SOL DE MEXICO

SOL DE MEXICO
773-482-2111
3018 North Cicero Avenue

A NEWSRADIO 780 WBBM RESTAURANT REVIEW BY SHERMAN KAPLAN
BROADCAST AUGUST  22, 2008

Sol de Mexico at 3018 North Cicero Avenue showcases its imagery clearly in the decor, while the menu points out in Spanish that everything from the kitchen is made with passion and love. 

That’s a rather bold statement, one which the dinner served us proved to be true. We began with a sample plate of appetizers including excellent chicken taquitos, delicious guacamole with peppery tingle, ceviche on tostados that left me wanting more, and creamy soft cheese stuffed quesadillas.

There are other selections listed as Mexican tapas, including grilled skirt steak with roasted tomato salsa and mashed potatoes, cheese filled tacos, and tamales with black mole and shredded pork.

Sol de Mexico is obviously aiming for the big leagues. Power hitter entrees back up the goal. My roasted duck breast would have been a showcase in almost any fine dining restaurant. With hardly a trace of fat, slices were in a red mole with a slightly bitter after taste. That’s not a bad thing, merely part of the complexity of this particular mole sauce.

As for seafood, we tasted shrimp and sea scallops in what the menu described as a mango sauce. In this case, more would have been better. The fruity taste was hardly evident.

There are nightly specials. Recently skate, a snow white meaty fish that flakes beautifully when properly prepared was on the short list. In this case it was a simple dish meant to showcase the fish itself with very little interference.

Vegetarians will find a marinated and roasted portobello mushroom in a crisp taco bowl with black beans and plaintain as part of background flavorings.

As for desserts, classics such as tres leche cake are served regularly, but for my pesos, the flan is not to be missed. It’s flavored with a slightly burnt caramel sauce, leaving a genuine sense memory.

Sol de Mexico specializes in a broad selection of first rate tequilas and the bar serves a pretty good margarita, too. Expect to spend about $70 a couple plus add ons. Sol de Mexico is at 3018 North Cicero Avenue and has a K/RATING  of  18/20.

AMBIANCE  3.5/4  
HOSPITALITY 5/5   
FOOD  9.5/11   
K/RATING  18/20.

Read more Sherman Kaplan Restaurant Reviews at wbbm780.com and  in North Shore Magazine