The main commercial street of Chicago's largest Mexican-American neighbourhood, 18th Street in Pilsen runs for about a mile through taquerias, Mexican bakeries (panaderías), quinceañera dress shops, and the kind of everyday commercial strip that predates gentrification. The street is what it is: working-class, functional, and entirely unpretentious.
For eating, the concentration of family-run taquerias is among the most reliable in Chicago for al pastor, birria, and barbacoa. La Palma (a century-old bakery) anchors the east end. The murals on residential and commercial buildings throughout the neighbourhood are one of Chicago's most significant outdoor art collections. L Pink Line to 18th Street.