Foodie Friday: Don Churro
CHICAGO (CBS) -- For this week's Foodie Friday, the celebration continues for Hispanic Heritage Month, putting the spotlight on a classic Mexican treat.
At a shop that's been frying them up for over 40 years, CBS 2's Jamaica Ponder is at Pilsen's Don Churro with more on the sweet snacks.
They're crispy, crunchy, fried, and deliciously doughy there's only one woman who makes 'em like this.
Affectionately known by the neighborhood as Doña Marie, Molina has spent most of her life crafting the perfect churro.
"I'm in my place called Don Churro."
And she's been selling them from her shop in Pilsen for just as long.
"And here we are, at your service, with the most exquisite churros in Chicago.
But Don Churro has been here longer than Doña Marie.
"I think it's been about 50 years."
But she's been at the helm for the last 40 years, give or take a few years.
"I don't just remember the year. I remember that it was February 22, but I don't remember the year. I don't remember the year."
It all started when Molina came to the United States on what was supposed to be a short trip and she got what was supposed to be a short-term gig at Don Churro.
"Well, I just came in because I wasn't going to stay for long, right? I only really arrived as a tourist," she said. "I had no clue about how to make churros. Nothing."
She'd sell churros on the street once the previous owner began showing her how to make churros.
"With one of those laundry carts with a tray on top," Molina said. "I was fascinated, right, by the process and everything."
And that return trip to Mexico just kept getting pushed back.
"I said no, I'll save some money and I'll go back to my home country and I'll launch the business there, but I ended up never leaving," Molina said.
Eventually, Molina bought Don Churro from the original owner and almost immediately, she began changing things up a bit.
"I have been modifying the churro because when he used to make it, the churro was not of good quality. In fact, it was made with water and flour, that's all," Molina said.
And hers was a quest for perfection.
"A little touch of this, of that, right? So that the churro, if you buy it in the morning, it can last until evening and doesn't become gummy or chewy," Molina said.
She even figured out how to freeze the churros for major distribution.
They're for sale in seven states across the Midwest, but before they're boxed up and shipped out her whole family is filling churros with flavors like vanilla, chocolate, guava, and cream cheese.
As for the churros that stay in Chicago, Molina puts sales in the hands of local street vendors.
"They do what I did, stand outside the churches, head to the parks," Molina said.
And of course, you can always find churros in the shop, fresh and hot. Doña Marie said there's a special ingredient.
"You have to do it with love."
