The Big Heat: Chicago’s Food & Drink Fifty 2014

We mentioned John Manion's inclusion in Newcity's recent Food & Drink Fifty list, but we thought we give the article a little real estate on our blog, because it's a pretty huge honor. Paul Kahan, Stephanie Izard, Bill Kim — we'll stop ourselves right there, because we were going to actually recite the entire list. Not only is this a compilation of some of the most influential gastronomic names in Chicago, it also represents the passion and drive in such a strong culinary scene — both nationally and internationally.  

Being included with these big kids makes us feel all warm and fuzzy, and of course makes us stop and admire the results of hard work and dedication. Here’s what the awesome folks at NewCity had to say about John: 

27. Chef John Manion’s South American-inspired menu at La Sirena Clandestina is as inventive as the colorful artist palettes on the streets throughout La Boca in Buenos Aires. His mantra here is “Latin and local,” with a hip patio and excellent pisco and cachaça cocktails to match. This spring, look for arroz con pato with fava and English peas and “as much duck as possible,” he says with a laugh. “Fortified stock, meat, innards—the nasty bits.” In true South American style, some dishes, like parrillada, remain under the radar or can be ordered for larger parties. “Always available, but you gotta know about them,” he kids.

Read the full article here.

Love, Scallops

In the words of our wise captain, John Manion, “White people love brunch, scallops and Wu-Tang.” But there’s another word association game we can play with Scallops: beauty, love. Scallops, might be so beloved because they’re one of the most romantic dishes out there. The iconic Botticelli image (pictured below, kids) depicts the goddess of love, Venus, riding a scallop shell onto shore after her birth into this world as the picture of perfection.

Like our friend, Botticelli, we admire the beauty in things such as scallops and ride ‘em straight to your plates. The best part about it? Spark up a conversation about the romance behind them and you’ve got yourself a first date ice breaker. Paired with savory pork, citrus, arugula, on a bed of carrot puree, this scallop dish serves up a perfect blend of romance and spark. Take a chance and try it out and maybe your date won’t wait three days to call you back.

Easter & Mother's Day Brunching

Right about now is when you should be reminded about two major brunching holidays rapidly approaching. We are, of course, talking about Easter and Mother’s Day. If you don’t celebrate either of those, then you won’t be caught in the brawl for solid reservations. Lucky you.

If you do fall into the large subset of the population required to plan a brunch that will satisfy both your foodie brother-in-law (he’d wouldn’t be caught dead Instagramming at a chain restaurant) and your picky father-in-law who has never met a Moon Over My Hammy he didn’t like, then this is a stressful moment in your year. 

Take a moment to peruse our brunch menu, or the photos below, where you’ll find our Latin Local take on breakfast, lunch and brunch favorites guaranteed to please you and your extended family. Pro tip: make a reservation to ensure that Grandma doesn’t have to spend even one extra minute on a waiting list.

Easter Brunch

Sunday, April 20

10am-4pm (closed for dinner service)

Mother’s Day Brunch

Sunday, May 11

10am-3:30pm

Roll that beautiful brunch footage: 

El Che

Rabanada

 

Breakfast Empanada

Okonomiyaki

Shrimp Baiano

Short Ribs: Get 'Em While They're Hot

You’re likely familiar with our new Short Rib preparation, many of you know it as Korean-style. But you may not know that this is a popular method of cooking short ribs in Argentina, known as Tira de Asado.  What that means is that we start with short ribs that are sliced thin and we don’t braise them.

If you had a checklists of tastes this dish hits, you’d be checking off a lot of boxes. Savory, salty, sweet, acidic, spicy. It’s all there, resulting in a plate so perfectly balanced.

Compared to the braised short ribs you see on every menu ever made everywhere, this perfect dish may seem ‘chewy’ or ‘fatty.’ That’s because they are. We, as diners, have made the bold move beyond the filet and the chicken breast, so it seems regressive to spend hours braising meats to make them more filet or breast-like.

