May Street Cafe

I was never a huge fan of wttw's 'Check Please', but my husband and I were intrigued when we came upon the "May Street Cafe" episode. It took several years before I finally had the opportunity to try this place last weekend.

MSC describes itself as, "Gourmet seasonal cooking featuring Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban and traditional American foods with an eclectic twist."

On "Check Please":

What our reviewers said:
Matt recommends it for its phenomenal food and unbelievable atmosphere.
Jenny says it's solid inventive Nuevo Latino cuisine.
And Nick calls it a real jewel, and suggests you make your reservations now.

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I wanted to like MSC. It's close to our condo in the city, there's accessible parking, and it's byob. Generally, it wasn't terrible, but it was "okay" at best. Not a place I'd waste another meal on.

First came the corn tortilla chips with homemade salsa. This wasn't bad -- crispy chips, flavorful salsa with a kick of spice. But it wasn't a 'wow' factor either.

We started with the 'french double cream brie with pear quesadilla, $8.95 (according to menupages)
This was actually quite good.. nice flaky crust with a sweet / very slightly tart blend of pear and brie. The sour cream and salsa went with it quite nicely too.


Then came the main dishes. We shared the pork chop with mango salsa(which, the waitress said was a fantastic choice) and a braised pork. Both came with the same sides of grilled vegetables, plantain, rice and beans.

The pork chop was slightly overdone... very, very tough. Braised pork was very tender, but in a tub of grease, seasoned slightly with salt/pepper. The sides of rice was undercooked/tough, beans were average, and most of the vegetables were overly grilled.


The more I'm recalling the experience, the more I'm certain I would not want to give this place another try. It wasn't terrible, but definitely waste of a meal.

May Street Café
1146 W. Cermak, Chicago
(312) 421-4442
Hours- Open for dinner Tuesday through Sunday.