Lunch Is Served!

You already know we look good by candlelight, but now we’re giving you a chance to see us in full daylight. Our lunch service is in full swing and we’re ready for our closeups.

Now available only on our lunch menu, served Monday through Friday (11am-3pm): 

 Three Cheese Panini

 Grilled Chicken Thigh

 Grilled Shrimp Salad

Late lunch-er? Our bar menu is fully stocked with snacks and heartier items to tide you over from 3pm-5pm when our full dinner menu is available. Does your day start at 5pm? No judgement; We’ve got you. Our bar menu continues to please until 12:30am most nights.

Know nada 'bout empanadas?

The how-to-eat-an-empanada debate might not be as heated as say, the mayo versus Miracle Whip debate, or the splitting-the-Oreo-in-half versus eat-it-whole debate—but it’s certainly more hotly debated than whether it’s cool or not to eat your Snickers bar with a knife and fork. (It’s not cool, even if you’re in the UK.)

So how do you eat an empanada? Pick it up in your hands and go for it, or knife-and-fork it? The light, flaky pastry may feel fancy, but it’s classic street food. (Spanish or Portuguese street food, though? That is a heated debate. We stay out of it by making ours in the Buenos Aires style: baked, never fried.) That the fact it’s all tucked up in a handy pastry means it’s a food that’s meant to be eaten on-the-go. Cutlery enthusiasts: it’s true our menu gets its vibe from beachside vendors, but you just feel free to go ahead and use that silverware if that’s what makes you happy.

We don’t have a set empanada filling on our menu, because our chef/leader, John Manion, is more likely to buy whatever catches his fancy at the market that morning. (No joke—he once created a pop-up dinner menu that listed ‘Things That I Bought At The Market Today Empanadas’.) So, because John likes how food tastes (direct quote: "The older I get, the more simple I like things, the more direct I like flavors"), and we all know fresh food tastes best, we wrap those fresh ingredients in a flaky pastry and serve it up just for you. And really, at that point, do you even need to ask what our daily empanada filling is if you know that what’s inside the package is going to be the very best the market had to offer?

Need to see it to believe it? Just feel like watching John handle some dough? Check out this video that describes John’s empanada process:

Attention, Pitchfork-ers!

When you’re nearing death-level dehydration, your ears are craving conversation-level audio relief, and you’ve walked through your last hacky sack circle, you should make the quick trip over to La Sirena Clandestina for a restorative snack + daiquiri.

On foot? It’s less than a mile (only 2,000 steps) if haven’t danced your legs off while Solange was onstage. Here’s a handy graphic from our very advanced mapping program that’ll point you in the right direction: 

(Head East on Lake Street to Morgan and turn left)

Biking? Even better. I bet you didn’t know that we were located kitty-corner from the city’s finest bike parking lot. 

Cabbing it? Boy, you’re lazy. The good news is that all you have to do is tell your driver to take you straight to Fulton and Morgan.

Okonomiyaki

Okonomiyaki - Japanese pancake, asparagus, kewpie mayo, bean sprouts, green onions ($12)

Let’s talk about pancakes. If you’re looking for a regular pancake, we suggest you hit the corner diner or your mom’s kitchen. Maybe shake up some Bisquick. But if you’re ready for a pancake to take you to the next level, we’ll see you at brunch on Sunday.

For this very awesome un-pancake pancake, we look to Kim Dalton of Dodo. You may remember the days when Kim ran the kitchen at 954 W. Fulton, and brunch was a beloved ritual there. This dish is an updated-throwback to one of Kim’s signatures, okonomiyaki, and it’s our way of paying homage.

Here’s a little breakfast/lunch/Rosetta Stone for you: Okonomiyaki is derived from two Japanese words: okonomi (‘what you want’ or ‘what you like’) and yaki (‘grilled’ or ‘cooked.’) In this case, what you want/like is a pancake of egg, flour, and shredded veg, and then, as the name implies, we do indeed grill/cook it. Pile on some bean sprouts and green onions, slap on some Kewpie mayo and tonkatsu sauce, and there you go. It’s a pancake perfectly suited for the Mermaid Shack. (We’re not known for our sweet demeanors, so why would our pancakes be?)

A word on Kewpie mayo for those of you who don’t make a point of stocking your pantries with Japanese condiments: it’s made only with egg yolks (rather than whole eggs) and contains a blend of apple and malt vinegars. We stuffed our suitcases full of it so you didn’t have to.

And much like our homies at Daily Candy were hungry for seconds while still on their first course, so shall you. Be. Also hungry for seconds.  

A Whole (Lotta) Fish

If you could sum up La Sirena’s menu in one dish, it’d be the Whole Fish. It’s a dish that represents that ‘next to a beach somewhere’ feeling we love; it’s a dish inspired by northern Brazil; it’s what mermaids and the humans that love them eat... You get the idea. It’s basically that amazingly delicious meal you always imagine you’re going to eat while on vacation, but never really do.

While the fish itself changes depending on what’s freshest, the process is always the same: score, salt, flour, fry, top, eat. And a little bonus point: the flour we use is manioc, so this little fishy is totally gluten free. (Actually, it’s not really that ‘little.’ Depending on the size, this fish will serve 2-4 people.)

Our man Andy shows you how it’s done:

Los Inmortales de Chicago

hap·pen·ing

/ˈhapəniNG/

Noun

1. an event or occurrence.

2. any gathering of interest, from a pool hall meetup or a few young people jamming at a beer blast or fancy formal party.

3. a performance, event or situation meant to be considered art, usually as performance art.

‘A happening’ is a phrase we don’t use very much in 2013, but it’s one that perfectly describes the nights we host Los Inmortales de Chicago. We like to think of it as a weekly event, but this is the Mermaid Shack, and we’re usually on beach time. Certain Mondays (or, some uncertain Mondays) throughout the month,  Los Inmortales de Chicago (featuring Frank Orral as Dandy Jack and Gilles Aniorte-Tomassian, Christian Folz-pellon Larumbe, Sean Coffey) come together—with a fountain of special guests—and bring their gyspy-beach music-sound to our gypsy-beach-food-and-cocktail space. It’s an experience—a happening—that we want our customers to enjoy at least once in our relationship.

The Noble Daiquiri

On our cocktail menu under ‘Los Clasicos,’ you’ll find the noble daiquiri. Though frequently bastardized, any cocktail enthusiast will testify to the fact that La Sirena’s daiquiri is thoroughly classic. And by that, we mean Cubano, of course.

So in the Cuban style, we start out with quality rums (Dominican, in this case: Ron Matusalum Platinum and 5 Year) and fresh lime juice—then make a nod to the recipe’s hundred-year-old history by adding superfine sugar instead of regular ol’ simple syrup. Dry-shaking the superfine sugar with rum, lime and bitters (house and Angostura), creates a syrup à la minute. Add ice to the shaker and agitate it a few more times, then pour over crushed ice, and it’s a daiquiri true to its caribbean heritage.

Throughout the year we offer the option of adding seasonal preserves to the shaker; right now we’re offering strawberry.