Chicago’s Best Mariscos Restaurants | Eater Chicago
"Just as Alejandro and Diana Guerra were preparing to return to their native Mexico, fate intervened with an opportunity they couldn’t resist — a chance to turn their dream of opening a restaurant into reality. Their restaurant is a slice of Mexico, decked out with straw umbrellas (palapas) reminiscent of the ones you’d find on beaches in Acapulco. While the restaurant’s food is inspired by Nayarit, there are nods to various regions of Mexico throughout the menu. Cooked in a spicy, mildly acidic sauce, the langoustines are a highlight. The menu has a playful side, too. Take the Rompecolchón, or ‘mattress breaker,’ a cheeky nod to the aphrodisiac powers of seafood that combines shrimp, octopus, and crab with onion and cilantro on a bed of rice. There’s also the Pellizcón (‘big pinch’), a plate of snow crab claws, and the Vuelve a la Vida (‘come back to life’) cocktail, a spicy, soupy mix of seafood — La Palapa’s version includes shrimp, octopus, oyster, crab, and scallops — one of Mexico’s most famous hangover cures. Other suprises include the charales — a thin, flat fish similar to smelt, usually eaten in tacos or by themselves with lime and salt that’s served here fried. If you time your visit right, you’ll catch the mariachi band that starts playing every Friday at 7 p.m." - Brenda Storch
