Cuatro - latin/caribbean in near south side (longish)

A friend and I ate at Cuatro last night, I didn't see a thread about it, so I thought I'd add my 2¢.

We were there on a Tuesday night, and it was not very crowded, so I can imagine that the atmosphere and attitude of the room could change somewhat, but the room while feeling like it had the potential to be "clubby" (edgy?) was instead relaxed and comfortable, and the staff seemed genuinely happy to have us there.

Also, you'll have to bear with me, it wasn't until about halfway through the meal that I was like "hey this place is pretty good, too bad I don't have my notebook for LTH" - I promise I'll be better next time. fortunately they have their menu online so I'll crib from that to jog my memory.

The waitress was very knowledgeable about the specials, and the cocktails were pretty good (although my friend ordered the acerola - black cherry+rum - and they did not have the fixins for that, so she got the guayaba - guava+rum - instead) I had the 10 cane classic which our server warned me "was basically just rum, just so you know" but I wanted to try the 10 cane rum their drink menu was based around - not that I'm a rum aficionado, but it seemed like a good time and place to start. I followed that up (later) with the daiquiri (a "real" one - not a fruit smoothie with a touch of rum - my thanks go out to Alton for allowing me to defend my drink choice against the questioning glances of my guest by citing Hemmingway's appreciation for it) both were quite good (as was the sip of the guayaba I had) and large/strong enough to get the job done.

We shared the coctel vuelve a la vida - a seafood cocktail with tuna, squid, shrimp and octopus mixed in cocktail sauce with avocado. There was nothing spectacular about it, but the plantain chips served with it were pretty good, so we asked for some more ($2 for a plate full of chips - and well worth it). I also had soup - the crema de choclo - corn and potato chowder. I think this was my favorite part of my meal - the flavors were rich and complex, with the sweetness of the corn, the smokiness from the roasting, the starch from the potato surrounded by a rich, creamy base with just a bit of spice*. The flavors were layered fantastically, and when I shared the soup with my friend, I could watch her experience all of them. Good soup!

I had the double pork chop for my entree and sweet christ this was a slab of pig flesh. It was a good four inches deep (sorry, not having brought my notebook, I also forgot my tape measure - next time! next time!) but moist and tender throughout. The plantain mole it was served with was a good accent, but unremarkable from other mole I've had. The yuca cake was also simply inoffensive. The green beans were delicious - served bound in a bunch and stood on end, the thick sofrito sauce "plastered" to the outside of the bunch. The beans themselves were crisp, fresh and sweet, and the sofrito was a nice, spicy accent.

My guest had the special (which is of course not listed on the online menu) - something involving beef medallions or something (which were good) and a plantain/pork cake (which was not so good) and some corn (which was reportedly good - by the time I was to the sharing portion of the meal, it had been pretty well taken care of)

We forewent dessert (I gave up sweets for lent - next time!) and on our way out we ran into a favorite professor who remarked "there are few good restaurants on the south side, this is one of them!" I'd say all in all, I'd have to agree.

Cuatro
2030 south wabash avenue
chicago, illinois 60616

valet parking Wed-Sat

drink specials:
mondays - half-price on select wines by the bottle
wednesdays - 5 dollar caipirinhas
friday after work social - half price appetizers from 3 to 6 pm
sundays - 4 dollar forbidden fruit sangrias and 3 dollar beer, draft and bottles

*edit: I know people's tolerance and tastes for spiciness varies, so I wanted to add that I have a pretty high tolerance for spice, having worked at a place called Habanero for a couple years back in my youth, and I would rate the soup around a jalapeno level of spice, if that.

Mersmann,

Many thanks for writing up your visit to Cuatro. Amata and I have been wondering about it but haven't had a chance to visit it ourselves. From what you say, it sounds worth a trip.

Do you recall any more of the offerings on the menu?

TIA
Antonius

Acerola is not really a cherry. It's a semi-tropical fruit sometimes called Barbados cherry. Very popular in Brazil and, I'm sure other places. I had some nice ones in Orange County last year -- they were growing on an ornamental plant in the parking lot of my hotel, and I noticed the some of the Mexican staff loading up on them.

JeffB - That may explain why they did not have it on hand. On the menu it was called "barbados cherry juice" TMYK!

and Antonius - my memory is barely fit enough to remember what I had let alone what I did not have. Fortunately, they provide the menu on theri website here: http://www.cuatro-chicago.com/menu-dinner.htm there was also an appetizer, entree and dessert special.

the acerola is back in stock, had a 10 cane acerola martini on friday and I must say it was pretty good. not something I would normally drink, but I was so intrigued since the acerola got so much attention in this thread! I normally get the white ruby (10 cane rum, sugar cane juice, squirt soda & muddled ruby red grapefruit served up) or the guayaba (10 cane rum, guava juice, sugar cane juice). I'm making it a point to try a different drink every time I dine at cuatro.

