Review: Čálli, new Chicago restaurant from Jonathan Zaragoza

The best dish I tried at Čálli wasn’t on the regular menu. Available as a special the first time I visited, it started with a tlacoyo, an oval-shaped piece of griddled masa, steamy and smelling of toasted corn. Inside hid creamy pinto beans. A pile of shredded goat birria sat on top, brick-red in color and fiendishly complex, thanks to a marinade containing multiple kinds of toasted red chiles, charred tomatoes and lots of spices.

The dish was everything I was hoping for from chef Jonathan Zaragoza’s new project. The dish was informed by his own family’s background while reaching deep into regional and contemporary Mexican cuisine.

The birria itself will taste familiar to anyone who has visited his family’s Archer Heights restaurant, Birrieria Zaragoza. Started by his dad, Juan Zaragoza, in 2007, the shop serves a fascinating regional variation of birria popular in the patriarch’s hometown of La Barca, Jalisco. Instead of served in a bowl, it’s presented on a plate with some of Chicago’s finest corn tortillas. There are few restaurants in Chicago I’ve recommended more.

[ The 31 best tacos in Chicago, from Antique to Zaragoza ]

While Jonathan Zaragoza basically grew up working at the restaurant, he also spent time in kitchens all over the city, before traveling extensively. Follow him online, and he’s often eating around Mexico or maybe helping out a restaurant in Dubai or London. Last year, he consulted on the menu at a short-lived Logan Square restaurant called Con Todo.

For years, I’ve longed for Zaragoza to settle down and show us what he’s got. I thought Čálli, located in the swanky Soho House in the West Loop, would be the spot, especially since the restaurant’s name means house in the pre-Hispanic central Mexican language of Nahuatl. Talking to Zaragoza ahead of the opening, he said he was “inspired by places in Mexico that made me feel at home.” It’s a great image.

But instead of a comfortable refuge hidden in the West Loop, Čálli comes off as overly professional and reserved. Instead of a warm hug, Zaragoza wants to keep us at arm’s-length.

This still means there are good things to find, though you’ll need to be strategic.

The menu is tiny. Besides two desserts, there are just 11 dishes. While I’m all for short, focused concepts, I flipped the menu over on my first visit wondering if there was more on the back.

What is there is also surprising. Most of the menu is dedicated to seafood and, especially, vegetables. There are no chicken dishes or meaty mains, though you should always ask about the nightly specials.

Čálli shows best in the snacks and starters sections. The sikil p’ak, a specialty from the Yucatán Peninsula, is a creamy pumpkin seed dip that might look pale brown but thanks to a hit of citrus, tomato and habanero, each bite is nutty, fruity and deliriously spicy. It’s paired with extra-crisp tortillas along with a bevy of bright and crunchy vegetables.

The meatiest dish is oddly in the snack section. The garnacha, a lightly fried circle of masa, arrives topped with plenty of slowly fried carnitas. Zaragoza uses pork belly, which contains copious amounts of fat, and the result is absurdly tender. It’s paired with a shockingly green and acidic fermented tomatillo salsa, which rings through the fat.

The starters section includes a very good leche de tigre, the Peruvian classic Zaragoza loved enough to put on the menu. But what you really want is the Caesar salad. I know few people more enamored with the dish than Zaragoza. “I’ve eaten it at the restaurant it was invented at in Tijuana,” Zaragoza said. “If it’s on a menu, I’ll order it every time.”

His version at Čálli, titled ensalada césar, takes loads of liberties with the original, adding charred serranos, toasted pumpkin seeds and Korean red chile flakes. Yet, it still manages to keep the essence of the original. Instead of blending anchovies into the dressing, gorgeous whole filets sit on top.

Results are more mixed in the mains section. The chochoyotes, small dumpling-like balls made of masa with the center indented, are tender, but the guajillo sauce isn’t abundant enough for a soup or concentrated enough for a sauce.

The pescado zarandeado is a carefully grilled piece of fish (usually red snapper, though it changes with what’s available) that’s also very expensive for the size ($37). The flour tortillas served on the side are disappointingly chalky and brittle.

Much better are the enmoladas, where multiple kinds of mushrooms, including some that pick up smoke from the grill, are wrapped around handmade corn tortillas. It’s then ladled with dark black mole poblano, the complex specialty from Puebla that combines dozens of components like chiles, dried fruit, chocolate and nuts to create a savory, spicy and ever-so-slightly sweet sauce. Since the Soho House is completely nut-free, Zaragoza had to experiment with the traditional components, adding puffed amaranth and pepitas to get the right texture. Comforting yet complex, it’s the highlight of the small menu.

But it’s also at this point in the meal where Čálli starts to feel disjointed. I’d already sampled dishes traditional to Baja California, central Mexico and the Yucatán Peninsula, yet it was difficult to see why the restaurant served them together.

It’s hard not to compare Čálli to Sueños from chef Stephen Sandoval, which used to occupy the same Soho space. Even though Sueños was technically a pop-up, Sandoval zeroed in on the cuisine of Baja California, giving the restaurant a sense of identity and purpose. When you walked in, ambition and drive practically emanated from the kitchen. I got the sense they couldn’t wait to show me what they could do. (A permanent location for Sueños is opening soon.)

Zaragoza wasn’t in the kitchen on either of my visits, as he was out of town. While he’s back at present, he has other projects planned that will soon take him away, including a fast-casual concept he’s launching in Washington, D.C.

Čálli is a good restaurant, featuring well-tested recipes from an obviously talented chef. But as it stands, it kind of feels like no one is home.

nkindelsperger@chicagotribune.com

Inside Soho House, 113-125 N. Green St.

312-521-8000

Eat. Watch. Do.

Weekly

What to eat. What to watch. What you need to live your best life … now.

sohohouse.com/en-us/restaurants/calli

Tribune rating: Between very good and good, 1 ½ stars

Open: Wednesday, 5-10 p.m.; Thursday to Saturday, 5-11 p.m.; Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Prices: Starters, $10-$24; mains, $22-$37

Noise: Conversation friendly

Accessibility: An elevator is available to the second floor. Bathrooms are on the same floor.

Ratings key: Four stars, outstanding; three stars, excellent; two stars, very good; one star, good; no stars, unsatisfactory. Meals are paid for by the Tribune.