Chicago Eats

This was our third time living in Chicago in June, and admittedly we spent more time revisiting favorite restaurants than trying new ones. We did discover a new favorite: Robert’s Pizza and Dough Co. It had outdoor tables on the Ogden Slip - so much quieter than the River Walk - and offered pizza by the slice during happy hour. Chicago may be famous for deep dish pizza, but Robert’s was proof that there is terrific thin crust pizza in Chi-town. As an added bonus, Robert’s had more locals and fewer tourists.

The true standout in Chicago this month was our longtime favorite, Bar Sótano, the small basement speakeasy below Chef Rick Bayless’s flagship, Frontera Grill. There were two exciting new things at Bar Sótano this year:

1. Our favorite server, Sofia, had been promoted to manager. This was no surprise, as she is an outstanding server with many super-fan customers like us. Also, she had been attending college while working, and graduated on June 27th. We were honored to meet Sofia’s mom, who was visiting from Columbia for the auspicious occasion! We were so proud of Sofia, and we know she has a bright future ahead.

2. There was a new menu - a fat three-ring binder called The Sotano Bible, with detailed, witty, and often humorous descriptions of their 200 mezcals. How fun! Chef Rick was still educating American diners about Mexico - this time about mezcal and other agave drinks. We were happy to sip and learn. We tasted and loved several different mezcals, including Convite Pechuga (chicken breast was hung in the still) and 5 Sentidos Espadín con Chocolate (the perfect finale to a meal when we had no more room for dessert).

For the third June in a row, we were delighted by every dish dreamed up by Bar Sótano’s Chef Jackie Hernandez. There were a few noteworthy new shareables, including a pleasingly complex ancho chile dip. But my favorite new dish by far was her new jalapeño smash burger: juicy beef patties with crispy, caramelized edges, topped with tomatillo chicharrón salsa. For me, this was the ultimate comfort food. It was a late night item, but we asked nicely and were able to get smash burgers well before 9pm. One tasty smash burger and a side of perfectly crispy yucca fries made a supremely satisfying meal big enough for the two of us to share. You can watch Chef Jackie make a smash burger HERE.

Late Night Japapeño Smash Burger

Two crispy Slagel Farm dry-age beef patties smashed with jalapeños & onions, Samuel’s artisan Jack, tomatillo-chicharron salsa, cilantro crema

Ancho Chile Dip

Ancho chile, goat cheese, cream cheese, caramelized onions, fresh fig mostarda, salsa macha, pistachios, pumpkin seeds

One evening we indulged in the Bar Sótano Experience, which was the chef’s tasting menu with mezcal pairings. Words cannot adequately describe that fabulous meal, so I’ll just list the courses:

• Oyster Ceviche | Ranch water with Ojo de Santo

• Tlayuda with tuna, truffle, and cranberries | Passionfruit sparkler

• Taco Dorado with shrimp aguachile | Derrumbes Zacatecas mezcal

• Pescado Relleno with dry aged walleye | Fidencio Tepextate mezcal (wild agave that takes 20-40 years to grow)

• Carne Asada with roasted bone marrow and chapulín miso and yucca fries | Del Maguey Chichicapa mezcal

• Mango Chamoy Cheesecake | Mango chamoy flip

Oyster Ceviche

Tlayudita de Atún

Crispy Oaxacan tlayuda, truffle-seasoned Hawaiian bigeye tuna, Michoacan avocados, fruity salsa macha (chile de arbol & chiletepin, garlic, olive oil, peanuts & sesame, cranberries)

Taco Dorado

Crispy potato taco (tomato, onion, dried shrimp), shrimp aguachile (lime, cascabel & morita chiles, Worcestershire, burnt tortilla), red onion, cucumber, avocado

Pescado Relleno

Roasted dry-aged Lake Superior walleye, melted leeks and green garlic, pepita salsa verde, avocado mash

Carne Asada

Charcoal-grilled flank steak, yuca “frites,” bone marrow butter (chapulín miso), salsa taquera, roasted bone marrow

Mango Chamoy Cheesecake

ricotta-cream cheese cheesecake, Maria cookie crust, Mexican Honey Manila mangos, tangy-spicy chamoy, homemade pulparindo candies, Tajín

Our favorite dessert remained the same - the Chocolate Pecan Pie that has been on the menu at Frontera Grill since it opened in 1987. Sometimes I dream about this pie - the richness of the dark chocolate, the soft crunch of the pecans, the subtle coffee flavor of the Kahlúa cream. You can watch Chef Rick Bayless explain why this is a Mexican dessert HERE.