Cafe Monsivais offering more than usual tacos, carnitas
CHICAGO (WLS) -- Blink and you'll miss Cafe Monsivais as you drive down 18th Street. The Pilsen storefront has the smallest sign, but it's trying to break out of the all-Mexican mold.
"Met a lot of great people who've taught me to do a lot of different styles of food and I want to incorporate all of that into this menu, and to let people have something different," said chef and owner Katie Schlick.
Her kale salad is part of that plan: strawberries, pickled beets and goat cheese all dressed in a pumpkin seed vinaigrette, topped off with even more pumpkin seeds.
"The pumpkin seeds add a nice richness but yet it's not drowned in some kind of ranch dressing which I'm trying to stay away from," she said.
There is obviously a Mexican nod to the neighborhood though - whether it's the chicken-and-raisin tamale with guajillo and ancho chiles, housed in chile-flavored masa, or her mammoth chicken mole sandwich, the inky-black mole in this case made from scratch.
"And it's actually a Mexico City sandwich that my friend Lettie did for a party once and I'm like 'wow, this is amazing,'" said Schlick.
She also experiments with things like salmon and preserved fruit, serving a bitter chocolate sauce alongside.
"Salmon is a fleshier, sort of fattier fish and I thought the crispy kale would be cool and also the mango conserva adds a lovely sweetness and it's also very seasonal," she said.
So don't just think of 18th Street as full of taquerias and carnitas joints. Caf Monsivais is trying to prove there is so much more, including the occasional kale salad. And when you come in, try this carbonated coffee drink called "Bubbly Creek," courtesy of Bridgeport Coffee. It is really unique and quite delicious.
If you're feeling like regular, brewed coffee, there's a great Bow Truss Coffee Shop right next door.
Cafe Monsivais
1637 W. 18th St.
(312) 772-8075
