First Look: Vela Bar & Cocina in River North
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A blue heirloom corn tortilla topped with wagyu beef, habanero miso salsa, and onion-nopal salad. Photo: Monica Eng/Axios
Chef Jorge Angulo is taking tacos to a new level at Vela Bar y Cocina in River North.
Dig in: Vela offers a steak taco platter (called tabla de carnes) for $88 with handmade heirloom blue and yellow corn tortillas, three cuts of wagyu beef, and intense condiments including habanero miso paste.
- "This is a play on a classic in my household," the former Beatnik chef tells Axios. "My dad roasts straight habaneros and garlic and blends them together but I really like the umami the miso brings and it reflects the Asian influence in Mexico."
What they're saying: "I want to take those traditional tacos and tortas and send people on a journey down an unbeaten path," Angulo said at a recent preview of the restaurant near the East Bank Club.
The intrigue: Angulo is the first Chicago chef I've seen offering fermented mole that he uses to offset the richness of crisp pork belly cubes topped with gooseberry in his castacán ($28).
- The menu also offers plenty for veg and pescatarians with hamachi ceviche ($19), shrimp aguachile ($19), and a tlacoyo filled with mushrooms, Oaxacan cheese, and beans ($22).
Check out our Instagram post for more dishes and the candlelit bar and dining room.
