While Cariño in Chicago has only been open a little more than a year, the contemporary Latin-inspired restaurant has already earned a slew of accolades, including a MICHELIN Star, a Banchet Best New Restaurant award, and a James Beard semifinalist nod. And that’s on top of the rave reviews it’s received, including three-and-a-half stars from Chicago Tribune.
It’s all the more sweet given the dream to make Cariño a reality has been years in the making. Executive chef Norman Fenton fell in love with Mexico during a nine-month road trip. In the years that followed, he immersed himself in the country’s cuisines, learning traditional cooking techniques and taking over the kitchen at WILD Tulum. That’s where he met entrepreneur Karen Young and the two became partners on the beach resort restaurant as well as Cariño.
You’ll see Fenton’s knowledge of Mexico’s culinary diversity all over the multi-course tasting menu and the late-night taco omakase at the Chicago restaurant. “For everything we put on the menu, there’s a story and inspiration behind it,” says Fenton, who divides his time between Chicago and Cancún, where his wife and children live. “It’s important to hold on to those traditions and showcase them.”
The restaurant’s housemade masa is what ties everything together, a central component of the magic that happens everyday at the restaurant.
Read on for what to expect at Cariño in Chicago, and reserve your spot on OpenTable.
Starting at the source
You can’t miss the masa while at Cariño—you’ll find it in the tortillas, tostadas, tetelas, and more. Fenton sources a variety of ancient heirloom corn from Mexico and nixtamalizes it at the restaurant.
The following day, the fresh masa is ground on a molinito or masa grinder and shaped using a tortilla press imported from Oaxaca. A handmade clay comal is used to cook the tortillas, which you can watch being made as the chefs make it to order in the open kitchen. “It’s important to us that we are being as traditional as possible within the terms of our concept,” Fenton says.
Two dishes at Cariño really showcase the effort that goes behind the housemade masa.
Next-level quesadilla
Like many of the other 13 or so dishes on Cariño’s tasting menu, the truffle quesadilla is much more than it seems. “It’s a very simple dish but the flavors are complex and balanced,” Fenton says. “Presenting a familiar dish in a very unfamiliar way is something we do here in general.”
Fenton sources blue corn from Mexico for the tortilla. Its bittersweet earthiness complements the mild flavor of the queso Oaxaca. More earthiness comes from seasonal mushrooms—morels, chanterelles, and hedgehogs have all made appearances—that are combined with a truffle bechamel and placed inside the darkly hued tortilla. Fenton’s team garnishes it with a black garlic aioli, pumpernickel crumble, and a dusting of shaved truffles.
“Mushroom quesadillas aren’t uncommon in central Mexico where they have beautiful mushrooms growing in the mountain regions,” Fenton says. “Our quesadilla has a twist to it, which elevates the experience.”
A Mexico City staple becomes a late-night Chicago favorite
Cariño’s seven counter seats become coveted real estate when the restaurant morphs into a taco omakase after 10 pm. “Our taco omakase was created to give people a different outlet to experience us at a more budget value price point and to showcase our in-house masa program,” Fenton says.
Tacos change often, but the taco suadero has become a mainstay. This Mexico City staple is named for the thin cut of beef they’re made with. Fenton imports meat from Mexico that is confited in its own fat at the restaurant and then placed in supple tortillas made with bright yellow tuxpeño corn from Chiapas in Mexico. It’s finished with a raw salsa verde, crisp onions, and chopped cilantro. “That dish brings all the classic and super authentic flavors of this region in Mexico to this little counter in Uptown Chicago,” Fenton says.
Lisa Shames is a writer focused on travel and food culture in Chicago, IL. She has covered Chicago’s restaurant scene for publications including Eater Chicago, CS, Chicago Tribune, and Time Out and is the US contributor for Sogoodmag.
