Watch out Chicago. A new restaurant has hit the scene and it is serving up my favorite foods: tacos and doughnuts. Más is a modern Mexican restaurant that just opened in Chicago's West Loop. The eatery specializes in bold flavors and new takes on old classics. I may have eaten so much that I walked a mile and a half home after dinner.
Our meal began with a refreshing watermelon margarita and a pair of guacamoles. I especially enjoyed the guacamole with tropical fruit, which is served with your choice of either house made vegetable chips or crudite. We tried both the vegetable chips and the crudite, and we loved these healthy alternatives to tortilla chips.
The menu at más features tacos, as well as crudos and meat entrees. We sampled both the doraditos de tinga (pictured above) and the rajas con queso tacos (pictured at the top of this post). The tacos are offered in servings of 3 or 4, and are right the right amount of food for dinner - or a shared appetizer. The doraditos de tinga are más's take on chicken tinga tacos, and are crispy shells filled with black bean truffle puree, chicken, crème fraiche and served with tomatillo salsa and goat cheese. The rajas con queso were outstanding. These smokey spicy tacos were filled with a goat cheese croquettes. We loved this creative take on a traditional dish.
The esquites is más's version of elotes, a typical Mexican street food. Instead of serving the corn on the cob, it is sliced off the cob and served in a small mason jar. A warm consomme is stirred into the roasted corn, peppers, and cheese. This is a sophisticated version of elotes that adds citrus, bell peppers, and poblano peppers to the dish.
Even though I was incredibly full, I couldn't resist the Donas. These scrumptious warm doughnuts are served with a trio of sauces: berry, a creamy caramel, and a mascarpone chocolate. This fun dessert is something I look forward to having again. The caramel sauce was especially memorable.
In a city with a wide variety of taco options, más adds something new to the scene. The atmosphere is sleek but still fun, and upscale without being stuffy. Be sure to order the rajas con queso, the esquites, and the donas, while we enjoyed our entire meal, those dishes were simply outstanding.
más is located at 800 West Washington Boulevard in Chicago's West Loop.
