Thursday evening, in crowded clubs and mariachi-music-blaring restaurants, the festive will find themselves slurping frozen, fruity margaritas and throwing back cheap shots of tequila of which they don’t know the name, let alone how long it was aged or whether it was distilled from 100 percent blue agave.
Such is Cinco de Mayo, the Americanized celebration of the Mexican army’s victory over the French nearly 150 years ago.
Every other day of the year, tequila can be tricky, perhaps in part because of its unfortunate reputation as Mexico’s party booze. It’s one of the oldest distilled spirits in North American history, yet tequila (and closely related mezcal and less common sotol) has only in the last few decades presented itself as a spirit fit for sipping, as well as starring in cocktails beyond the classic margarita.
With our massive population of Mexican expats and our championing of the 21st century cocktail movement, Chicago has latched onto the tequila trend like a worm to a maguey plant.
In the last two years alone, we’ve welcomed onto our dining scene the dirt-cheap, cash-only taco bar (Big Star), as well as corporate upscale dining with a Mexican accent (Mercadito), both of which have mastered tequila cocktails based in quality spirits. More recently, three new tequila bars have sprung up like so many cacti: Lincoln Park’s Taco Joint, a River North outpost of Moe’s Cantina and Boystown’s D.S. Tequila Co.
That last one, especially, presents what’s wrong with some of the newer venues boasting tequila by name, menu or both: Curious drinkers who walk into these places hoping to take their taste buds south of the border aren’t always going to be met with many options, or staff members who know their reposado from their anejo. D.S. Tequila Co., for example, currently stocks just one tequila, Tres Generaciones.
The venue’s original plan was to serve its own brand, D.S. Tequila, based in Guatemala (which, by the way, disqualifies calling the resulting spirit a true tequila, but I digress), but eight months in, there’s still no launch date, according to manager Dusty Carpenter.
Surely, customers must get confused, walking into the flagship outpost of a so-called tequila company that doesn’t yet sell its own tequila. Right?
“Some do, but not a lot,” Carpenter said. “We’re a tequila bar, but we’re not advertising that we carry 250 kinds of tequila or something.”
If the number of tequilas that appear on a given menu is meant to imply knowledge instilled in the staff selling them, then newly opened Moe’s Cantina River North has issues too. On a recent happy-hour visit to the bar, I asked my server for guidance navigating Moe’s two dozen tequilas. After replying, “I don’t really know much about tequila,” she handed me off to her colleague, to whom I posed the same simple request: I was interested in trying a tequila, but wasn’t sure which route to go.
His reply: “A lot of girls I know drink Milagro.”
I bit my tongue and tried a different approach: Which is your favorite? I asked.
“I personally don’t drink a lot of tequila,” he said, adding that it makes him “aggressive,” then proceeded to embarrass himself further: The more expensive the tequila, he said, the better it tastes. Moreover, he added with a flash of unnaturally white teeth, “Everybody loves shots of Patron!”
Needless to say, Moe’s Cantina doesn’t have quite the same depth of knowledge as, say, Mercadito, whose staff is frequently educated in person by a given tequila distillery’s ambassador.
“Most of my staff behind the bar, they’re educating themselves,” says Felipe Ospina, Mercadito’s general manager. “They’re hungry. They really want to learn more.”
Big Star’s Michael Rubel is another advocate for tequila education, even though his list is fairly small: about two dozen tequilas and half that number of mezcals (the bar’s primary focus is bourbon).
“I’ve always been opposed to encyclopedic menus for one reason,” Rubel says. “Anyone can buy any bottle out there.” Instead, he maintains a tightly edited list of boutique distilleries and trains his staff for about 25 hours in spirits alone before putting them on the floor.
“The only way to make people take it on themselves is to play off of their intelligence (and ask): What do you like about this?” Rubel says. “There’s no answer on which tequila is best. If you carry that many spirits, you better be able to distinguish between them.”
Perhaps the true test of a good tequila bar is one that has stood the test of time. Zocalo opened on a quiet street in the shadow of the Kennedy Expressway in 2006 and remains one of the most comprehensive tequila destinations in the city, with a menu of more than 130 tequilas (borderline encyclopedic, as Rubel would say), and a staff capable of navigating them. Earlier this year, the folks behind Zocalo opened Taco Joint, an aptly named incarnation with smaller plates, louder music and an equally educated staff.
Even older than Zocalo is Salud Tequila Lounge in Wicker Park, which opened in 2003 based on a San Francisco Mexican restaurant frequented by one of its owners. The concept was simple: good food, casual atmosphere and only pure, 100 percent agave tequilas, of which there are about 100 on the menu.
“I love to see the spirit growing (in popularity in Chicago), but I hope people don’t lose sight of the history and culture,” says Adam Geenen, Salud’s general manager, who has been at Salud since it opened.
When pressed to name-drop a Chicago tequila bar that has been around longer, he furrows his brow and finally suggests Frontera Grill, though it’s hardly a “bar.” The concept, Geenen admits, is still relatively new, despite the spirit’s history.
“It’s the oldest spirit in the Americas,” Geenen says. “I hope people aren’t just opening new places to capitalize on tequila’s popularity.”
Twitter @laurenviera
More tequila bars flowing into town
MAY 12: Cantina 46
will replace Salute wine bar as a Mexican cantina with classic fare to match, as well as tequila-based cocktails.
46 E. Superior St., 312-664-0100;
cantina46.com
JUNE: Masa Azul
will represent a transplanted version of Wilmette’s Latin-focused Depot Nuevo. Chef Alvaro Chavez, general manager Jason Lerner and wife Valerie Lerner will serve Southwestern cuisine paired with artisanal tequila, mezcal and soto, as well as creative cocktails.
2901 W. Diversey Ave.;
masaazul.com
JUNE OR JULY: Del Toro
is not to be confused with Wicker Park’s shuttered tapas spot; this Del Toro spawns from its neighboring, family-run F&R Liquors. Everardo and Andres Garcia’s upcoming restaurant will borrow from their parents’ liquor store’s selection, fleshing out a menu of 60-80 tequilas.
2133 S. Halsted St
.
Tequila territory
Big Star
A modest but well-edited list of tequilas and mezcals yields forward-thinking cocktails.
1531 N. Damen Ave., 773-680-7740; bigstarchicago.com
D.S. Tequila Co.
Frequented by Boystown scenesters, D.S. hopes to eventually boast house-branded tequila.
3352 N. Halsted St., 773-697-9127; dstequila.com
Mercadito:
A wait staff who have done their tequila, mezcal and sotol homework share their knowledge over excellent sit-down meals.
108 W. Kinzie St., 312-329-9555;
mercaditorestaurants.com
Moe’s Cantina River North
The scene is lively, but don’t expect an education with that shot.
155 W. Kinzie St., 312-245-2000;
moescantina.com
Salud Tequila Lounge
The oldest tequila spot in town has one of the smartest selections and remains an unpretentious destination.
1471 N. Milwaukee Ave., 773-235-5577;
saludlounge.com
Taco Joint
A casual taco-bar vibe is paired with a diverse offering of tequilas. Plus: Servers know their stuff.
1969 N. Halsted St., 312-951-2457; tacojoint.com
Zocalo
The hefty tequila menu is easy to navigate thanks to a passionate, well-versed staff.
358 W. Ontario St., 312-302-9977;
zocalochicago.com
