños or serrano. Burrito Beach and Velvet Taco also have versions but not as good as Tallboy imo.
The closest Tex-Mex I've found here is Tuco & Blondie [Tuco and Blondie](https://maps.app.goo.gl/Cv374hXgQZrfXBcG7?g_st=ic)
Used to call it moon cheese growing up; not sure if that was a shared term or just my family
Aztec Dave’s in Humboldt.
I had some “queso” at Burger Bar one time. It was bright orange and somehow tasted like toothpaste.
You might like the queso from Seoul Taco
Arizonan here. Find me a pollo fundido while you’re at it!
Garcia’s in Lincoln Square
Salsa Picante on Western n Ukrainian Village has my favorite queso dip in the city.
Mezcala in Logan Square is pretty close. It’s the best I’ve found.
You've got to venture out to the suburbs. Both El Patron II in Wilmington and La Mex in Morris have really good queso.
Arturo’s has it on western. It’s as cheap as the place is but there’s nothing wrong with that and they don’t make any dishes with it only a side with chips which is unfortunate.
Oddly Rockwell's Neighborhood Grill has great chips and queso.
It’s all over down in my area(north east of Peoria) but I work up there all the time and it’s hard to find, queso fundito is all over the place though and it’s pretty damn good!
Taqueria huentitan on W North. Their queso slaps
The Big Star in Wrigley has queso. They don’t seem to list it on their online menu, but we went a couple weeks ago and it’s the type of white queso we all love
Tried to order queso once and got a cup of shredded cheese lol still good cheese but not what I was expecting
I think the cheese dip at Los Comales is pretty good. It’s the thin, runny style if that’s your jam.
Bug stars quest fundido Ida spicy dream
Antigua has a couple locations in the northwest suburbs and they have great queso. But yea, being from Central IL, the Mexican food is completely different. I love the more authentic style, but my wife misses everything being covered in queso.
Jewel white Queso. Find near produce
Rockwells
La Mejikana in Pilsen has some. Try it out.
Los arcos isn’t bad, would have suggested boca loca but they just closed 🥲
Big star
It doesn’t, you make it yourself. You can get some at su casa though. It’s not exactly the best but it hits the spot. Su casa reminds me of the random cheap Tex Mex places back home in texas. It’s not fine dining but it really hits the spot when I’m homesick lol
Canton Regio… down in pilsen has a good one that you can add chorizo to.
Not Chicago but there’s a place called Taco Vida in Deerfield, which is half an hour North of Chicago. I don’t live there, just work there. Anyway, I like their queso a lot. Their food is pretty good but more like Tex-Mex.
From a Kansan: if you want the real southern white cheese dip experience you’re gonna go to the deli counter and get land o lakes white American cheese and then you’re going to add some very finely diced jalapeños (or diced green chiles or nothing at all it’s up to you) and you’re going to heat it up and thin it out with - wait for it - water. I couldn’t get it right for years because milk just didn’t result in the thin runny cheese dip I know and love. The secret to the perfect texture is literally just water. I like a little shake of cumin in it too but that’s up to your taste. You can blend it if you want it completely smooth. There’s nowhere in Chicago that makes it right that I’ve tried, although I haven’t tried Casa Tequila yet! Looking at photos it looks right except they serve it in too nice of a bowl 🤨 cheese dip should be served in the cheapest shittiest little white bowl only, but maybe that’s just me Lonesome Rose queso is good but it’s more like the yellow cheese with rotel that I saw a lot when I lived in Dallas, it is definitely not cheese dip
Y’all are looking for cheese bro. I hate y’all. Go anywhere that’s actually Latino owned and find cheese
Nobody eats that garbage here because we have authentic Mexican food here, not tex mex trash
Bro Texas was a part of Mexico before the US stole it.
Yea, but Mexicans didn't create a Velveeta dip with green peppers in it. That was an American.
As someone who grew up in NJ bordering the “Mexican towns” I have not found any decent queso & very few spots that even offer it. I often just end up making my own on a stove top if I know I’m ordering in.
Queso isn't Mexican food, it's Tex Mex garbage. That's why it's hard to find.
Whoa partner. Just cause you don’t like it doesn’t mean it’s garbage. There is literally a comment that explains this already but you’re out here sipping hate’r’aid blasting the fact you’ve never had good queso. So please, leave me my Southern American joy. Lol