I'll report more about my take on the food/atmosphere later... gotta get back to work!!

My wife and I ended up dining at Cuatro mostly by chance a few Friday's ago when we were bereft of child (visiting Grandma's).

I had remembered hearing about it opening, was in the mood for something different, etc.

Table was available, although a high table intended for the bar?

The staff were very friendly, the waitress very enthusiastic about the food. I had a shrimp dish that was good. My wife had a good piece of chicken with this amazing, tamal-like mush.

The dessert I had blew me away. Bananas sauteed in sherry, stuff in crepes, dressed with caramel and topped with homemade pistachio ice cream. Magnifico!

I second the take on the ambience of the place. It seems very hip and clubby, but a few minutes there and it seems merely chic, beautiful and comfortable. I imagine this is what a nice Miami-area restaurant is like, only with a nice Midwestern crowd. Significantly, the crowd was one of the most diverse I have seen at a more upscale Chicago restaurant.

I agree that it is a very diverse crowd. The last time we were there we went with some friends who have an 18 month old daughter. We called ahead to let them know and they could not have been more accommodating. I was surprised that it was such a child-friendly place. The blood orange margaritas aren't bad, either.

If you're interested in acerola, the Brazilian market Brazil Legal on Western Avenue stocks a concentrated acerola juice that really like mixed with freshly squeezed orange juice.

I've never been successful in finding the berries or their frozen pulp in Chicago.

When in Rio, my favorite juice combo is the fresh acerola and mango or orange.

I imagine this is what a nice Miami-area restaurant is like, only with a nice Midwestern crowd. Significantly, the crowd was one of the most diverse I have seen at a more upscale Chicago restaurant.

Very apt, and the diversity of the clientele also reflects the ambience of its South Loop neighborhood, which in the eyes of this ex-Hyde Parker has a remarkably diverse citizenry.

Also, I think cuatro ranks very high on the short ribs sweepstakes, the braised kind anyway, served with rice and an avocado salsa. (They were also offering grilled Kobe beef short ribs the other night as a special, but when my server asked how I wanted them, I deferred to the menu version. Kobe beef or not, I just don't see rare short ribs, altho I could be wrong about this.)

Kudos, too, to the porkchops, moist through and through--quite a feat for chops of that thickness, an accomplishment that I've rarely encountered in a restaurant and managed at home not at all.

We've been about 5 times as it is in walking distance. I like the ceviche de salmon y callos much better than the coctel vuelve a la vida. The latter is too sweet for me, the ceviche has a little hint of sweet from the tamarind but has enough acid to balance. My favorite starter is the ensalata de xuxu - grilled chayote squash and the salty fried cheese with the bitter orange are a great combo. I think my favorite entree there is the trucha amazonas - a rock shrimp/?cornmeal stuffed trout on top of swiss chard and bacon - the veggies can be a little too salty some days. They offered a great special lamb chops about a month ago but I can't recall details - just that it was tasty. I totally agree about the pistachio praline ice cream -delicious. I just get it by itself - $4 - yum!

Excuse the ignorance behind this question, but I'm assuming that it's possible to dine well at Cuatro without getting anything spicy. Am I right about that?

riddlemay:
Yes, they have plenty of non-spicy options.

Thanks!

I went, and it was good.

As much as I liked the food when a friend and I first stopped by, I have never been rushed through a meal so quickly in my life. Yes, we had a reservation - and even with drinks, an appetizer, entrees, and dessert, the waitstaff practically threw us out after 45-50 minutes.

I can't speak for dinner at Cuatro, but I recently had a pleasant brunch there with two friends.

I had great chilaquiles and heard wonderful things about the stuffed french toast from another friend. My other friend, however, later said that she had a "nightmare" about the tropical pancakes she ordered. They didn't look that bad, but I didn't ask for any details.

With the bossa nova music and whatnot, though, it was a nice overall experience.

The Trib recently included Cuatro in their ultimate brunch guide under the "live music" section:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/dining/chi-0426_b_musicapr26,0,4064723.story

That Guy on the L wrote:As much as I liked the food when a friend and I first stopped by, I have never been rushed through a meal so quickly in my life. Yes, we had a reservation - and even with drinks, an appetizer, entrees, and dessert, the waitstaff practically threw us out after 45-50 minutes.

