The words “fresh” and “scratch” are part of the daily conversation at a new restaurant on North Avenue that opened its doors a few months ago.
That’s because Jackie Kotarba, 28, owner of La Parrillita (The Little Grill) Mexican Grill at 7225 W. North Ave. prides itself on using fresh ingredients in their food and everything on the menu is made from scratch. Formerly the North Avenue Grill and before that the River Forest Grill, Kotarba took over the restaurant in November and hasn’t looked back.
The restaurant opens every day at 11 a.m., but Kotarba, her husband Lukasz, and staff get there early to prepare the food. She said one of their most popular items are tamales, which they make fresh daily.
She keeps the restaurant’s menu limited to maintain the restaurant’s standard of preparing food with fresh ingredients daily. She said her tamales and tacos have the authentic flavor of those made in Mexico.
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They make about 80 tamales every day in three different flavors like chicken, spicy chicken and spicy cheese. She said they’ve been going fast.
“We sell out quickly and when we sell out, we sell out,” she said. “We make it with a lot of love.”
Belinda Galimore, 66, of Oak Park, agreed as she stopped in March 3 to buy some. She likes the non-spicy chicken and spicy cheese tamales.
“They have very good food and excellent tamales,” she said. “My daughter and I came past the place and decided to try it and I’ve been coming here ever since.
Also made from scratch are authentic Mexican beverages like horchata, which is a sweet rice water drink; tamarindo, made from the Spanish fruit tamarind; and a hibiscus-flavored drink called Jamaica.
“A lot of places use powder and syrup,” she said. “Our concept is different; we make it using fresh ingredients.”
They also make their salsa from scratch and have six different varieties with names like “grenade” “firecracker” “mango” and “atomic bomb” describing their spiciness. She said the salsa has become so popular that they are selling jars of it to customers.
Kortaba, 28, who lives in Franklin Park, said she always wanted to own her own restaurant since she was a child. She got her start working for various upscale hotels, moving from working the coat check to managing several different aspects of the hotel. She received her bachelor’s degree in hospitality management in 2005.
She makes it a point to try to get to know her customers by name.
“I’m very grateful to the community and their support,” she said.
In the future, she hopes to grow her business but believes keeping the ingredients fresh and cooking from scratch is the key.
“I want it to serve the food like I’m feeding my family — always fresh,” she said.
La Parrillita is open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sundays.