NT_061319

44 | June 13, 2019 | The Northbrook tower life & arts
northbrooktower.com
Mercado’s slow, rustic cooking speeds up attraction to new restaurant
Jason Addy
Contributing Editor
After decades in the Chicago
restaurant industry,
Richard Vallejo and chef
Yanni Sanchez teamed up
to launch Mercado Cocina
and Cantina in Glenview,
and it has been an instant
hit for the community.
Vallejo, co-owner and
operator of Mercado,
said he and Sanchez were
looking for a place in the
North Shore to start their
own modern Mexican
restaurant and considered
locations in Wilmette and
Evanston before landing at
2300 Lehigh Ave.
Having opened at the
end of April, Vallejo said
he “couldn’t be happier”
with the reception from
the community in the
restaurant’s first weeks.
“It seems like Glenview’s
been pretty thirsty
for something like this.
We’re getting great feedback.
... They’re happy
we’re here,” Vallejo said,
describing the restaurant’s
“chef-driven” concept as
a showcase of traditional
Mexican and global ingredients
that Sanchez fuses
using old-fashioned, rustic
Mexican and French
cooking techniques.
Sanchez and her team
at Mercado make all their
dishes using the freshest
ingredients possible, and
everything is made inhouse,
including the salt
mixes and juices for the
restaurant’s margaritas,
Vallejo said.
Sanchez also utilizes
rustic cooking techniques
that may take longer but
are worth the extra time,
Vallejo said.
“You can taste the depth
of flavor when you kind
of slow things down and
do them the right way. It
really develops the flavor
Mercado Cocina and Cantina’s Fabianita’s flautas ($10), which feature crispy
chipotle-potato-filled spring rolls, salsa verde, basil, mint, romaine, queso fresco
and creme fraiche, is quickly becoming a fan-favorite dish at the new Glenview
restaurant. Photos by Martin Carlino/22nd Century Media
and enhances the items,”
Vallejo said.
The inspiration behind
Mercado — “market” in
Spanish — comes from the
fresh ingredients and beautiful
colors often found in
markets throughout cities
across the world, Sanchez
said.
“When you want to
know about cultures, you
go to the markets,” Sanchez
said. “Market is
my muse. Market is my
inspiration.”
While Mercado offers
traditional Mexican
staples like tacos, burritos
and enchiladas, Vallejo
and Sanchez are proud to
be introducing local diners
to lesser-known regional
Mexican cuisines and
cooking techniques.
Vallejo highlighted Mercado’s
“Fabianita’s flautas,”
which are made with
chipotle-flavored potatoes
wrapped in a spring roll
wrapper and served on a
lettuce leaf. Flautas are
usually filled with meat
and cheese then wrapped
in a tortilla, but Sanchez is
recreating a technique she
learned when she was a
young girl in Toluca, Mexico,
according to Vallejo.
“That’s kind of the beauty
of this menu, how the
dishes evolved into what
they are. … Items that are
reminiscent to our chef’s
upbringing and dear to
her,” Vallejo said.
A group of 22nd Century
Media editors stopped
by Mercado to check out
Glenview’s newest restaurant
and sample some of
the items on the menu.
We started with several
drinks, including Mercado’s
classic margarita
and guava margarita. The
classic, “clean, refreshing”
margarita is the restaurant’s
top seller, but
the guava isn’t far behind,
Vallejo said.
The first dish out of the
kitchen was the guacamole
burrata ($15). The plate
features avocado mixed
with basil, jalapenos, pickled
onions and cherry tomatoes
and comes served
Mercado Cocina |
Cantina
2300 Lehigh Ave.,
Glenview
(847) 904-2386
restomercado.com
5-10 p.m.
Tuesday-Thursday
5-11 p.m.
Friday-Saturday
4-8 p.m. Sunday
with burrata cheese and
bread.
Next was the duck
bunuelos ($11), which are
crispy dumplings filled
with duck meat over an
Oaxacan mole negro and
topped with figs and queso
fresco.
Then came Fabianita’s
flautas ($10), a dish Vallejo
said has become one of the
restaurant’s most-ordered
appetizers.
After the flautas, Vallejo
served up a plate featuring
Mercado’s three taco
options. The plate of three
tacos ($10) included a
chicken al pastor taco with
The restaurant’s duck bunuelos ($11) features
dumplings filled with duck meat over an Oaxacan mole
negro and topped with figs and queso fresco.
Mercado’s guacamole burrata ($15) features avocado
mixed with basil, jalapenos, pickled onions and cherry
tomatoes, served with burrata cheese and bread.
Three of Mercado’s taco options — chicken al pastor,
chochinita pibil and crispy fish — are pictured.
grilled pineapple, pickled
rhubarb and guajillo
chilis; a chochinita pibil
taco with achiote-braised
pork and pickled onions;
and a crispy fish taco with
tilapia, chipotle aioli and
apple-fennel slaw.
Vallejo also served us
lamb barbacoa ($25), one
of Mercado’s house specialties.
The dish is served
with a slow-braised lamb
shank wrapped in a banana
leaf and served with lamb
jus and handmade tortillas.