Inside Lincoln Park’s Old Pueblo Cantina | Eater Chicago

"A new regional Mexican restaurant and bar in Lincoln Park serving Sonoran-style dishes from executive chef Miguel Ortiz. The dinner menu showcases five varieties of cheese crisps (Sonoran quesadillas) — examples include shrimp-and-pineapple with Fresno chili, cilantro and pickled red onion, and spicy chorizo with escabeche and lime crema — plus taco platters on house-made flour tortillas (with soft or crispy corn tortillas also available), such as a crispy red snapper taco with cucumber-pineapple salsa and cilantro yogurt. Many entrées are grilled over mesquite charcoal, including pollo asado with roasted corn, avocado and mole poblano; chili-lime shrimp skewers with chimichurri butter; and skirt-steak carne asada with charred onion and salsa verde; the menu also offers burritos, chimichangas, two takes on chile relleno and a kids’ menu. The drink program features five margarita variations by glass or pitcher (including a frozen classic, a cucumber-jalapeño Lobo Loco and a passionfruit-raspberry Sonoran Sunrise), cocktails like a mezcal-forward El Roadrunner and rosé sangria, and an extensive agave spirits list. The 120-seat space, designed by the in-house director of hospitality, blends exposed brick, wood furnishings, hand-painted tiles and bright Mexican decor and is marked by a colorful desert-sunrise mural on the building; it is operated by Ballyhoo Hospitality (the group behind Gemini and Walton Street Kitchen) and is open evenings daily with extended hours on weekends." - Naomi Waxman