Chef John Manion revives famous kale salad at Brasero in West Town
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The La Sirena salad is back on the menu at Brasero. Photo: Justin Kaufmann/Axios
A classic kale salad thought to have wilted away is back on a Chicago menu.
The big picture: Chef John Manion has reintroduced his popular kale salad to new diners at Brasero in West Town, six years after it was last served at La Sirena Clandestina.
What they're saying: "I don't think that you could open a restaurant back then without having a kale salad," Manion tells Axios. "Of all the things we had on that menu, the salad was the one thing that people clamored for."
- The salad features kale, pepitas, radishes, cotija cheese and a roasted poblano buttermilk dressing.
Flashback: The dish debuted on La Sirena's menu in 2012 and, after some minor adjustments, became a hit.
- It became so popular that the recipe was featured in Chicago magazine.
Reality check: When La Sirena closed in 2019, Manion says customers kept asking about the dish at his other restaurants, but he resisted bringing it back.
- "After the recipe was published, I thought it was now owned by the universe," Manion confessed. "We gotta move on, everyone has to collectively move on."
Or so he thought. Manion says his staff at Brasero approached him about the salad after numerous customers inquired.
- He gave the cooks the recipe and the Brasero team loved it.
- "I wasn't gonna die on this hill," Manion added. "If people want this back, then let's give them what they want."
Zoom out: La Sirena was one of the first restaurants to anchor the Fulton Market dining scene, which has now exploded along Fulton Street between Halsted and Morgan streets.
- In the 2010s, it was one of the restaurants that helped catapult Chicago to the top of the country's dining scene.
- "There was a lot of exciting stuff going on during that era," Manion reflected. "Not everyone knew about La Sirena. If you knew about it, then you knew about it."
What's next: Manion's other restaurant, El Che, is celebrating its ninth anniversary this fall.