Bar Takito offers Mexican fare with swagger
CHICAGO (WLS) -- The crowds have been pretty steady since Bar Takito opened in the West Loop a few months ago; the front door just a few feet from the Morgan Green Line stop. This sister restaurant to Takito Kitchen in Wicker Park has quite a bit more square feet, resulting in a menu with a bit more swagger.
"Get beyond just tacos, have some large share plates, have some influence from Central and South America as well as a bigger bar program," said Exec. Chef David Dworshak.
A shareable dish called mixiotes begins with an enormous pork shoulder, dry rubbed and then wrapped in banana leaves, left to slow-cook in the oven for hours, until it's incredibly tender.
"Then we crisp it up and add a chile sauce that has seven different types of chiles, along with garlic and pork stock, and then we serve that with a pickled vegetable salad with avocado, cilantro, and it comes with beer tortillas and some sesame as a garnish," said Dworshak.
Arepas are the go-to corn pancake in Colombia, and here, they get super-sized, made with Midwestern corn that's been frozen from the summer, as well as a sheep's milk cheese stuffed within. Mushrooms and pickled vegetables are sauteed, creating a pretty hearty vegetarian entree, or, if you choose, you can also add some pork or chicken.
"We have a couple different options you can garnish it with, you can go vegetarian-style, or you can get it with chorizo, or with chorizo and fried chicken," he said.
Now at the original Takito Kitchen on Division the bar is just a fraction of the space; they've only got about three different spirits - pisco, tequila and rum. But here, at the new Bar Takito, the selection is much more extensive as you can see behind me with about a dozen different cocktails on the list. Cheers to that.
The restaurant also has live music every Thursday night.
Bar Takito
201 N. Morgan St.
312-888-9485
