Tzuco in River North - Carlos Gaytán is back!

Carlos Gaytán was the chef at the now-closed Mexique in West Town. He recently opened Tzuco in River North, and based on my dinner there last night, it is every bit as terrific as Mexique was.

For background, I'll briefly quote from the article in Eater.com (click here for the full article):

Eater.com wrote: Gaytán, the first Mexican-born chef with a Michelin-starred restaurant, is once again blending French and Mexican techniques. Ownership described Tzuco as “Mexique on steroids.”

Gaytán has lofty aspirations for Tzuco. He said he wants it to be the best Mexican restaurant in the world, not just in America. It’s one of three of his restaurants opening at 720 N. State Street. A bakery that will serve breads and sandwiches, Panango, should open next month. Fine dining fans then have Tales of Carlos Gaytán to look forward to in November. It’s a 16-seat restaurant with a tasting menu.

Panango, the bakery, is now open. Tales of Carlos Gaytán is not yet open; staff at Tzuco said they haven't set an opening date but hope to open next month (December).

The dining room has all sorts of items mounted around the room:

Everything we had was outstanding. Some of the savory dishes were quite spicy; waitstaff can help steer you towards or away from these, depending on your personal preference.

The actual menu was similar to the one on the website; some of the descriptions have been expanded, and the descriptions here are from the actual menu.

Here's what we ate:

PULPO ENAMORADO - Guajillo oven roasted octopus, carrots, peas, potatoes, tuna aioli, dill

BEETS SALAD - Roasted red beets & yellow pickled beets, brie cheese fondue, radishes, toasted almonds

PESCADO ZARANDEADO - Skate wing, guajillo rub, orange fennel & brussel sprout salad, spicy tuonnato

COSTILLAS DE RES - Braised short ribs, parsnips puree, fennel, baby kale, orange supreme

PINGÜINO - Chocolate cake, chocolate mousse, vanilla cream, vanilla ice-cream

If you want to eat there, try to book well in advance, because their reservation book is rapidly filling up for the most desirable times.

This was a wonderful dinner, and I look forward to returning soon! ¡Olé! for Carlos Gaytán!

Tzuco
720 N. State St.
Chicago 60654
312-374-8995
tzuco.com

Had a very enjoyable meal here last pm with friends that live nearby. Standouts were the room itself, which I love the look of. Betting design awards to follow. The mussels are one of the few leftovers from the Mexique menu and were among my favorite dishes of the noche. Large and well cleaned w/saffron, chorizo, fennel and a hit of heavy cream and great bread to sop it up with. The ever present beet salad was hard to resist as I'm changing my diet a bit, but the cheese fondue sauce paired with it was absolutely on point. Could have drank a cup of it. Skate Wing Zarandeado reminded me of the old Tino's in PV.

Service did not equal the food. Here's a couple rules to be followed in any restaurant, let alone one you're going to spend some decent $ in: Do not drop food for next course w/o pre-bussing table. Looking @ it while it cools down while you go get your shit together and bring plates and cutlery 3 mins later is a buzzkill and all we did was talk about how lame a move that was in your absence, and not on par w/a place with aspirations of finer dining. The same with interrupting the conversation to tell us your favorite dishes. Bad move but at least he didn't tell us his name.

All in all, a beautifully designed room w/some really well done dishes. Waitstaff hopefully will rise to the level of the food, in which case Tzuco will deserve "sapinchebroso" accolades on every level.

Greatly enjoyed our first visit to (from?) Tzuco! We had reservations there for Easter brunch, which were canceled by the shutdown, so were glad to make dinner happen tonight. The ceviche and the pulpo were welcome seafood treats after a meaty Memorial Day weekend. Telephone ordering about an hour and a half before my desired pickup time was smooth and helpful. The online menu references wines are available but a list is not published, so when I asked if there were any Mexican wines on offer, I was informed of a rosé. The Malagón Grenache Rosé from the Guadalupe Valley turned out to be a delightful accompaniment. There is a table set up inside where bags are placed, or diners can call on arrival for curbside delivery. We highly recommend adding Tzuco to your carryout list, and look forward to experiencing the above mentioned "beautifully designed room" when safe for everyone.