Bocadillo Market - Chicago
Bocadillo means sandwich, and you can get such casual food -- and a good deal more -- at Bocadillo Market, all created with the very finest ingredients, many available in the accompanying market. As a result of the pandemic, many places that might have been simply restaurants are now restaurants *and* markets, where you can stop for dinner and then shop for breakfast or lunch the following day.
Starting with the bocadillos, the classic Spanish sandwiches, you can sink into Jamon Serrano, the famous ham from acorn-fed Spanish pigs, dressed with Mahon cheese, piquillo peppers and olives (from Spain, of course!).
A favorite is Smoked Lamb, which features the flavorful meat, Nora pepper aioli, fresh herbs, pickled green beans and carrots; the Spanish Chorizo has sobrasada (a raw, cured sausage from the Balearic Islands), goat cheese, avocado and... squash blossoms (didn't see that coming).
Shareable plates include one with the Serrano Ham (and if you haven't had this before, this is the plate you want to get); Spanish Pisto with duck egg, butternut squash, parsnip, sweet potato, apple and Manchego cheese, and Spanish Bean Stew with Serrano ham, saffron, chorizo, lima beans, bomba rice, spinach and morcilla (a traditional Spanish blood sausage).
Larger plates, suitable for two (or one very hungry person) include one of the stars of any Spanish food experience: paella. At Bocadillo Market, Cadiz Tuna and Squid Ink Paella is a perfect dish to bring the group together over a single meal, featuring tuna, clams, Cadiz sea salt, squid ink, saffron and sofrito (this traditional dish can take up to forty minutes to prepare, so if this is the dish you long for, you might want to put in your order it at the same time as you order your pre-dinner drinks).
Speaking of drinks, there's well-curated selection of red and white wine, and we recommend one of the Cavas: this sparkling white wine -- a kind of Spanish Champagne -- pairs well with almost everything, and there are a lot of flavors in any meal at Bocadillo Market.
