At most restaurants that serve tacos al pastor in Chicago, you get chopped pork that's griddled with chile powder and topped with onions and cilantro. At other places, you get the real thing and transcend your body into pork paradise.

As a meat junkie from way back, I prefer the latter version. It typically involves cuts of chile-marinated pork that are stacked in layers and topped with a pineapple on a vertical broiler. The pineapple is key because its enzymes tenderize the meat as it slowly rotates in the broiler. The cook might also include pieces of the pineapple as he shaves the meat. The result is a delicate if not startling fruitiness in what's otherwise a hardcore meat dish. My all-time al pastor place--the long-closed El Nopal near Clark and Bryn Mawr--took it a step further by putting extra pineapple with the layers of pork on the broiler, ensuring that every taco got a little bit of fruit during the shaving process. I've looked but have yet to find a taqueria that does al pastor quite like this. Most places just throw a lemon or lime on the side and figure that's enough fruit for one dish.