4 Suyos

We went here last night for my birthday and it was great. I'm surprised to not see more interest in this place given the quality of ingredients used and some unique menu items. While I'm not expert in Peruvian food, everything we had was clearly very fresh and well balanced. We had:

Beef hearts (terrific)
Mixed ceviche
Various empanadas
Marinated mussels
Paella
Aji de Gallina (unusual flavors, but I couldn't stop eating it)
Lamb stew
Lomo Saltado
Flan
Rice pudding
and of course, the traditional Peruvian dish, fettuccine with mushrooms. Ha.

Great price point, and byo pisco (or other booze). They mix pitchers of sours for $10 that are very very good. I didn't think the egg white froth would work in a pitcher context, but it did. Great evening, but we were the only party in there, so I encourage everyone to check it out.

4 Suyos
http://www.4suyos.com
2727 W. Fullerton
Chicago, IL 60647
773-278-6525

I don't understand the name. I thought suyos was the plural form of a possessive adjective. So, basically it means their's or your's. It must have another meaning, possibly peruvian in origin. Anyone?

I looked at the menu. I thought it was a little pricey compared to other nearby Peruvian options, but not so much that the food could not justify the cost, as long it is much better than those other places. If I lived nearby, I would definitely give it a shot. I love Anticuchos (beefhearts). Good ones would justify a special trip. I used to think Mi Rinconcito had good Anticuchos. I understand, though, that they are not really healthy for you, because of any fatty deposits that collected in the animals' hearts. I imagine those deposits are what makes them so tasty.

Suyo (or suyu) is Quechua for realm; the Incas viewed their empire as the union of four geographic and spiritual lands - Tawantinsuyu - and the society was ritually divided along ceque lines transiting the terrestrial and hierarchical empire, quartering (and sixteenthing, and so on) everything into a meaningful order. 4 Suyos is like naming a place Four Corners, Four Winds, Four Seasons, etc. - a union of everything. I'm happier to be eating my way through this culture than studying it these days. This place sounds great (and the pictured plates online look very nice as well).

We went and enjoyed it a lot. I'm not sure tilapia is the best fish for ceviche (in the mixed ceviche) but other than that, and the fact that our entrees came out before we had time to finish our appetizers, everything was quite good.

Santander: Thanks for the explanation of the name. I knew the meaning was much deeper than it first appeared. Being somewhat of a math geek, I especially appreciate symmetry of the pattern. I wish some of these places would subtitle their names in English, or offer an explanation for their choices. The fact that so much thought went into the name makes me think that the food may also receive special consideration. I think there are some Anticuchos in my near future,