Featured Cocktail of the Week: Mi Tocaya Antojería’s Chicana
This week’s featured cocktail comes from Mi Tocaya Antojería in Logan Square.
Acclaimed chef, owner, and Chicago south-sider Diana Dávila opened the doors to the public two weeks ago and has been pushing out delicious and authentic Mexican-style tapas since.
Mi Tocaya Antojería is Chef Dávila’s first restaurant, where she aims to bring flavors and dishes from multiple regions throughout Mexico, including Oaxaca, where she spent a considerable time training as a chef.
This week’s featured cocktail, though, is the Chicana. Displaying a beautiful ruby hue, the drink is bright and exploding with flavor. The drink’s base is made of hibiscus infused mezcal and a gin distilled locally in Logan Square. The herbal gin flavor comes through in the first sip of the Chicana, complimented by a hint of hibiscus as well as the smokiness of the mezcal. Right away, patrons will be stunned by the unique and refreshing flavor.
After a few tastes, the drink softens up and becomes a bit sweeter, allowing the Italian liqueurs used to batch the cocktail, Lazzaroni and Maraschino, to shine through. The drink is garnished with an edible pansy flower, making it ideal for inducing Instagram #FOMO. It is a cocktail full of flavor and one that will be in heavy rotation with its refreshing flavors, especially once Mi Tocaya’s forty seat late night patio (!!!) opens for the summer.
While Chef Dávila is focused on creating quality dishes, she has enlisted Matt Frederick’s assistance for the drink menu. Frederick is the beverage director at the popular Ukrainian Village dive bar, EZ Inn.
Frederick has produced a list of draft cocktails that range from an Elderflower Margarita to a cocktail made from fermented sugarcane juice called the Cabana.
Not up for a draft cocktail? Mi Tocaya is also slinging out classic shaken mezcal and tequila margaritas as well as a stirred Oaxacan Old Fashioned.
Beer lovers haven’t been forgotten either. Along with your regular 12 oz. Mexican beer bottles being served, 32 oz. caguamas will also be available to groups or those brave enough to take on one by themselves.
Aside from draft cocktails and beer, Mi Tocaya also features Nitro coffee as well as home made Nitro horchata, going as far as to mix both of them to form a modern Mexican version of café con leche.
As far as soft drinks go — Coke, Squirt, and Topo Chico straight from Mexico are also available, classic glass bottle and all. And for those scorching hot summer days, a homemade agua de limón (limeade) will be your go to thirst quencher.
Mi Tocaya is located at 2800 W Logan Blvd and is open Tuesday-Thursday from 5-10 pm. Friday-Saturday, the kitchen stays open an hour later until 11 pm. Brunch on Sundays will also soon be featured.