Lobo Rey Brings Flavorful Food and Vibe to the Sloop

Lobo Rey has garnered a lot of attention from this here blog and rightfully so.  It took over a prominent spot on South Wabash and was being led by the crew behind The Scout - one of the Sloop's more popular restaurant/bars.  Additionally, they had a well respected chef who was bringing a unique concept of hibachi style Mexican to the hood.

Unfortunately for that chef, Daniel Esponoza, it wasn't meant to be at Lobo Rey as he left in December - a short stint that lasted less than four months.  We've heard that it was a function of creative control of the menu - namely Esponoza wanting a more creative menu vs. ownership wanting something that catered to the neighborhoods more modest desires.

Despite this surprising change in the kitchen, Lobo Rey seems well positioned for the future.  We recently had our first visit and overall had a good experience.  If you've eaten at Zapatista, the previous tenant which closed in 2015, the cavernous layout likely looks familiar.  However, you'll notice a much trendier, airy and updated feel.  Gone are the "rooms" that made the space feel intimate.  Instead you will find more open space:

On the Saturday night we were there, it certainly wasn't crowded, but still felt like the restaurant had a solid energy.  The one other thing that was noticeably different was that there are two bars areas.  One on the south side of the restaurant (where Zapatista had their bar) and an island bar (which you can see on the left side of our panorama pic above).  In the back there is the much ballyhooed about hibachi style grills.  On the night we were there, it appeared there was a private party so we didn't get a chance to check it out, but hope to soon.

Moving on to the most important thing - the food and drinks.  The menu was a single page and seemed like it could have been found at a trendier food neighborhood up North or West.  This isn't a knock on the restaurant, but just an observation - it's a fun menu, but not unique to the city (albeit a trendier one than you would typically find in the Sloop).

The table next to us was getting into some Mezcal, but that wasn't the type of night we were getting into - although maybe we should have.  We opted for their signature drinks - a unique version of a Paloma and a Margarita.  Both were fine, but won't have a rushing back for more.  There were some other interesting options, so we'll go that route next time.

Although the drinks didn't really tickle our fancy, the food exceed our expectations.  We ordered some pre-meal guac, which was delicious.  They also had some salsa that had a noticeable kick which we added to each bite of guacamole - yum on that one!

For the main course we did the taco sampler which consisted of 8 total tacos - 2x pork, chicken, steak and mahi mahi:

For us, the tacos were certainly the highlight of our experience.  The presentation was festive and the flavor was bold.  We over ordered for two people, but better to go this route than the alternative.  The steak and mahi mahi were my favorites, while my wife seemed to prefer the pork shoulder.  The chicken was good, but the peppers were beyond hot and frankly overpowered the rest of my bites. 

They also had "foot long" quesadillas which seemed to be a nod to The Scout's similar foot long grilled cheese dishes.  We didn't' check it out, but look to next time.

So what did we learn from our experience?  In the Sloop, Lobo Rey has the most flavorful tacos in the neighborhood!  The vibe is fun and more hip than most other options in the neighborhood.  Compared to other Sloopin taco spots - Flacos Tacos, Spanglish, Mago Grill  and La Cantina - Lobo Rey provides a differentiated "Mexican" approach.  Trendier, more flavorful and a better "going out" experience overall. 

If we had friends coming down who wanted Mexican, we likely would head here.

Flacos Tacos = Mouth full of Awesome

After a full evening of drinking, Dr. Dick, Nick D, Jimbo and I decided to try the newest Mexican joint in printer’s row. Although it was around 2am in the morning, the place had some action. Random dudes chowing on tacos, local college girls enjoying some burritos, and inebriated young professionals seeking yumminess.

I opted for the pollo burrito (which is chicken those of you who didn’t take Spanish) and was very pleased with the decision. The burrito comes standard with cheese, cilantro, onion and in my case chicken. There are other options if you need more, I didn’t. They also serve red and green salsa which was delicious however dangerous to squirt out of the bottle they come in (warning, point the bottle away from you otherwise it will explode in your face).

