Cooks need heat-resistant forearms to work the grill at El Che Steakhouse and Bar in the West Loop. That’s because during service, it’s a literal inferno of wood, charcoal and beef: marrow bones, strips, filets, you name it. The guy behind it all? John Manion.
“I feel like El Che speaks to time spent in Argentina, when I was a younger cook and chef. I fell in love with live-fire cooking.”
But Manion was born in Brazil, and so to honor those culinary traditions, he recently opened Brasero in West Town, a handsome, wide open space that also features a large grill.
“The other side is seafood and bigger, bolder flavors. Seafood and more vegetable-focused,” he said.
A good start is the pão de queijo - a traditional gluten free snack of cassava flour and cheese, baked fresh, served with concord grape jam and truffle cheese. Another light starter: raw tuna, resting in a shallow pool of tomato ponzu broth, with some uchuva – the Peruvian groundcherry and fried capers. Never a bad idea to pair with a citrusy caipirinha.
One of the best dishes (and frankly, impossible to find elsewhere in Chicago) is the moqueca, a traditional seafood stew.
“Moqueca to me, is something I’ve been chasing since I was a little kid. It’s what I think of when I think of Brazilian food; it’s from the North,” he said.
Head-on shrimp and mahi are seared; mussels are stewed in coconut milk; there’s even homemade ramen noodles from Logan Square’s Akahoshi, then everything is buried in coconut broth.
“Obviously influenced by West Africa; nuts, chiles and hot sauce, lime juice, cilantro, fresh herbs,” said Manion.
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Salmon is poached in banana leaves, hiding a scallop and shrimp mousse, melted garlic and leeks. The sauce is deceptively complex.
“It’s actually a heart of palm beurre blanc and then we fold in a little trout roe at the end,” he said.
There is some beef on the menu, selectively chosen.
“When you think of a Brazilian steakhouse – a churrascaria – one of my earliest memories is picanha, which has a big fat cap,” he said.
First cooked over indirect heat, then seared to-order.
“…and then yeah, a little bit of [beef] tallow, and that’s it,” Manion said.
Only a couple of desserts, but you would be insane not to get the coconut soft serve. Laced with a chocolate drizzle, the texture is textbook.
“The soft serve was inspired by Urban Belly - Bill Kim. The whole reason I opened this restaurant is to have a coconut soft serve,” he said.
1709 W. Chicago Ave., 872-342-2079
845 W. Washington Blvd., 872-320-4912
