Cuisine:

• Mexican

Red O Description:
The former Moustache Café has been reborn as Red O, a buzzing lounge-like space frequented by a scene-savvy crowd. Rick Bayless, the chef behind Chicago restaurants Topolobampo, Frontera Grill and Xoco, designed the menu, which is executed by chef Michael Brown, whose previous experience includes Pinot Bistro as well as Opaline under David Lentz and Suzanne Goin. Starters, like the ceviches and grilled Mazatlan blue shrimp tostaditas, are light and colorful. However, we found the chicken mole poblano, braised pork tinga poblana and some of the other heartier dishes tended to be either too dry or too sweet. Desserts put a south-of-the-border twist on American classics as in the goat cheese cheesecake with caramel corn and Mexican "root beer" sauce. Considering the cuisine, we might have expected to find a bottle or two from Mexico on the wine list, but this slight oversight is more than made up for in the prized tequila selection that's encased between wavy, translucent walls that wind through the restaurant.


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