Dorado Restaurant
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At DORADO RESTAURANT in Albany Park, chef Luis Perez applies the French bistro cooking techniques he learned under Jack Jones (as chef de cuisine at Jack’s American Blend and Bistro Marbuzet and sous-chef at Daniel J’s) to the Mexican food his mother cooked when he was growing up. Perez says he’s been “experimenting with different ways to combine ingredients.” His brief menu offers unique takes on Mexican favorites like roast pork (his version is a thick tenderloin, impossibly rosy and tender and served with a guajillo cream sauce) and red snapper a la Veracruz (he replaces the traditional tomato-and-onion sauce with a wonderful guava beurre blanc). The specials change daily; if you’re lucky Perez will bring back the crunchy almond-crusted trout laced with satiny coconut cream sauce and caramelized plantains, a lovely contrast of earthy and sweet. For dessert there’s one of the richest flans around and a moist, light tres leches cake. The typical entree is priced in the mid-teens, and the place is still BYO–consider bringing a light- to medium-bodied red wine (like a pinot noir from Burgundy or Oregon) or even a full-bodied white (like a Condrieu from the Rhone Valley or a Riesling from Wachau, Austria).
Rancho Luna en el Paseo, 2458 W. Division, 773-276-0057. Humboldt Park Cuban from the family that owns Rancho Luna on Peterson.