That was totally not our experience. Our waiter (who was excellent) seemed happily content to let us go at our own pace, yet he was always there when we needed him. Another nice thing: One of our party of four was a little late, but there was no nonsense at the desk about "not seating us until our party was complete." The hostess was pleased to seat us whenever we were ready. All in all we felt welcomed and well-treated from beginning to end, and that we were the ones in charge of determining the pace of the meal, which is how it should be.

Drinks and food were delicious. I had two coquinhos (when I ordered the first one, the waiter said I was going to love it, it was like a fresh pinacolada, and he was right.) The bar seems to pride itself on the quality of ingredients used, and the pride is justifiable. I enjoyed my appetizer of the seafood cocktail, and the lamb loin special I had was delightfully "lamby." On the strength of rdb66's recommendation above, I had the crepas de guineitos for dessert, and they were as spectacular as rdb66 said.

Echoing another of rdb66's comments (but being more explicit than rdb66 dared), I'll say that it felt really nice to see so many black Chicagoans there. I know this sounds patronizing, and there's no way around me sounding that way with this observation I guess, but in restaurants of Cuatro's caliber anywhere north of Madison St., you tend to see white people. We all know how common it is (so common we take it for granted and never even think about it) to see only white people in restaurants all over the north and northwest sides and suburbs. I guess there's no reason I should have found it pleasing at Cuatro to be part of a more racially (if not economically) representive cross-section of Chicago, but I did. It felt relaxed and natural.

riddlemay wrote:I guess there's no reason I should have found it pleasing at Cuatro to be part of a more racially (if not economically) representive cross-section of Chicago, but I did. It felt relaxed and natural.

riddlemay:

I don't think you sound all that patronizing, and, personally, I understand the reason you found it pleasing.

Once at Moody's in Edgewater I had a moment when I realized that I was in the absolute most integrated restaurant experience ever. Beyond black and white, and more notably, integrated tables. I was pleased.

germuska wrote:

riddlemay wrote:I guess there's no reason I should have found it pleasing at Cuatro to be part of a more racially (if not economically) representive cross-section of Chicago, but I did. It felt relaxed and natural.

riddlemay:

I don't think you sound all that patronizing, and, personally, I understand the reason you found it pleasing.

Once at Moody's in Edgewater I had a moment when I realized that I was in the absolute most integrated restaurant experience ever. Beyond black and white, and more notably, integrated tables. I was pleased.

It's a shame that racial diversity in a restaurant or bar should be such a notable rarity, but sadly that's the state of much of urban America (Chicago included, of course). Having said that, I appreciated it all over the South Loop (particularly at M Lounge on Wabash, which I hope is continuing to do well now that I'm no longer living in Chicago )

I was thrilled to connect with Cuatro for Sunday brunch and find it going strong with a still-beautiful room (the French walls flung open for the Indian Summer morn), bossa nova, friendly and diverse crowd, and a few new-to-me drinks and menu items at very good price points. I enjoyed a gargantuan Cuban medianoche sandwich with press-grilled bread, serious roast pork, crispy smoked ham, a tangy Cuban-style Gouda (which I think the server called "matanza"), and a very rich and spicy mustard aioli for $7. It came paired with a generous bowl of sweet jicama slaw, but I also ordered the $6 hearts of palm salad, which came ceviche-style with three large and very good shrimp and a sweet pineapple dressing. Other hits around the table were the tropical pancakes, chilaquiles with rib-eye (perfectly medium rare and a generous portion at that), and a chorizo omelette. Drinks were great as always, and whereas their regular bar list starts at $10, they have brunch cocktails hovering closer to $6, including a cachaca bloody mary with house-made fire-roasted tomato puree and a passionfruit mimosa.

I haven't been there in over a year; I'll be going back soon for the lentil and sausage stew when it gets colder. I'm glad to have returned (and not to have felt the slightest guilt about eating somewhere other than Lao Sze Chuan in that vicinity, which also needs a return visit very soon).

Just a note that Cuatro has lost their liquor license. Hopefully this is just temporary, but in Chicago who knows? I was told that they had submitted their paperwork late.

As for the meal, I agree with the previous poster (some years ago) who commented how rushed they were. So were we. Even when the plates were not clean, the staff rushed in to sweep up the plates. And the restaurant was not even crowded.

The food was pretty good - the empanadas particularly. I didn't care for the sorbet (the white sangria and guava were so-so, but the coconut was good). The salad was tasty, but had too much dressing. Still, it is a nice southside restaurant, although all-in-all, I would rather select a Mexican GNR, such as Casa de Samuel.

As reported earlier this week, RIP. Sounds like 2010 had a rough start, but it was still delighting me and guests late last year for brunch or late night cocktails.

Does anyone know any places similar to cuatro? I'm sad that it's gone, it was a great place for sunday brunch!