Our Captain, John Manion, has a few choice words on this subject near and dear to him: meat. “Most of a cow is fatty and chewy, so if you’re looking for something different, you’re missing the [expletive] point.”

Icing: Still Trendy!

Remember 2010? What a year: Train gave us the classic tune, “Hey, Soul Sister” — and won themselves a (very deserved) Grammy — the groundbreaking, absolutely based-in-fact television show Ancient Aliens debuted on the History Channel, and many people on the CTA were reading The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

And while La Sirena Clandestina was just a twinkle in John Manion’s eye, a revolutionary game was going viral. That’s right, Icing, the popular drinking game in which certain individuals or groups of individuals are required to drink a bottle of Smirnoff Ice or any type of Smirnoff Malt Beverage was born.

2010, you gave us so much. How can we ever repay you?

By Icing some of the best bars and bartenders in the universe today. And we’ve got proof, above is a little video of one of our victims grateful gift recipients, Wade McElroy of Sportsman’s Club. Look for more installments on our icing habits. And make sure to open any suspicious packages in the meantime!

Pizza, Pizza!

Just when you thought you’d have to resort to your tired Hawaiian pizza order, Eater Chicago saves the day with their 2nd Annual Pizza Week coverage. Upping the ante, they enlisted our own John Manion to collaborate with Coalfire to create a seriously delicious pizza. It’s a partnership based in friendship. Or as John puts it, "The good men at Coalfire and ourselves have a long tradition of the old pizza-for-empanada trade," he explains. "I know for a fact that they chug chimichurri like it's a frosty-cold beer."

You’ve probably already decided to order their collaborative pie, but here’s the prep just to seal the deal:

Manion's pie is built on Coalfire's dough. He adds extra virgin olive oil, Coalfire's secret low-moisture mozzarella from the East Coast, and Neuske's smoked ham. After a stint in the 1300 degree coal-fired oven, it's finished a liberal dousing of La Sirena's chimichurri.

The El Diez is available from Coalfire all week, while supplies last!

Drink Away Your Winter Blues

When everything in sight is covered with a dirty mound of snow, we thought we’d offer you some eye candy of the booze variety. Feast your eyes on a few of the new cocktails gracing our good lookin’ menus: 

To Be Bitter and Twisted - barrel-aged cachaça, artichoke amaro, mint, cucumber, lemon

Dos Mil Diez - tequila blanco, muddled lime and cucumber, smoked black pepper, sea salt

Ousted by the Dutch - Peruvian pisco, Jamaican rum, pineapple gomme, fresh blood orange

Sugar Cane Alley - rhum agricole, amontillado sherry, maraschino, lemon, bitters

New Year, New Look

You may have caught Chef John Manion hinting at some aesthetic changes in Eater’s One Year In feature a few months back:

"We know who we are, and we need to strive to be better at what we do. For a minute there, when you open, you're just trying to keep your head above water. But now we've got a staff in place and we can do some more interesting things." 

Interesting things like new menus, images and all around ‘look.’ Well, our makeover — courtesy of design geniuses Nitewerk — is nearly complete (check out our cool new website!) and we’re ready for our big reveal.

A Sunday Asado

Our temperatures are climbing and it’s finally BBQ season! Or, Asado Season as we call it around the Mermaid Shack. Because while we in these here United States tend to use those three letters to speak to the cult of grilling meats, the South American tradition of gathering friends and neighbors together to grill a ton of meat is referred to as asado.

And asado can refer to the techniques of grilling or to the social event of having or attending such a barbecue. It can further be a traditional dish that is prepared on a grill, or parrilla.*

When we decided to host our own asado — indoors, because we're not totally insane — it was a no-brainer to turn to the man who knows everything upon everything about meat. If this was going to be a truly outstanding carnivorous celebration, why not call in the expert? Rob Levitt, of The Butcher & Larder, knows his way around every cut of meat you can imagine, so we knew we’d be turning one of the best, tastiest and meatiest menus in our history.

It’s worth stating the obvious again, folks: Things are going to get meaty. 

