Former Mesa Urbana chef, co-owner (and his salmon) now at Mercado Cocina Cantina in Glenview
Eusebio Garcia is being followed. He encourages it.
He's being followed by a fish. Specifically, Salmon Al Carbon, the dish that tops the entrees on the menu at Mercado Cocina Cantina, 2300 Lehigh Ave., Glenview, just north of Lake Street and Gallery Park.
“Wherever I go the salmon has been following me,” Garcia said.
Yes, a charcoal-grilled salmon. Caramelized mango. Green papaya. White avocado cream. Chile oil.
It's actually the people who try this dish who keep pestering Garcia.
“Never, never, never take it off the menu,” Garcia said they tell him. “I pay whatever money, don't take it off the menu.”
A chef the past 15 years, in kitchens since he was 17, the 50-year-old restaurant veteran recently joined Mercado Cocina Cantina as chef and co-owner after four years at Mesa Urbana. That Mexican eatery on the Glenview-Northbrook border closed last July due to the coronavirus pandemic and, according to social media posts, hoped to reopen in Chicago in March.
Mercado Cocina Cantina sustained its own COVID-related shutdown as well, Garcia said.
In addition to Mesa Urbana, Garcia has worked in Chicago restaurants such as Red Light and Park Grill, with past ownership in Mundial Cocina Mestiza in Pilsen and Amelia's Bar & Grill in the Back-of-the-Yards.
After the closing of Mesa Urbana, he started a catering company called, yes, El Salmon. Trying to rent a kitchen for that business, he instead was convinced to come aboard as a partner in Mercado Cocina Cantina by the owner of the building, retired physician Gonzalo Ruiz.
“The restaurant is beautiful and it has everything,” said Garcia, whose wife, Olga, handles the front of the house while he's in the kitchen.
Offering a menu Garcia describes as Mexican fusion, Mercado Cocina Cantina reopened Feb. 12 with hours of 4-9 p.m. Future plans include adding lunch service, a Saturday and Sunday brunch, and a happy hour.
It's got an indoor capacity of 100 — COVID mitigations currently limit that number to a maximum of 50 patrons — and a patio that will offer seating for around 60, Garcia said.
Mercado Cocina Cantina has a central, silver-topped bar situated in a room splashed with vibrant orange and softer shades of purple, green and blue.
Garcia emphasizes seafood in entrees featuring trout, shrimp and seafood crepes in addition to the salmon, and appetizers of mussels, shrimp and octopus.
The descriptions are significantly more mouthwatering than that; the mussels, for example, are served with prosciutto, leeks and a garlic-chipotle cream sauce.
There's also a chicken pasta dish, baby rack of lamb and a carne asada among main dishes, with sides of grilled asparagus, pan-roasted cauliflower and corn.
He seasons that corn with a natural mineral salt popular in Mexico, tequesquite, and, in general, Garcia said a goal is “to make all the customers happy” with ingredients from Mexico and Central America.
One thing they don't have much down there is several feet of snow, which Garcia said has slowed liftoff since Feb. 12. But people have been calling about the menu, which he sees as a good sign.
“I want to grow more, I want to make the catering bigger, I want to make this restaurant be successful and be one of the best restaurants in Glenview,” Garcia said.