Sunday, April 10, 2016

Publico

We tried Mike Randolph's latin-inspired restaurant in the Loop.  Ever since the James Beard nomination came out, reservations are hard to get.  We could either go at 5:30 or 9:30.  Luckily a spot opened up at 6:15 and we took it.

They have a fun drink list but the champagne cocktail I ordered was overkill with the Campari and I could only take two sips before I cast it aside.

The plates are small, so they recommend ordering a bunch of dishes.  There were three of us and most things came in twos, so we had to get creative with the splitting.

We tried the sweetbreads (it's animal pancreas...not bread that is sweet), the Guacamole Arepas (leaven corn pancakes with guacamole, queso and salsa), three of the tacos (fish, carnitas and barbacoa), and the pork ribs (cooked over an open flame).


All of the tacos were blah - didn't come close to Mission Taco.  The pork ribs were decent.  But the real scene stealer was the guacamole.  Luckily we were told ahead of time to order two for the table, because I could've eaten the entire dish myself.  


I would go back to sit at the bar, get a (different) drink, and order the guacamole as a light meal.