Bistros and BYO are well-suited for each other, which is why diners should stop into Irving Park's Al Dente before the owners snap up a liquor license. Al Dente's chef Javier Perez may not sound familiar, but his resume should. After years in the kitchen at Spiaggia, MK, Paramount Room, and Cibo Matto, Perez and wife Maria were eager to open their own restaurant. The result is a seasonal menu with international influences that are easily paired with whatever bottle you have in hand.
With a nod to the Independence Park Farmers' Market, Al Dente serves a seasonal menu of Mexican-influenced American dishes. Salmon, for example, is crusted with adobo seasonings and served with rapini, lima beans, housemade chorizo and an Oaxacan adobo negro sauce. Pork torchon is paired with an unexpected Mexico City mole verde, tortilla gnocchi, and radishes. And since a restaurant can't open this summer without brunch service, Al Dente is also open weekend mornings, serving omelettes, tamales and yogurt parfaits. For now, the restaurant is BYOB with a $5 corkage fee (regardless of number of bottles) so go ahead and bring the extra vino. [The Feast]
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