Try the new Senor Pan Cafe in Chicago

It’s not often these days that I go to a restaurant the week it opens, but that was the happy case when my wife and I discovered Senor Pan’s Cafe on North Elston Avenue in Chicago recently.

Several Senor Pan’s exist in the city, this is the newest and from what the owner told us the night we ate there, the most family-friendly and casual. It’s Cuban cuisine, which amazingly given my love of food, I had never tried before.

Was it low-salt, low-fat? I’m not sure, nothing tasted overly salty to my now very salt sensitive tongue, tough.

We started with empanadas, which are stuffed pastries, getting a combo of one beef, one chicken and one pork. they were really tasty and nutrition info I’ve found doesn’t seem too bad as far as salt and fat, although I’m sure it all depends on the size of the empanadas. These were appetizers so hopefully not too high in salt. The accompanying chimichurri sauce was wonderfully simple, an olive oil base, with I think cilantro.

My main dish was what was called Cuban fajitas, is that a  real thing? It as basically a deconstructed fajita with beef in a bowl, the chipped lettuce and tomatoes on the side with avocado slices (which I gave my wife because I don’t like avocado but she does) and a wonderful red rice. I rarely eat rice now, never white rice anymore, so this was a wonderful treat for me and seasoned perfectly for my taste.

I’d recommend this new Senor Pan Cafe for a change fo pace night out.

John