A
restaurant space on Damen once housed the ultra-chic MOD, but a Spanish
bull charged through in November and del Toro was born.
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In creating a more casual, festive atmosphere, restaurateur Terry
Alexander brought in a new partner -- Chris Dexter -- known for
nightlife ventures such as Elm St. Liquors in the Gold Coast.
"We've been in this neighborhood for a long, long time with other
restaurants and bars but for our location here, it was 2004, 2005
and we felt the neighborhood had made a complete change and we felt
this location needed a new idea or new identity," said Terry Alexander,
co-owner del Toro.
"I would describe del Toro as a more progressive take on the ubiquitous
tapas experience. I would say that it's casual fun. There's nothing
too formal about it, but it has high design sensibilities and has
great quality food, great presentation. Chef Andrew does and amazing
job embracing the Spanish lifestyle," said Chris Dexter, co-owner
del Toro.
While Chef Andrew Zimmerman worked for more than a year at MOD,
an inspirational trip to Barcelona was all he needed to make the
Spanish switch.
"I went to Barcelona and ate literally five times a day in as
many small tapas bars and sort of modern tapas restaurant concepts
as I could while I was there," said Andrew Zimmerman, chef at del
Toro.
"He came back with so many great ideas and we did tastings for
months before and just to see once again his ideas develop slowly
into what we see on menu. It's been a great experience for all of
us," said Terry Alexander
The dining experience may include cold plates, such as terrine
of braised octopus or hot plates like this dish of lentils and Spanish
sausage.
Fitting del Toro's playful atmosphere, tapas allow both diner
and chef to break some stodgy, culinary rules.
"You're also freed up from the protein, vegetable, starch, sauce
entrée theory where you have to have all those components or it's
not really an entrée. Here we can have something as simple as a
piece of meat and a really nice sauce that with it and you can enjoy
that for what it is cause you're going to have a vegetable on another
plate or a starch preparation on another plate so throughout the
course of eating you're going to get a lot more varied flavors and
tastes. It just seems a lot more interesting to me," said Andrew
Zimmerman.
With all the clubs in Wicker Park, del Toro can be a place to
grab a bite before a concert or night of dancing. Or to really get
in the Spanish spirit -- del Toro is open until the wee hours on
weekends, so you can just keep the tapas coming and coming.
For more information:
del Toro
1520 North Damen Avenue
Chicago, IL 60622
(773) 252-1500
