El Secreto del Sabor

I agree Po… I’ve been to all the stands in Humboldt park. El Secreto del Sabor is the best. been here about 40 times the last 2 years.
Its very good Puerto Rican street food.

I am moving to Portland at the end of 2012 and was trying to figure out what my last meal in Chicago should be. I toyed with Alinea (but you can almost never get a table), Publican, Avec and a few others. I settled on El Secreto del Sabor. Yes it is THAT good. The morcilla is amazing. The bacalao is salty and yummy. The plantains are fantastic. I’m going to stop mentioning all of the delicious items because I’m running out of adjectives! I’m going to miss this place!

I have to say this is my favorite Puerto Rican food cart. The first item I ever ordered was the Pionono, by accident. What a fantastic discovery it was, as this is now my favorite street food to order. It is a delicious sweet plantain cut in half and wrapped in a coil with ground beef and cheese filling stuffed in the middle. It is the perfect mix of sweet and savory. I can also say the morcilla is fresh and spicy tasting with no hint of intestine in the flavor. The maduras are typical. The yuca/​pork pasteles are good but a little soggy. The pastillos are really good, the pastry made of something other than just flour. They put more filling and it has more flavor than those in the other carts. Located at Division and Kedzie, this is the best cart in the park!

To judge good Puerto-​Rican food, you need to first try their frituras, which are a variety of deep-​fried snacks. My dad worked in Humboldt Park and used to bring home all kinds of goodies from the food stands there. I grew up on this stuff, which has made me a life-​long fan of all things deep-​fried.
Try an alcapurria, which is seasoned meat wrapped in a dough made of mashed green plantain, then deep-​fried. It’s oval-​shaped and delicious right out of the fryer.
The bacalaitos are amazing. These are fritters made with salt cod (bacalao), and a not too thick batter of flour, baking powder, and seasoning. Again, these taste best right out of the fryer.
For the non-​squeamish, order the morcilla. The rice-​speckled blood sausage is perfect with the soft, chewy bread served with it. It’s very rich and a bit spicy, as well.
Any form of fried pork is always a good thing, whether it’s chicharron or pieces of lechon. And last, but not least, are greasy, delicious empanadas. Yum!
Try this awesome food stand and you’ll understand why frituras are so damn good (and addictive).

Me: «Tienes bacalaitos a hora?» (it was 10 a.m.)
Her: «Quiera Jaritos?»
Me: «No. Oh, geez. Um… BAC-​A-​LA-​ITOS?»
Her: «ahhhhh…»
Me: «Ummmm… BACALA-​ITOS?»
Her: «ooooooh, si!» (giggles erupt from her smiling face)
Maybe if I practice for another 5 or so years, SOMEONE will understand what the hell I’m saying.
So, what is «bacalaitos» you ask? The most delicious and salty fish fritter you’ll ever get from a trailer in Humboldt Park! Seriously though, this place is awesome.
This trailer, owned by the Sierra family (they run Sabor Latino), puts out some of the best street food I’ve ever had. I had heard about it but had never been — so I stopped in for a quick bite. The bacalitos is really delicious. Sort of crisp but chewy, salty and flavorful, bready but not overly so. It’s perfect drunk food. Actually, it’s perfect anytime food. Oh, and the Morcilla (blood sausage) is to die for. I picked up one of each, along with a couple pieces of bread. They tasted great, filled me up and put a huge smile on my face — and my total was $ 2.50 or $ 3 — I can’t remember because I was in such a blissful state. How could I not be after getting food that was far superior to any fast food chain, for less? Plus I received service with a smile. Wow!
There were all sorts of fried goodies, all so inviting looking. There was whole fish, papas rellenas and a bunch of other things that I didn’t recognize. My current goal is to try each and every one of them and update my review as I do.
I’d highly recommend a visit ASAP — I’ll try and figure out the hours on my next visit (today?) because I think this could possibly be the best tasting drunk food ever. And it ain’t bad for breakfast, either.