Chef reconnects with Mexican roots at Salsa 17 in Arlington Heights

Cesar Gutierrez is a chef who grew up in Mexico, but up until now in his professional journey you couldn’t really characterize him as a Mexican chef.

After a more than 30-year career that started with southern Italian cuisine and has included long stints in steakhouses and Italian-American restaurants, Gutierrez is reconnecting with his heritage as executive chef at Salsa 17 in Arlington Heights.

“I’m super excited,” he said. “After having learned how to cook with a lot of phenomenal Italian and American chefs, it’s time for me to go back to my roots.”

Gutierrez takes over the kitchen at a restaurant that has been a staple in downtown Arlington Heights since 2009. The eatery originally opened as Fuego Mexican Grill in 2005, but became Salsa 17 after an ownership change four years later.

“We don’t like to use the word elevated because it sounds pretentious, but we do want to bring authenticity to the dishes,” said operations manager Lauren Weeks. “We try to respect the Mexican ingredients and put them together in a way that maybe you don’t see in other places around here.”

Gutierrez, who lives in Elk Grove Village, says he plans to highlight the many varieties of Mexican cuisine.

“My goal is to take guests on a journey through Mexico,” he said. “There’s so much diversity when it comes to styles around the country.”

While he hasn’t cooked it professionally, Gutierrez has always had a love of Mexican food.

“When I go back to Mexico to visit and eat the food my sisters cook for me, I’m always like ‘this is the best food in the world,’” he said. “The flavors, the spice, the warmth of the food. It’s just delicious.”

Technically, Gutierrez did get his start in a Mexican kitchen.

He lived in West Chicago as a child, but he and his mom moved to back to Mexico when his father died. With the last $500 she had she opened a small restaurant in Guadalajara.

“I grew up helping her, cleaning tables, doing dishes,” he said. “It was a rough but good childhood.”

He moved back to the U.S. when he was 18 and bounced around a few kitchens before spending 13 years working for Maggiano’s and Lettuce Entertain You Restaurants. He later worked with celebrity chef Rick Tramonto and then spent time at Pete Miller’s Seafood & Prime Steak locations, where he got to know owner Larry Huber.

Fast forward about 16 years and Gutierrez, who a few months ago decided to leave his job as chief culinary officer with Pinstripes when they filed for bankruptcy, reconnected with Huber, who now owns Salsa 17.

The serendipity led to a professional reunion for the two.

“Working with Larry was a great experience, so I was super excited at the opportunity,” Gutierrez said. “He’s always been very supportive and creative. I call him a visionary.”

Gutierrez said there won’t be many changes to the core menu at Salsa 17. And while they do want to offer some things people haven’t seen before, they know what people like.

“We have a lot of moles and things that are staples of Mexican cuisine, but we also have tacos and fajitas and things that have been a little more Americanized, because that is who our customer base is,” Weeks said.

Gutierrez said he’ll tweak some presentations while focusing his creativity on themed dinners, some cooking classes, and monthly and seasonal specials.

The current November specials include a turkey leg prepared confit (roasted in its own fat) and slathered with a rich pomegranate-cacao black mole sauce.

Other features include a roasted Mexican pumpkin soup and a roasted red and golden beet salad. Gutierrez said that while he’s eager to implement some techniques he’s learned throughout the years, he’s more inspired by learning about new ingredients and understanding their history.

“Cooking to me is common sense. Sometimes kitchens can overcomplicate things,” he said. “My experience has taught me that less is more. Simpler food, better quality ingredients just cooked really well.”

For inspiration, Gutierrez, Weeks, general manager Carlos Valenzuela and Huber are taking a trip to Jalisco, Mexico, in a couple of weeks, where they’ll visit about 10 restaurants and pick up some tips from local chefs.

“They’re going to let me behind the scenes, and the goal is to come back with some recipes and techniques that we can incorporate here,” he said. “I’m ready to learn.”

Gutierrez said the new opportunity is invigorating.

“This chance to come full circle is so exciting to me,” he said. “I love the cuisine, the people I’m working with are like family, and I’m really excited to explore what we can do here.”