Take it with a grain of salt due to my night of boozing, but this was one of the better burritos I’ve had in awhile. I’m going back!

Flaco's Taco's Website

Mexican Restaurant Coming to Small Retail Space Between XSport & Former Jimmy Greens Space at 823 S. State?

Looks like a new Mexican restaurant is coming to 823 S. State according to this permit:

It appears this is for the small retail space that was for a healthy restaurant called Ufood and then was annexed by Jimmy Green's Bar & Restaurant as a private party space.  Jimmy Greens closed and now it appears this restaurant is moving into the small space.

There is a decent amount of Mexican options in the area (Flacos Tacos, Spanglish, Mago Grill & Cantina and the recently opened Lobo Rey).  That being said, you can never have too many tacos!

(Hat tip:  DS, MD,

Hackney's Mediocre This Time

After a long night of Flacos Tacos and drinking, we decided to hit up a well respected Printer's Row spot, Hackney's, for a late lunch. We've been once before and enjoyed our meal that time, but the star of that visit was the distinctive beer selection.

This time, beer wasn't on the mind so the food took center stage. After everyone decided on their main entrees, we had second thoughts and put in a quick order for the "Original French Fried Onion" appetizer which amounts to a large loaf of beautifully fried onions strings. Judging by the pace that we took down the mountain of onion rings it's safe to say they were enjoyed.

The main courses got mixed reviews. Two of us got the 'Chicken Avocado Club, which was good but noticeable large and messy. The 'Stuffed California Burger' seemed appealing, but unfortunately didn't live up to the hype of the menu. It was noted that the cheese wasn't as prominent as expected.

Breakfast is usually consumed prior to noon, but given the option one of us opted for the omelet with avocado. Again, solid but not excellent. The final person wasn't particularly hungry and decided on the soup of the day, Clam Chowder, which was probably the best received out of the group.

All in all the food was ok, but not something most of the group would seek out again. Regardless, the atmosphere was nice, the service was relatively prompt and it was a nice place to catch up with some good peeps.

HAX to Close on Wednesday, October 30th

Well this sucks (via Hax Facebook page):

Lost of questions are still unanswered regarding what happened or what's next.  The owners of Hax (formerly Hackney's) are also owners Flacos Tacos (which presumably will stay open) and of Gordo's - the Ice Cream bar shop that is actually attached to Hax.  It's unclear if Gordo's will stay open.

As a reminder, Hax was previously a popular sit-down restaurant called Hackney's.  At the time, the many in the neighborhood questioned the move considering Hackney's did a consistent business.  They officially closed their doors in 2016 and took about a year to reopen as Hax.  While the concept of Hax was interesting, it never gained a ton of traction with the neighborhood.

We will stay close to this one as it's certainly a prime restaurant/retail spot in Printers Row.

If anyone has any tips let us know. 

(Hat tip: NS!)

Where To Get Delivery From in the Sloop?

A reader in search for the Sloop's best delivery:

I'm very fond of your restaurant info; I think good conversation could spark
discussion on which are or aren't good deliver-ers in this area.

This was inspired by a non-pizza/non-chinese focused night of getting delivery.
- We considered Eleven City Diner (1112 S. Wabash)- Absolutely tasty food, delivery, a bit pricey;
- Though about South Coast Sushi (1700 S. Michigan)- Crazy yummy, really costly, but untested delivery
- Almost went with Jamaica Jerk Villa (8 E. 22nd)- Good reviews, not expensive, but questionable on how often they deliver
- Flavor 180 (1511 S. State) - is close, has a weird vibe, is slow, and, well, no.

- Ended up with Flacos Tacos (725 S. Dearborn) - Recommended by a friend, inexpensive,
delicious!

I know there are other reasonable places out there that we need to know about.

Who should we be ordering from in the Sloop?

We've had delivery from Chef Luciano's and was pretty happy with that. Besides pizza and chinesse, we usually do pick-up as oppposed to delivery. Anyway, Sloopers, please chime in with your thoughts.

