3 Illinois spots make New York Times list of ‘greatest' Mexican restaurants in the U.S.

NOTE: The video at the top of this story originally aired in 2023.

The New York Times released its list of the “41 Greatest Mexican Restaurants Across the United States” and Illinois was well represented.

Three Chicago eateries made the cut, tying New York and Los Angeles for the most representation on the list.

The highlighted restaurants include Birrieria Ocotlan, Gorditas Santiago and Mi Tocaya Antojería.

Birrieria Ocotlan was noted for having “a birrieria that’s like visiting a mercado in Jalisco.”

Gorditas Santiago was cited for the more than 20 fillings it has on the menu “that bring a little bit of the Durangan city of Santiago Papasquiaro to the Midwest.”

Mi Tocaya was listed for chef Diana Dávila’s innovative approach and her “cheerful, uncompromising antojería in the Midwest’s most Mexican city.”

Some other Midwest spots also made the cut.

The list also ranked La Sirena in Ephraim, Wisconsin; Vecino in Detroit; El Pollo Rey in Kansas City; and Oro by NIxta in Minneapolis.

See the full ranking here.