Son of a Butcher Tavern, located at 2934 W. Diversey Ave. in Chicago’s burgeoning Logan Square neighborhood, is the latest venture by restaurateur Adolfo Garcia, slated to open in early 2015.
An ancient trade and respected vocation, Son Of A Butcher celebrates the art and craftsmanship of the local butcher around the world. The grandson of a butcher himself, Garcia envisions a local hangout with much more history and passion than just your corner tavern, but welcoming enough to be one.
Most recently known for Pearl Tavern and prior ventures such as Hubbard Inn and Black Bull, Garcia commissioned Chef Frank Valdez to help execute his vision. Chef Valdez is the current chef de cuisine at two-time Michelin Starred Mexique in Chica.
"Son of a Butcher stems from my childhood," Adolfo says. "My grandfather ran a slaughterhouse and my grandmother owned the local butcher shop in my hometown in Mexico.
"I spent the greater majority of my childhood after school and on weekends in my grandmother’s butcher shop. After finishing my homework I would help my grandma, from filling ground pork and meat sausages to carefully watching her butcher an animal with great, delicate respect."
Son Of A Butcher is not another Chicago steakhouse. For Adolfo, the back of the butcher shop is where his grandfather and local friends would snack and sip on wine or an ice-cold beer, while his grandmother and aunts cooked what customers didn’t buy—trimmings that today are embraced by the culinary world.
Son of a Butcher Tavern’s chef-driven menu will embrace rare cuts of meat typically taken for granted such as pork cheek, oxtail, various sausages, meatballs, and chicharron. The beverage program will offer a variety of whiskeys, classic cocktails, wines, and selection of beer.
“Anywhere you go in the world there is always a corner spot near the local meat market that butchers go for a beer after a long hard day," Garcia says. "That’s where you find the good stuff, like a bangers and egg breakfast, sweetbread sandwiches, and pork cemita.
"The butcher shop was loud, smoky, and filled with the smell of great simple food that was delicious. That’s what I am bringing to Chicago."
Inspired by butcher shops of the world, from Italian macellerie to Mexican carnicerías, Polish sklepy mięsn and Jewish delis, Adolfo and Chef Valdez feel there is no better place to open Son Of A Butcher Tavern than Chicago, a melting pot of culture.
Son of a Butcher will be open for dinner weeknights and brunch and dinner on weekends. Cuchon Days (Saturday and Sundays) will feature 14-hour-smoked suckling pig sold by the pound and served on butcher paper with fresh bread, corn tortillas, and an assortment of sauces inspired by different cultures that celebrate cuchon.
Come summer the restaurant will add a backyard beer garden and sidewalk patio.
