"His father founded Lalo's and we both worked for the family business
for a long time, but Edgar also worked at Carnaval recently, Zapatista
in the South Loop, he did National 27 and I worked at Quattro, had
a small stint at Quattro," said Marcos. "It's finally nice to do
it for ourselves."
The dining room has a rustic vibe -- the only splashes of color
come from the rotating display of local artwork. And when it's time
to order, executive chef Saul Roman, formerly of notable Latin Chicago
eateries like Adobo Grill and Salpicon, whips up the "contemporary-meets
classic-menu" of Mexican Tapas.
"The menu is broken down into 4 sections…antohitos which loosely
translates into starters or appetizers…ceviches and sea food cocktails…casuelas…they're
served in terra cotta earth ware bowls…and then not to be forgotten
we feature some great entrees…the carne pastor...It's adobo marinated
pork tenderloin served over a creamy tomatillo sauce and then it's
accompanied with Serrano pineapple relish, grilled onions and grilled
pineapple," said Edgar.
Flaming cheese is typically found in Greektown, right? Well here
at Zocalo quseo flameado or flaming cheese is one of their specialty
appetizers.
"It's our take on Greek saganaki. It's panela cheese which has
a consistency similar to mozzarella and it's marinated in olive
oil and spices," said Edgar.
And after dinner you can come to the 50 foot long bar to enjoy
some tequila they have over 120 to choose from, they even have this
cute little flight of tequila.
The minute you walk in to De La Costa the drama begins with the
over the top décor, preparing you for an incredible dining experience.
The flamboyant mod-meets-baroque interior of this 1,200 square-foot
space is the creation of suhail, the man behind the décor at some
of Chicago's trendiest spots!
"It's supposed to look like at theatre, you're supposed to walk
in a feel like you're going to a show. The lighting is very sexy.
We keep it low, dim with a lot of candles. Every lighting fixture
is different a lot of draperies," said Reina Laws, De La Costa General
Manager.
De La Costa or "by the coast", is exactly where you'll find this
extravagant restaurant/lounge, with a posh solarium overlooking
the Chicago River! The colorful dining room boasts an adjoining
ceviche bar, so patrons can get a glimpse of the action! But the
real show stopper is the menu designed by celebrity chef Douglas
Rodriguez!
"He's the first person to take Latin food and cook it in a contemporary
way mixing French technique with Latin ingredients so we've got
a lot of fun different presentations that are a little bit different
than you night see in other restaurants," said Adam Schop, De La
Costa Chef.
The best part of the restaurant has got to be in the solarium
where you can get a private cabana with your own mixologist.
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