A Sunday Asado

La Sirena Clandestina + Butcher & Larder

Sunday, February 16

$80 per ticket, excludes tax and gratuity. Make reservations by phone 312.226.5300 or online!

*Coincidentally, you might note that one of our courses for Sunday’s Asado is parillada (pictured above). Isn’t language just fascinating? 

La Sirena Clandestina + Butcher & Larder Dinner

A Sunday Asado

La Sirena Clandestina + Butcher & Larder

Sunday, February 16

We’re teaming up our own John Manion, a man with a passion for grilling all things meat and Rob Levitt of Butcher & Larder, a man whose passion lies in selecting and supplying all things meat, and we can confidently say that things are going to get meaty. These guys are the kind of people that get incredibly stoked at the idea of carving and cooking up La Pryor beef (an amazing family farm in Ottawa, IL known for it’s incomparable product).

Join us on Sunday, February 16 for this month’s real sweetheart menu:

empanadas

ensalada

beef parillada

postre

$80 per ticket, excludes tax and gratuity. Make reservations by phone 312.226.5300 or online!

Where Do Chefs Eat?

The Barrington Courier-Review did a nice little roundup on where Chicago’s chefs eat a while back, but we were so honored by the recommendations, we couldn’t help but give it some blog real estate. We were stoked to see La Sirena Clandestina name checked by three different amazing chefs as a favorite spot for industry folks to grab a meal. We couldn’t be more honored that you’re into us, because we’re really into you. Thanks, guys!

Stephanie Izard, of Girl and the Goat and Little Goat fame, really digs our Empanadas, saying “Sometimes the simplest things, when done perfectly, are my favorite go-to’s. The empanadas are flaky, tasty and comforting.”

Our Empanadas are intertwined with a memorable evening for Chris Curren, Executive Chef of Homestead on the Roof, West Town Bakery & Diner and The Berkshire Room. He remembers choosing La Sirena Clandestina as the spot for his first meal out with his girlfriend after the birth of their son. He noticed that we’re “doing amazing things in that little space — great food, great drinks, great ambiance, great service. We ordered a bunch of food, including the empanadas. It was the best and most flavorful meal I’ve had all year. Everything had big flavors — the kind that punch you in the face with deliciousness.”

Carriage House’s Mark Steuer raved about our Pork Milanese: “I loved it because everything about it was perfectly executed. So often, the seasoning is off, or a sauce is too thick or thin, vegetables are over or under cooked… On John Manion’s Milanese, the pork was perfectly juicy, the breading was flavorful and crispy. The chanterelle mushroom ragoût had a lot of acid to it, which I love, and the creamy mustard sauce really brought it all together. It’s one of the best plates of food I can remember eating.”

When asked of his own favorite meal, John Manion passed the love right back to Carriage House, giving the Quail with Black Pepper Dumplings some high praise: “Most likely my favorite thing to eat in Chicago. If I eat at CH and don’t have it, I feel empty inside.”

Read the full story here.

Surf the Airwaves

Two of our main men sat down with “The Dinner Party” on WGN Radio. Pay particular attention to the first segment, when Elysabeth Alfano chats with John Manion and Justin Anderson.

Click here for the full program, or just pick a favorite quote from below!

On the Moqueca:

“Kissed with ginger.”

On La Sirena Clandestina’s philosophy:

“We wanted to be the kind of place you could go twice a week or once a month. And you could have an experience. Come in for lunch for an empanada or a sandwich, have some soup and a glass of wine in the afternoon. Or you could come in and blow it out: have a whole fish, some moqueca, have cocktails. And we have an outstanding natural wine selection. We never wanted to be exclusive...I always wanted to be a little more proletariat.”  

On cocktail trends:

“I think with the current trends, it’s going to continue with the classics. We do a lot of classics with our own spin on it: a Manhattan made with latin spirits or an Old Fashioned made with mezcal. A trend...having a small place that is fixed on one region or one particular way of making cocktails.”

On farm to table:

“To me, that’s not a cuisine. To me that’s how you cook. You buy the best ingredients and serve them to your customers.”