Costera Cocina Tulum - Chicago
Costera Cocina Tulum, as the name implies, is coastal cooking in the style of Tulum, a city on Mexico's Yucatan peninsula. What that means is that you should expect a lot of vibrant south of the border flavors...and a lot of seafood.
Costera Cocina Tulum is offering Chicagoans a chance to go to dinner in a place that feels like a tropical vacationland. Brad Parker, owner, told Eater Chicago that he wants people who walk into his 243-seat space to feel like they’re “entering a beach club in the jungle.”
So what might you be eating in a beach club in the jungle"? Seafood and fish, for sure, with a lot of spicy Mexican energy. Whatever you're having for your main course at Costera Cocina Tulum, it's a good idea to kick off your meal with gifts from the sea, like prawns, octopus, tuna tartare or oysters (from East and West Coasts). Because this is fundamentally a Mexican restaurant, you can get tacos (natch!) but these tacos are going to be filled with lobster, shrimp, or fish carnitas (carnitas-style braised white fish, avocado puree, onion, cilantro, carrot-slaw, and tamarind vinaigrette). For big appetites, there's a whole grilled red snapper and a salmon a la Veracruzana, a traditional seafood preparation in a beautifully light and flavorful sauce of tomatoes, olives, garlic, and capers.
Of course, because this is Chicago, there are some tempting meat options. A fourteen-ounce bone-in filet and a thirty-two ounce tomahawk are likely to satisfy your yearning for red meat, and these two Chef's Reserve selections feature coffee rub, chimichurri, pickled veggies, and grilled onions.
Cocktails pull through the coastal Mexican theme with Beaches of Tulum (mint and melon mojito: bounty rum, Midori, and mint) and Shadows in the Jungle (smoked old fashioned: abasolo mexican whiskey, mexican chocolate, orange, vanilla, and smoke).