Tzuco in Chicago's Gold Coast celebrates 5 years ahead of Hispanic Heritage Month
CHICAGO (CBS) —The Gold Coast hot spot Tzuco is celebrating five years this month ahead of Hispanic Heritage Month, which begins next week.
The upscale Mexican restaurant has nods from the James Beard Foundation and Michelin Bib Gourmand.
The milestone comes just after owner and executive chef Carlos Gaytan won his second Michelin star.
Tzuco is his second Chicago venture. His first, the now-closed "Mexique," earned his first Michelin star. Gaytan was the first Mexican chef to ever earn the star.
For the restaurant's anniversary, Gaytan gives a behind-the-scenes look at Mexican fine dining today—right from the man who's credited with putting it on the map.
After five years, the dining room at Tzuco is still buzzing as they've just opened up.
"The journey of this restaurant has been amazing. I create a concept that I want to bring home to each table, and it makes a lot of noise," Gaytan said.
The Gold Coast restaurant is the brainchild of Gaytan, and its name pays homage to his hometown of Huitzuco in southwestern Mexico.
"This is like a museum of my hometown. Everything that you see, we brought it over from Huitzuco," he said.
The menu, however, spans all of Mexico, a collection of regional, homestyle dishes reiterated as an upscale dining experience but never so far as to lose that distinct feeling of home.
"I used to do fine dining and people, they start getting tired of fine dining, you know, it's very simple. People want to celebrate something, they go to a fine dining restaurant once or twice a year, and when people really want to eat food, authentic food, they go in once a week or less."
He adds, "I want to bring real food, you know, that everything. and it just reminds me, you know, home.
Chef says he's not the only one, that Tzuco has become a dining destination, espically for tourists visiting from Mexico.
"It's beautiful to see, you know, Mexican people that are coming to vacation to Chicago and just to see, like, why I had to have dinner and the Mexican restaurant in United States when I'm coming from Mexico?" He said.
His dishes rely on authenticity, from imported ingredients to family recipes—giving a clear base for Gaytan to show off his artistry, without deviating too far from tradition.
"Some dishes you're never going to see them again in other restaurants. I want to try to bring authentic Mexican cuisine, but on my own eyes and my own way," Gaytan said.
At the root of how Gaytan cooks is an insatiable desire to be the best.
"That's my whole entire idea, you know, just bringing best Mexican cuisine to Chicago and to have the best Mexican restaurant in the world, you know, like, not necessarily has to be in Mexico to be the best," he said.
In celebration of five years of success, chef Gayatan is inviting four of his friends, also highly decorated chefs, to cook a special menu on Monday, Sept. 16. It's a five-course prix fixe, and you can make reservations on their website.