(Hat tip: JN!)

Hackney's on Dearborn Closing Doors to Make Way for New Concept in 2017

Some big news on the Printers Row restaurant scene as a stalwart is reconcepting:

It's a rather interesting development as Hackney's always seemed to be busy and doing well.  Maybe it's just time for something new?

That being said, it still appears that the owners are committed to the neighborhood and especially south Dearborn.  As you probably know they own the Flacos Tacos (725 S. Dearborn) and are opening Gordo's Homemade Ice Cream Bars just north of the Hackney's location.

Sad to see Hackney's shut down, but excited to see what's next.

(Hat tip:  EF!)

New Mexican Restaurant Moving Into Former SRO Restaurant Space on Dearborn

Mr. South Loop's instagram has an update on a new Mexican restaurant coming to the heart of Printers Row.  As a reminder, Standing Room Only (SRO) closed in the midst of the pandemic at this 610 S. Dearborn location:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Alex / MrSouthLoop (@mrsouthloop)

Looking forward to seeing what type of Mexican concept will come to this space.  There are already a handful of quick service taco places in the area - Flacos Tacos (725 S. Dearborn), Taco Maya (823 S. State), and Spanglish (555 S. State) to name a few.  Needless to say, hopefully the new restaurant has some form of differentiation.

Regardless, great to see another restaurant coming to an important, high-profile stretch of the neighborhood.   

City Exploring Broader Alfresco Dining Options for Neighborhoods - We Emphatically Support that for the Sloop!

The Hello South Loop Facebook group is soliciting info via a poll on the neighborhoods desire to close off some streets to allow for expanded alfresco dinning.  The poll can be found here (since Facebook doesn't allow us to easily embed - thanks FACEBOOK!).

We've pondered similar ideas all the back in 2014 and strongly feel that it would add a positive dynamic to the neighborhood.  Our post back then was more of a permanent 'european-style' idea, but we totally support what is being thrown out now.

WGN talks about this city's interest in this topic:

The city has announced a new initiative to increase outdoor dining areas through long-term outdoor spaces.

The ‘Chicago Alfresco’ program has city officials encouraging chambers of commerce and other neighborhood groups to think beyond emergency traffic barricades and construction cones of last year’s outdoor dining expansion to propose and build outdoor community spaces.

“Outdoor dining has become a lifeline for so many of our neighborhoods, but not all of them have been able to take advantage of our safe, outdoor dining programs,” said Mayor Lightfoot. “And by creating and transforming public spaces, the Chicago Alfresco initiative will significantly increase our city’s ability to fully revitalize the public way. Last year, we started this program out of necessity to help bars and restaurants stay open safely, now we’ve seen how well this program works and how much the City loves it, so we want to keep it going.”

In our mind the most logical areas are Dearborn between Polk and Harrison and Wabash between 13th and 14th.  

Dearborn is a slam dunk in our opinion mostly because it has the benefit of two smaller North/South streets (Federal and Plymouth Ct) that could help with traffic issues.  It also has more restaurants and bars to fill in this street (Roots, Totos, Caribbean Jerk Palace, Flacos Tacos, Printers Row Wine Shop, The Grail Cafe, Kasey's Tavern, Sofi, Amarit Thai).  Finally, all those businesses could theoretically use the extra outdoor space - maybe with the exception of Roots who has a custom-built rooftop that seems perfect for the situation.

While we would support closing down a block of Wabash it seems less of a necessity.  Flo & Santos already has a sizable beer garden.  Asian Outpost and My Place have the benefit of a wide sidewalk that allows for a good amount of patrons.  The Scout is closed and we're not sure if/when anything is coming to that space.  That leaves Harbor which probably could benefit from more outdoor space, but is it worth closing down for one restaurant?  Maybe?   

That said, it doesn't seem like this need to be an everyday type of initiative.  Weekends (and maybe include Fridays?) would seem just find in our opinion.  Fingers crossed that this happens!