NT_062019

northbrooktower.com dining out
the northbrook tower | June 20, 2019 | 37
Wilmette’s Pescadero ‘firing on all cylinders’ since opening
Erin Yarnall
Contributing Editor
Finding a table at Pescadero
shortly after the
restaurant opens at 5 p.m.
on weekdays may seem
like a daunting task.
But for owners Mike
Chookaszian and Nick
Hynes, and chef Matthew
Fitzgibbons, that’s not a
problem.
“We’ve been firing on
all cylinders since day
one,” Fitzgibbons said.
Pescadero Seafood
& Oyster Bar is Chookaszian
and Hynes’ second
venture in Wilmette
after opening Napolita
Pizzeria & Wine Bar more
than three years ago.
“We always had the
idea to open an oyster
bar and a fresh seafood
restaurant,” Chookaszian
said. “There were places
we loved in the city, and
there was really nothing
in [Wilmette]. We felt like
there was a real need for it
in the North Shore.”
They initially took inspiration
from restaurants
on the East Coast and in
New Orleans, but said after
they hired Fitzgibbons
as chef, he “put his own
flair on things.”
“We’re not really pigeonholed
in terms of an
actual style,” Hynes said.
Pescadero opened April
18 and Fitzgibbons said
the restaurant is busy
every single night.
“We open at 3 p.m. for
happy hour and we serve
food at 5 p.m.,” Fitzgibbons
said. “We’re usually
full by 4 p.m. and we’re
usually a one-hour wait
every single day.”
Last week, a group of
22nd Century Media editors
stopped by the new
Wilmette spot to sample
some of the menu items
that chef Fitzgibbons and
Pescadero Seafood &
Oyster Bar
1167 Wilmette Ave.,
Wilmette
(224) 215-3011
3-10 p.m.
Monday-Wednesday
3-10:30 p.m. Thursday
3-11 p.m.
Friday-Saturday
3-9:30 p.m. Sunday
his team created for us.
First off were the brussels
chips, one of the restaurant’s
most popular
items. Fitzgibbons used to
order his brussels sprouts
from Mexico, where they
were $30 a case, but after
recent tariffs, they now
cost $90 a case to ship
from other states in the
United States.
“I think a lot of people
stopped using brussels
sprouts about four or five
weeks ago because the
price went from $30 to
$90 a case,” Fitzgibbons
said.
But he still finds it worth
it to make the restaurant’s
popular appetizer. Pescadero’s
brussels chips
are served with flashfried
leaves, served with
green onions and toasted
almonds, all topped with
a garlic honey balsamic
drizzle.
We also sampled the
restaurant’s seafood
skewers ($18) — skewers
filled with jump Gulf
shrimp and sea scallops,
alongside a charred asparagus
salad and topped
with a chili lime honey
drizzle.
Sea scallops are also
served off-skewer, in
the restaurant’s jumbo
sea scallop ($32) entree,
served with a sweet corn
risotto and topped with a
sun-dried tomato butter.
Fitzgibbons also
brought out Pescadero’s
The mussel frites ($18) at Wilmette’s Pescadero are one pound of Prince Edward Island mussels in a Flying Dog
oyster stout broth with shallots, garlic and Parmesan fries. Photos by Michael Wojtychiw/22nd Century Media
Jumbo sea scallops ($32) are served in a sun-dried
tomato butter and topped off with a sweet corn risotto.
mussel frites ($19), consisting
of a bowl of one
pound of Prince Edward
Island mussels with shallots
and garlic, all soaking
in Flying Dog oyster stout
broth. Fries, of course, are
served on the side, topped
with Parmesan.
Oysters ($1.50 per oyster), served chilled with lemon,
hot sauce and a variety of other sauces, are one of two
specials during a daily happy hour.
To highlight the other
part of Pescadero Seafood
& Oyster Bar’s name,
Fitzgibbons brought us
out some baked oysters
— oysters in their shell,
topped with spinach, artichoke
and peppered
smoked bacon with a Parmesan
stuffing.
In addition to its baked
oysters, Pescadero is
known for its raw oyster
bar. We sampled some of
the restaurant’s oysters
($1.50 each during happy
hour), served with hot
sauce and lemon. While
the restaurant doesn’t begin
serving food off of its
menu until 5 p.m., oysters
are available every day at
3 p.m., when the restaurant
opens, as part of its
happy-hour offerings.